Most women look at their eating struggles as something they need to fight… that needs to be attacked or fixed with some ‘hack’… And we want to have it go away as quickly as possible. I’m talking about just about any unwanted eating habit: overeating, emotional eating, self-sabotage, mindless eating, or simply not putting in the effort to prepare healthy meals.
And then when you look at the ways we try to fix our eating habits, they revolve around food: stricter rules, counting calories or points, plans that vow we’ll find ‘food freedom’ by eliminating entire food groups (that one still baffles me).
It’s like trying to get rid of your ‘check engine’ light on your dashboard by covering the light with a blanket. Sure, the light might temporarily go away, but it’s not solving the actual problem.
Imagine getting frustrated with your car because the check engine light came on? Getting irritated that your lovely vehicle is notifying you that something is wrong? Sure, it would be nicer if everything just worked well, but no one gets frustrated with their car for indicating that something is wrong.
Consider unwanted eating habits, our ‘check engine’ light. Instead of getting upset that the light is going on, we need to get curious and start to uncover what is actually going on.
Our challenges with food are not about food at all.
Just like the light on your dashboard is not there because there’s a problem with the light.
Your eating challenges are an invitation to dig a bit deeper, to ‘lift up the hood’ and explore what’s underneath.
Are you off purpose? Are you escaping emotions? Do you believe you cannot handle feeling your emotions? Are you feeling disconnected? From key relationships? From your feminine energy? Do you need more joy in life? Do you believe you deserve to feel pleasure? Do you constantly put yourself down? Are you avoiding intimacy? Are you sabotaging your efforts because you’re afraid to truly succeed… because then you’ll need to show up as your real self?
And while we might be able to temporarily ‘fix’ our food challenges by covering them up with a diet plan, the real issue will continue to surface.
Stop seeing your ‘check engine light’ as an inconvenient problem that needs to be solved as quickly as possible. Instead, consider it a beautiful reminder to look within yourself.
-with love,
Tanja x
