We need to understand that virtually all unhealthy eating is NOT motivated by anything we’re consciously aware of. Instead, it is the result of “self-sabotaging” thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes that may be lurking just below our conscious awareness.
This negative thinking is invariably the product of negative “programming” we picked up in childhood from parents, teachers, etc., but for many reasons, the unhealthy eating that results may not become a serious problem until we reach adulthood.
As you might guess, will power is a very ineffective tool for solving this problem, since our unconscious motivations are much more powerful and persistent than our conscious desire to “behave.” That’s why the only real solution to our unhealthy eating habits is to “find and fix” the toxic thinking that created our bad habits in the first place–and will keep on creating them until we solve our unhealthy eating problem at its root.
Of course, it’s very important to have a healthy diet plan and exercise program. But neither of these things can bring us real and lasting weight loss IF our own hidden thoughts are still sabotaging us.
A good way to identify your “hidden” self-sabotaging thinking is to (1) notice when your are having an unhealthy eating event, (2) record the time, the place, the circumstances, what you actually ate, and as many related thoughts as you can, and (3) try to identify what it is in your thinking that both motivates you to eat unhealthily AND then allows you to “justify” your unhealthy eating.
That’s just a first step, but it’s an absolutely essential one. Do it for a few days, and I think you’ll be surprised — and maybe even shocked — at what you discover.
