Summary:
Have you ever wanted to kick your food plan to the curb? (And who hasn’t?) Say hello to your rebellious side! In this episode of Weight Loss for Food-Lovers, Molly explains where that impulse comes from and ways to consider it in another light. Rather than a force to fight against, maybe your psyche is giving you some useful information. The urge to toss your food plan out the window often comes from feeling divided or out of integrity with yourself. (If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to listen to last week’s podcast all about being integral with yourself.)
If you’re looking for a sign that perhaps you’ve got some rebellion in play, consider how often the words “you should” float through your head. You may also be thinking that your food plan is restrictive, which triggers all kinds of triggers around diets that haven’t worked in the past or which left you feeling deprived. Whatever it is your brain is saying, whether conscious or unconscious, it’s worth figuring out. The alternative often winds up being a lot of negative self-talk that will never shame you into losing weight. To the contrary, when we criticize ourselves for overeating it can ignite a whole cycle of counter-productive judgment and self-recrimination!
Rather than scolding ourselves, Molly explains how important it is to examine our thoughts. They are a window into understanding when and why we overeat or overdrink. Instead of rejecting or rebelling against yourself, try asking: What was going on with you that day? Why did you feel you needed the food, or that extra glass of wine? What is the extra food or wine solving for you? When we listen with compassion to ourselves, a process of self-acceptance and love begins to unfold.
You can bully yourself into losing weight, but it will never be sustainable. Because sustainable weight loss means living a lifestyle that you enjoy and no one enjoys perpetually falling short – then hating, shaming and blaming themselves. What’s that kind of self-talk inevitably going to trigger? Rebellion, of course!
If you’re not including foods that you love in your plan, it’s not going to serve you in the long term. It’s completely doable to create a weight loss plan that you can enjoy, have fun with and love. Send your primitive brain packing. Molly can show you how.
If you’re interested in the support or accountability a one-on-one coach provides, you can set up a free discovery call with Molly here.
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Topics Covered
What is rebellion? Where does the impulse come from, particularly in relationship to overeating?
If you have the thought “I should …” you’ve probably set the stage for some type of push-back from your inner toddler.
Determining whether you’re trying to follow a food plan that is in fact too restrictive.
Questions to ask ourselves in trying to understand more deeply why we rebel. What is the impulse and where in the brain does it reside?
Once you’ve come to awareness, it’s time to find some easy ways to make your food plan more sustainable. Molly shares a helpful starting point and an anecdote about what happens when we don’t realize the thing we’re rebelling against very often is our own primitive brain.
If you have a plan that you love, that tastes good, burns fat, gives you energy and enhances your mood then there’s nothing to feel restricted by.
Consider committing to a few easily achievable habits, perhaps a bedtime routine or increasing water intake. If those basic (and essential!) steps feel easy, then you’ve set the stage for next steps.
Once your body feels how good it is to have an intentional food plan in place, it becomes not only sustainable but exciting and fun. You just have to start in whatever small way you can – right now.
Set up a realistic plan that will work and be sustainable for your future self. When you do that, there’s no reason for your primitive brain to throw a tantrum that takes you down the wrong road!
By honoring yourself in the now – as well as your future intentions – you are coming into integrity and moving towards a plan that can help you reach your ideal weight and a life you can truly enjoy.
Key Quotes
“It makes complete sense that we get to that place of feeling rebellious.”
“When you are feeling rebellious you are likely not to follow through on what you’ve decided ahead of time.”
“It’s not necessarily true that you have to feel restricted to lose weight, but I can understand why you feel that way.”
“Anytime we overeat or over drink, we’re doing it for a reason and until you understand why, you’re never really going to be able to solve this. You’re never really going to be able to create a new habit.”
“The first step is checking in with yourself and figuring out how you can acknowledge and accept where you are right now.”
“When you’re not making intentional decisions for yourself, you’re leaving it up to the primitive brain.”
“Give yourself permission to commit today to something that’s easy and doable on behalf of your future self.”
Links & Resources
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