Overeaters & how to change

Overeaters & how to change

 

Types of Overeaters

I spent many years as a chronic over eater, sometimes enjoying every bite while licking my chops, and other times ready to jump over a bridge after the evil episode because I felt so stuffed to the edge. I struggled with it, hated myself, loved my food and everything in between. And I gained quite a bit of weight in the process.

Now even though I didn't realize there was actually a distinction back then, I was also a severe binge eater. I have since learned that there is a very big difference between overeating and binge eating. My binge eating experiences were clearly driven by something much more internal with a "my soul is crying" sort of overtone to it. And the driving factor that always distinguished my binges from the behavioral action of overeating was compulsion.

Ah... just that word, compulsion, carries a lot of weight.

Compulsion, in relation to a binge, is a feeling that you must start, cannot stop, will not stop, and will have to grossly indulge in food to survive the moment. It is way heavier than any one of the four categories of overeating I will describe below. For me, binges were defined by the feeling that something was overtaking my rational brain and I compulsively needed to keep eating to either avoid a feeling I did not want to feel or simply slip into a slightly altered state of consciousness than the one I was currently in, which was often accomplished with a football field worth of sugar.

Overeating is different, but before I define what the four levels of overeating are, let's define overeating! Simply put, it is the belief that "I eat too much." This is a big, wide-open belief that leaves much room for interpretation. However, subjectively it describes the person who will freely say, "I can't control my appetite," or "I have a willpower problem," or "I love the food so much I have to eat every bite," or just simply, "I'm an over eater."

Now the fascinating part that I see universally, whether I'm working with a mom of three, a corporate executive or a movie actress is that not everyone who calls themselves an over eater is actually one! Meaning, they don't actually "eat too much." Why? Well sometimes people are programmed to believe that an unusually small amount of food is considered normal and sufficient. This may be because they were raised in a family that fostered the message of "don't eat too much or you will get fat." I have also seen people label themselves falsely as over eaters solely because they are a slave to diet mentality. For example, I know a lady label herself as a troubled over eater because she sometimes eat 1/3 of a chocolate bar. Well 1/3 of a bar is not necessarily "too much," but because this food was very strongly on her bad list to always be avoided, it turned into, "I just over ate."

So we have those who think they are over eaters, but really aren't.

And then we have those who are truly eating too much, as defined by bodily evidence to prove that they are (i.e. gaining weight, digestive problems, etc). But my friends I have never met anyone who is a bonified, diagnosed over eater. This is not a disease we find in the medical books! An over eater is simply a person stuck in a behavioral pattern. That behavior could be driven by varying degrees of underlying psychology, and still is just a behavioral pattern.

 I have found that most people fall into one of four categories / situations. If you resonate with thinking that you are indeed an over eater, you may find that you repeat the pattern of one of these situations, or fluctuate between a few.

The Four Overeating Categories / Situations:

1. Social Over Eater

You are dining with others, aware you have reached your "satisfaction" point and are getting full, but you just keep eating anyway. Others around you are still eating and you enjoy continuing to eat with them. You may be caught up in the social experience or habit of finishing your plate because it is there in front of you.

2. Mind Is Checked Out

You may be watching TV, on autopilot, distracted or bored. What defines this category is that you are very disconnected with your body's cues and not present with any stage of eating while it is happening.

3. Emotional Response

This is what we commonly understand as "emotional eating." There is a feeling you don't want to feel, or are starting to feel, and you attempt to curb or cover that feeling with food. Usually too much food.

4. Strong Cravings

You feel a strong craving, or biological pull, to eat a certain food that may not be understandable or explainable. It feels hard to just eat a small portion of this food, so you eat way more than what satisfies your hunger. This category can also include those who self-label as, "I just have a big appetite."

None of these categories are labels for you as a person; they are only labels for the overeating experience itself.

Yet, for many of these situations, I hear people claim that they have a willpower problem, or are hopeless around food, or are forever condemned to be a diagnosed over eater. Not true!

The first, and very important powerful step to shifting a pattern of overeating, is to simply classify which overeating situation you feel your eating experience falls into. Once you know this, you can approach the pattern so much more effectively because working with a social overeating situation requires a much different approach than transforming emotional eating. We tend to lump them all in the same category - and even worse - label ourselves - which is the opposite of the space we want to be in to forever transform overeating into pleasurable eating experiences that stop when we are genuinely satisfied.

So if you feel stuck in the label of "Over Eater," please know this is not a life-long sentence! Overeating is just one of the many eating patterns that offers a beautiful window into our relationship with self, and transforming this behavioral pattern can be more interesting, satisfying, and dare I say fun, than you may have imagined.

 

Weight Loss Hypnosis

There are many complex reasons why people develop negative eating patterns in their daily life. When it comes to changing these patterns in a powerful and positive way, weight loss hypnosis works by interrupting negative habits and replacing them with new empowering ones. From how the mind affects the body, how eating healthy food and drinking clean water eliminates fat and toxins, how deep breathing activates your bodies metabolism, and how constant personal development helps achieve success. This article will explore the basic principals and technique to weight loss hypnosis.

In order to achieve a dramatic change in a persons body, one must first make changes within their mind. The subconscious mind is always working to keep you stable and consistent with your daily actions. It is for this reason that dieting alone is often not quite enough to shed those last extra pounds. Since the minds thoughts have a powerful effect on the body, healthy weight loss and increased metabolism requires new habits of behavior and though. It is though interrupting the old thoughts and patterns that this occurs.

The number one reason for overeating is to avoid or suppress emotional pain. It is for this reason that we need to learn to forgive ourselves and practise self-love. Weight loss hypnosis requires that we affirm a new self and release the old overweight behaviors by interrupting them and conditioning in new patterns that are healthy and helpful. If the old pattern is eating sugary and fatty foods then the new pattern needs to be a ritual of eating fresh vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit and clean water. This is the first step on this journey.

They say you are what you eat, and what you think about most you eventually become. With weight loss hypnosis you begin by forgiving yourself, and then affirming your new ideal slim self with positive thoughts, positive feelings, positive new eating behaviors such at eating steamed vegetables, salads, and soups with every meal. You program yourself to snack on nuts, seeds and fruit instead of candy. Eating foods that are based in nature and drinking plenty of fresh foods will allow your body to easily eliminate fat and toxins that store in the body's tissues. The idea is to release the old food and sugar addictions and give you body what it needs.

Along with healthy foods and clean drinking water, there is one other thing that the body needs and craves. Deep rhythmic breathing is a life long key to success with weight loss hypnosis and healthy living. By breathing in deeply, and breathing out completely, you fill your blood with oxygen. As you exhale out toxins you are stimulating your lymph system, the body's way of eliminating waste. By creating a ritual for yourself of deep breathing, 5-10 minutes, three times a day, you will naturally increase your metabolism and increase your energy. This one habit alone can change your life. These principals and the following technique are considered by hypnotists to be the magic formula of weight loss hypnosis.

The Three Step Pattern Interrupt Technique

If at any time during the day you feel a hunger pang, if at any time you are about to sit down to a meal, or if you find yourself tempted to eat junk food, follow the steps outlined here to interrupt the old pattern and re-program your mind.

1. Start by taking in five deep breaths where you inhale deeply, and exhale completely. Remember as you do it that you are in control and that you only eat for nourishment and only as much as you need for health and energy.
2. Close your eye and pay attention to your body. Imagine your ideal self, and see yourself as slim, healthy and attractive. See yourself around other people and imagine how they treat you differently. Visualize yourself as slim and attractive in a number of different situations and scenarios and really enjoy it.
3. Drink a large glass of water. This final step is important because a number of research studies have shown that people often confuse hunger with thirst. Also if you have had a large glass of water, there is less of a chance that you will over eat during a meal.

As you can probably tell by now, these are just some of the conscious ways of interrupting your negative eating patterns. The other weight loss hypnosis techniques that are commonly used are designed to be programmed directly into your subconscious mind using suggestions and commands while a subject is deep in trance. However when you emerge from trance, you should always remember why we overeat, give our bodies what they really need, and regularly use the three step pattern interrupt on a regular basis. This way you will always eat.

 

 

 

References

Peter Hill

Cynthia Stadd