Ever wonder why you don’t possess the “will-power” to stick to a diet? Are you tired of eating “good” for a few days then spiraling into one “bad” food choice after another? Since we are conditioned to believe that weight challenges and unwanted eating habits are exterior problems that need to be fixed, it is easy to think that if we were just disciplined enough or had enough will power to stick with a certain diet, then we could lose the weight for good. This is not the case. The very few people that are able to maintain long term results from a restrictive diet are typically always in a constant struggle or have also dramatically shifted their psychology in the process.

Wouldn’t it be nice to reach your goals without the constant battle and always beating yourself up? You can, and I show you how in detail on this week’s Group Coaching and Q&A Call! Until then, just know that an exterior solution will NOT last for life. A shift needs to occur. Reaching your desired weight or physique, optimal health, and a healthy relationship with your body and food is an inside job!

Your eating habits are tied to so many things other than food, therefore getting “control” over food isn’t a viable solution. Hoping to have “will power” over your food choices can work for a brief stint of time, but the truth is (and this is according to numerous studies in psychology and physiology): will power is a very limited resource that we use up all day with a multitude of tiny tasks and decisions, and is a very minor contributing factor to binge and emotional eating, if at all (this is why healthy and nourishing routines and rituals are imperative, we do a lot of this in my coaching).

Multiple other factors can effect what kinds of food your body craves and calls out for. Our limited resource of “will power” simply isn’t enough to fight some of these underlying culprits.

Some of the surface examples that can be often balanced with proper nutrition and gradual lifestyle adjustments include:

• Not eating enough variety of nutrient dense food and/or being deficient in macro and micro-nutrients. In this case, your body literally yells at you for what it needs with cravings
• Poor digestive health and not absorbing enough nutrients from the food you eat
• Lack of sleep
• Chronic Stress
• Mood disorders
• Hormone imbalances
• Complications with thyroid and adrenal glands
• Food allergies and intolerances

On a deeper level, these can control your eating habits and typically stem (at the beginning stages) from the dependence on the chemical response that happens in your body after eating certain foods. In my coaching we go deep here and cultivate enough awareness to retrain the below patterns:

• Food addiction; oftentimes sugar.
• Reinforced patterns that have carved pathways in your brains that link certain triggers or circumstances to certain eating behaviors(habits) – these can be reprogrammed with healthy habits that become second nature; I do it with my clients all the time.
• Deprivation or imbalances in any domain in life…in these cases you might use food to fill a void
• Emotional coping mechanisms…here you use food to check out or numb out
• Underlying fears and commitments, also known as subconscious programming, that you may not be aware are governing your behavior – these can be worked through (Example: subconsciously protecting yourself from the world with excess weight)!

And the big one…

• Working in a shitty model for lasting weight loss aka Restrictive dieting. This has been proven to be the biggest predictor of binge eating. Those who diet are scientifically proven to be predisposed to binge eating as well as weight and food obsession.

Animal Brain and Survival

I’m going to break this down in the easiest way possible without using confusing scientific terms. There are different theories on the different levels of our brain’s functionality and thinking. There are a few things they all agree upon and the animal brain is one of them.

Our animal brain is responsible for survival. Think food, sex, shelter, oxygen and water. It’s impulsive; it lacks reasoning. When you lose weight, when you cut calories and when you restrict nutrients it’s survival instincts get activated. Most everyone knows that when you drop your caloric intake for an extended period of time, your metabolism slows. This goes even deeper though, because two more things happen that are detrimental for maintaining a healthy weight.

When the survival mechanism around hunger in this part of the brain gets activated, nothing else matters. It literally says, “eat or die.” To it, making you binge, overeat or go off your list of “good” foods on your diet is a matter of life and death.

It sends signals to the decision making parts of your brain and will illicit crazy stories that practically talk you into over-eating. Things like, “oh you ate less all day, you have room for this”…”eat a lot now and you’ll workout hard or eat less tomorrow”…and then it snowballs.

Not only does it transform you into a food-crazed animal, it also decreases leptin. Leptin makes you feel satiated. So when you do eat, you don’t feel satisfied and you keep going.

Falling into this pattern can make you feel like a failure and reaffirms your beliefs of never being able to succeed at weight loss. If you subconsciously don’t believe in yourself, you’ll keep living the same story over and over and over.

The Good News About Weight Loss

You are not your animal part of your brain. You can also recognize, re-frame and retrain your beliefs. With all this said, lasting weight-loss can be broken down into 3 parts:

1) Balancing your body physically with proper nutrition and lifestyle adjustments

2) Reprogramming your subconscious beliefs and habits

3) Operating in a proven model for success that does not scare your animal brain(hint hint: this is not restrictive dieting or killing yourself with the latest workout)

Many coaches will tell you to stop dieting and focusing on weight all together. As a former diet addict I know that I would NEVER have taken on a program that wouldn’t help me lose weight. Hearing about these approaches on the surface level left me confused and scared that I’d fail and end up heavier than when I began. Having struggled myself, I know that even though a shift in my mindset was necessary, my weight mattered to me for my health and my sanity. In my coaching I help my clients balance the above in a non-restrictive way and the weight loss naturally happens as we do. You also get to fall in love with your body and boost your confidence regardless of where you’re at. I talk all about this is my body confidence post that I wrote last week.

The point is: weight loss and healing unwanted eating habits cannot be solved with a cookie cutter diet and the sole use of will-power to stick with something. It doesn’t work. The exercises below will help you kick-start a better way

Action Step: Focus on nourishment.

On the food side of things:

This means eating a variety of high quality foods. The more nutrients you give your body from whole, unprocessed, nutrition packed sources, the less likely you are to be deficient and have nutrient related cravings. Instead of focusing on what to take away from your diet focus on what to add to get you all the nourishment that you need.

Do you ever notice how if you tell yourself not to eat bread all you think about is eating bread? Our brain unfortunately does not pick up on the negative. What you focus on expands, so instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t do, focus on what you should. Fill your plate and body with so much nutrient dense food it crowds out the not so nutritious.

*Important: Layer in 1-3 changes weekly. Too much too soon can be just as detrimental as severe restrictions. Our sweet little monkey brain is sensitive.

On the flip side:

Nourishment can also come from other areas of your life. Where are you off balance? Where can you use a little love? Oftentimes we use food to fill up spaces that can be filled with fun and balance in other areas. Instead of focusing on food, focus on creating a life that you love so much that food loses its appeal and its power as an exciting part of your life.

The weight loss journey can seem overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. With a streamlined and step-by-step approach working with your body instead of against it, lasting weight loss is possible.

If you need any support in this area, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

Just grab a card, go through the prompts, and shift it instantly!

Click the image above and let me know where to send them!

You’ll also get mini demo video training sessions for each card where I share how to use the cards and some of my best tips for food freedom forever!

With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

PS: Want the exact freedom and ease with our foods that myself and thousands of our clients get to experience?

In our Beating Binge Eating Blueprint (BBEB), I show you how to make this happen in just 8 weeks!

Many of our students have seen a DRASTIC difference in as little as a few days!

It’s our signature program, and up until recently, it was $3000 or more to join.

For now, you can get it as a part of our Food Freedom Collection for practically free by clicking the image below!

There is no catch…every resource I’ve created for food freedom and body confidence will land straight in your if you just click that image below and let me know where to send it!

Health & Love,