Procrastination

Posted by on If we saw procrastination (and binging, purging, restricting, dieting, etc.) as a coping strategy, as manifesting our learned helplessness and subsequent overwhelm, then we would naturally ask ourselves: What is overwhelming me? And what can I do about that? Instead, we’ve been taught to stay on the surface, focus on our behaviour, and perceive our procrastination as the problem, as a giant flaw in our character that we can’t do anything about. Therefore we don’t we have any options but to do the thing we’re telling ourselves we have to do, in exactly the way we’re telling ourselves we have to do it, or play ostrich, bury our heads in the sand and just berate ourselves even more, building more and more of a case for our laziness and ineptitude, when all it would take is a little compassion and a little effort to understand what we’re resisting and why.

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Smart cookies

Posted by on One of the most ironic things about those of us who use (or have used) food to cope is that we’re very smart. We’re also very intuitive. We’re also very trusting and as such, very vulnerable. This above all else means that if we ever hope to be truly free of binging or purging or restricting and any stressful focus on food, we need first and foremost to learn to listen to and respect ourselves about what we’re feeling and needing, and we need to absolutely trust ourselves to respect those feelings and the messages they contain about our needs at that time. We are not fools, and try as we might, we cannot pretend that we’re okay when we’re not or that something isn’t bothering us when it is.

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The way you cope doesn’t mean you’re flawed

Posted by on If you’re overeating, restricting or purging, it simply means that at some point in your life, you felt completely overwhelmed by your emotions, powerless to change a stressful or harmful situation and, for self-preservation, began to master the art of ignoring your emotions, seeing them as pointless and annoying instead of your key to true strength and happiness. All this simply means is you adopted a way of coping with life at a time when you needed to lean on something because you didn’t know any other way to handle situations. Food became your crutch. How can this be your fault?

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Natural Eating 101: Q&A: How Do I Know When I Am Full?

Posted by on How do I know when I am fullI hope you enjoyed the first instalment of the Natural Eating Q&A last week. As I mentioned in that article, I’m going to spend the next few weeks answering some questions that I often hear clients asking regarding natural eating. Continuing on with the list of common questions that I posted in last week’s article, this week I’m going to address the question: How do I know when I’m full? For those of you who have been overeating to cope with stressful life situations and anxious thinking or depressed moods, it is quite possible that you have come to associate a feeling of over-full, or absolutely stuffed, with being full. It is important to learn to discern the difference between comfortable, appropriate levels of fullness and downright stuffed. (more…)

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That pesky Drill Sgt.

Posted by on If you are experiencing feelings of concern, doubt, and resistance (particularly to the concept of “self-love” and “self-care”), remember that this is your Drill Sgt. who is desperate to maintain the status quo. He fears your contemplation of self-love because, to him, this is akin to complacency and means you are going to give up. From his perspective, it is an excuse to be lazy, and you are not permitted to be lazy or to rest until you have met the Drill Sgt.’s criteria for acceptability. And this is only because he really does think he knows best. What he knows is “motivation through criticism” and not motivation through love and compassion.  In a nutshell, this is why are are where you are today.

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Negative thoughts create all-or-nothing thinking

Posted by on A great way to start tuning into the all-or-nothing thinking in you is to just stop and observe yourself every once in a while. I guarantee that if you are feeling frustrated, rushed, pressured, annoyed, irritated, overwhelmed, hopeless, depressed, anxious or desperate, you are telling yourself that something must be a certain way – that something should be different, or that you should be different. Just ask this question of yourself: “What is it that I am telling myself must be or go a certain way?” Self-imposed deadlines and expectations are the most common example of this. You will find, as you check in, that you are rushing about like mad, feeling annoyed and resentful of others because you have told yourself that something must be done in such a way by a certain time. Does it really? You would like it if it were. But that is very different from the story which had you rushing about and feeling annoyed with others (especially those who were not rushing about as you were).

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Your Authentic Self

Posted by on The inner parent is responsible for raising and caring for your Authentic Self. The Authentic Self is the part of you which is alive and present. It houses your feelings, and only when you are aware of and connected with the Authentic Self in the present, can you fully feel your feelings and therefore fully feel alive. The Authentic Self could also be described as your intuition. Your Authentic Self is innocent, forgiving, and full of love. If your Authentic Self is being neglected or treated badly, you will feel distanced from your feelings – almost as though you are disconnected from yourself. When overwhelming situations force you to be aware of your feelings, you will feel unable to cope with the sadness, fear and loneliness which arise from your neglected Authentic Self. You will seek to distance yourself from your feelings and will turn to using coping strategies, such as overeating or bad body thoughts to take your mind off what is truly stressing you at that time.

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Natural Eating 101: Q&A

Posted by on natural eatingFor the next few weeks, I am going to make my articles specific to those of you who are actively working through Natural Eating or wanting to begin exploring how to go from that annoying old Diet Mentality to the peace, ease, and flow of Natural Eating. To do that, I’m going to spend the next few weeks answering some questions that I often hear clients asking regarding natural eating. I’ve listed some of the questions I’ll be answering in the weeks to come below. If you have a question on Natural Eating that is not on that list, send it my way and I promise I will answer it at some point in this series. (more…)

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Guilt has no purpose

Posted by on Guilt is a throwback from the Diet Mentality. It is a coping strategy from the Drill Sgt. It is his way of manipulating you to do what he thinks you need to do. Whenever you catch yourself feeling some guilt about what you have eaten or what you want to eat, remind yourself that to restrict yourself is punishment. The more you restrict yourself in terms of when and what you eat, the more you will reinforce the message that you are underserving, and you will continue to be plagued by bad thoughts about yourself. Restriction and guilt serve only to keep you focused on food and body image while you are spinning your wheels on the surface. They keep you from acknowledging that you have a legitimate need which is driving you to: (a) want a particular food; (b) eat when you’re not hungry; or (c) eat more than the Drill Sgt. thinks you should. The guilt must go. And the more you remind yourself that food is just a coping strategy and seek to understand what is triggering you in this moment, the less guilt you will feel and the more you will be truly free to achieve the goals you have for health, wellness and life in general.

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Natural Eating Check: How to Eat Normally

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Natural Eating Check: How to Eat Normally


Natural Eating Check: How to Eat Normally is a short little post to help you have a clearer idea of what natural eating looks like and how to begin to make it the norm in your life.

Notice when you are about to eat something and simply ask yourself:  Am I truly, physically hungry? (If you have to wonder you’re not hungry. Even those who use restriction as a coping strategy can tell when they are hungry if they are willing to be honest with themselves.)

Ask yourself what you’d really like to have to eat and if that choice is going to feel good physically in your body and if it will help you get to where you want to go in your goals for body image, weight loss and health.

Stay tuned to your body while you’re eating – stop after 5 minutes or so and ask yourself how you stomach feels and if you think you’ve had enough. Then stop in 5 more minutes and so on. 

Create natural check in points by starting out with less food or by separating your food in half on your plate. You don’t have to stop eating if you don’t want to, this will just help you to be more aware of the sensations in your body and will lead to you making choices that feel better all around in time.

Do your best to let go of the need to judge what you are eating, and keep coming back to the concept of Natural Eating:
Eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full.
Everything in moderation.
You can always have more later.
No good or bad foods.
No guilt.

Notice any time you’re eating more than you’re hungry for; not letting yourself eat when you are hungry; or resisting stopping. Acknowledge that this is your confused response to stress and isn’t about food at all.

Use the list of stressors to figure out what you’re feeling stressed about and what to do about it.

If you’re not hungry and you’re eating or you’re hungry and you’re not allowing yourself to eat, and you’re not feeling completely peaceful, you’re using food to cope with stress and confused thinking – no exceptions. Beating yourself up and focussing on food is a waste of time and a truly irrational response. Don’t spin your wheels – get the tools you need to solve your confused approach to food and to stress.

Reach out and let us show you how simple and fast lasting change can be.


Love Michelle
mmorand@cedriccentre.com

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