1 x almond croissant
1 x pistachio and blackberry croissant
1 x share bar of galaxy original
1 x share bar of galaxy cookie crumble
3 x Biscoff trek bars (IYKYK)
 
I didn’t taste a single one, yet (mindfully) devoured each of them over the course of my COVID isolation this week (yes I still isolate as I’ve got people around me more vulnerable than I am and also I can embrace being confined to my bedroom for 5 days although any more than that and I’m having menty b number 203 of the week)
 
I was eating really nutrient dense foods, regularly, fuelling my recovering body and growing baby and yet still, was definitely aware that I was overeating on my snacky-snacks 
 
 
At one point I muttered under my breath, yet still out loud because 5 days confined to my bedroom did indeed to send me a little woo-woo and left me chatting to myself and the baby like we were a happy little threesome
 
Interesting - what purpose is this serving?
 
It was at the point in my week where I felt like a Linda McCartney, a stuffed sausage, a human hot air balloon, given my stomach was filled with baby, my lungs were filled with baby and COVID, my nose was filled with COVID and my face was filled with frustration (and more COVID)
 
I was physically uncomfortable with snot and air and virus and chocolate and my inner demons yet could not have felt any less satisfied, even in comparison to the days of disordered prep diets like the time I cried when I finally got to eat a crumpet before show day
 
I just kept eating the Galaxy that could well have been coal for all my taste buds knew
 
And it got me thinking…
 
 
So many of us continue to eat when we’re not hungry
 
I’ve lost count of how many conversations I’ve had with clients at ETPHD about how they used to feel like they couldn’t stop eating when they were full, that they didn’t know how to eat to hunger, that they didn’t know how to listen to their internal cues (of course now after doing ETPHD coaching, that's changed)
 
 
This is totally human and there are so many reasons for it, notably the disembodiment that comes with diet culture being a huge driver (we’re told to listen to external rules instead of internal feeling so we lose all trust in our capabilities of doing so)
 
It's also very common to eat beyond fullness when you’re not satisfied (although this is often because of diet culture and us eating a bowl of lettuce and lean protein with zero essential fat or starchy carbs and wondering why we want biscuits after dinner not because COVID)
 
And it happens because of the habits we’ve laid down and the actual physiological rewards we get from certain foods
 
Think less willpower and more understandable learned behaviours and natural responses in the brain
 
 
I’d love you to try this one thing this weekend
 
Pay attention as you overeat
 
You can do this with any habit you don’t like yet do anyway in fact
 
It might reduce the reward pathway, the physiological response you get to eating certain foods, often those high in sugar, fat and salt 
 
 
At what point does the pleasure run out?
Once its run out, what purpose is it continuing to serve for you?
Distance yourself from your actions
Remain curious about what’s going on
 
 
Meet your needs instead of feeding your wants
 
At some point during the bar of galaxy that could well be coal, your wants are no longer being met and instead, you’re avoiding meeting your needs
 
My needs of social connection and health and feeling physically safe were kind of challenged last week and no amount of coal-like-chocolate would meet those needs, yet I continued out of habit
 
And a previously laid down physiological reward response that appeared even at the sight of the chocolate, without smelling or tasting it (yes this happens to us all - dopamine-enforced sensory cues are a real thing)
 
Which makes me a pretty normal, well-functioning human
 
Said no one ever 
 
 
As you pay attention to what you’re doing as you overeat (or carry out that other unwanted habit)
Notice when you begin to eat out of a feeling of need vs. want
Then ask yourself
Is this meeting the true need that I have right now?


And have a great weekend,
I'm always here, 
Em