Stop Overeating with Four Simple Steps

Overeating is something most of us have done at one time in our lives or another. It happens more often than not, especially this time of year with the holidays looming around the corner. How many times have you stuffed yourself full to the brim on Thanksgiving or ate more cookies, cake or pumpkin pie than you needed to? I know I have.

One year I ate a whole pound of black jelly beans on Christmas eve. A whole pound. Needless to say, I was up vomiting all night long from sugar poisoning. My system couldn't handle it.

Unfortunately, holidays are not the only time people overeat. It can happen any time, and for most people it happens in the evenings during the time of transition from dinner to nighttime, when things start to wind down.

It can be easy to ingest more than a third of our daily calories just in the evening, and I'm talking AFTER dinner has already been eaten. Overeating happens very often when people sit in front of the TV and eat mindlessly. It also happens when we feel bored or {insert emotion we don't want to feel} and need to numb out.

Overeating is only a symptom of a deeper issue. When you start to look at WHY you overeat, you will be able to gain insight and understand your motives.

Overeating is merely a symptom of something deeper going on inside of you. It has nothing to do with the food.

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In my coaching practice, I work with all kinds of busy professionals who overeat on a regular. Evenings and weekends tend to be the most difficult times, or at parties or social gatherings. Food seems to be something that brings comfort in uncomfortable situations, or relieves boredom and bad feelings. But this often leads to a too-full-tummy and emotions of regret, guilt, shame...and TONS of judgement.

Wanting to stop overeating is not as simple as making up your mind to do so. As I mentioned earlier, the overeating is merely a symptom of something deeper happening. When I was overeating, it was due to loneliness and hating the way I felt in my body. You would think that would stop me from eating, but as soon as I thought about restricting myself, I'd want to, and often would, eat more. It's a vicious cycle.

Step one to stop overeating

Get Curious About the Why....

Getting curious about why and when you overeat will be one of the biggest steps you can take in this journey. Like I mentioned above, there are many reason why we overeat and it usually has ZERO to do with the food. When you find yourself in a situation where you are overeating, start to ask yourself why you are doing and what you are feeling right in that moment.

Instead of continuing to shovel food into your mouth, PAUSE. There is a part of you that KNOWS what is going on, even though you may not want to admit it. Unfortunately, that part tends to fly under the radar, whereas the part of you going for the food and too much of it, is way louder.

If you start to lean into your behavior with non-judgement and curiosity, you will start to be able to tune into what is really happening that is leading you to overeat.

Step Two to stop overeating

Slow Down and Take a Pause

One of the biggest reasons why people overeat is because they are in a rush. Everyone is SO busy and eating can feel like one more thing we have to do. People want to rush through meals to get it done, or eat at their desks so they can keep working, but this is a surefire formula to overeat.

Every time you are going to eat a meal or a snack, find somewhere quiet to sit down and enjoy your food. Make eating an experience. It's common for people to rush through eating because they feel guilt or shame around what they are eating. I used to hide in the kitchen at night when no one was around, and shove 2-3 cupcakes down my throat as fast as I could. It was almost as if I was trying to trick myself, but that never worked.

Slowing down while you eat will allow your body to slow down and absorb the food better. You will also be able to tune into your body's satiety signals much easier. I know that when I eat at my desk while working, I eat WAY more food than I need to. And half the time, I don't even remember I ate because I plowed through it so fast. It also happens when I watch TV and eat...bag of chips...POOF!

Step Three to stop overeating

Nourish Yourself

When I say nourish yourself, I mean more than with food. Overeating can be a by-product of not taking care of yourself and feeling nourished on a deeper level.

When you are stressed and out and overloaded, food can feel like the quickest way to change your state and bring you some other feeling. Most people don't want to admit they feel stressed or overwhelmed, and food is easily accessible. When you eat, dopamine is released in the body, and it feels good. Especially if you are eating something sugary, gooey or crunchy.

This release can become addictive, and that is why so many people turn to food when they are feeling stressed, depleted, overwhelmed, etc. So, find other ways to nourish yourself on a deeper level in your life. Find things you love, and do those, and make sure to put it in your calendar or it will never happen. This whole self-care thing is NOT a cliché, it's one of the most important things you can do for yourself in this lifetime. Trust me.

Step FOUR to stop overeating:

Build body trust

Most of us live in our heads all day long. Our egos run the show and tell us all the things that are wrong with us, or the things we should do or shouldn't do, especially when it comes to eating.

The diet culture is SO prominent today and it's almost the norm to be on a diet. It's the first thing people turn to when they feel as though they need to lose weight or have been eating "bad." It creates massive disconnection and mistrust of our bodies.

Your body wants to be healthy, balanced and vibrant. It's actually working really hard every day to do that, but sadly we are listening too much to what other people are telling us to eat, or the latest diet fad that is out there that we think will be the answer. Being disconnected from our bodies is one of the biggest reasons why we overeat. We are SO in our heads all the time, we can't feel what is happening in our bodies.

Next time you eat, when you slow down (Step 2) take a deep breath and connect to your body. See how it's feeling and what it wants. Get quiet enough to listen and hear it. It is always talking to you, trust me on that. Your body doesn't want to be stuffed to the gills, it actually hates it. Your body wants to be nourished, cared for and respected. So, connect, tune in and listen. Then take your next step.

Try these steps on for the next 7 days and see how you feel. I would love to hear your comments and insights below!

October 20, 2017

in Blog by Melissa Costello

The Perfect Diet and it’s Downfalls

I think most of us wish we had the Perfect Diet or the perfect way of eating that would keep us thin, fit and healthy. The problem is, there is no perfect diet, and thinking there is will likely result in consistent feelings of failure and disappointment.

Living in black and white thinking and all-or-nothing thinking are two examples of wanting to be perfect with our eating.

If you wake up every day and vow to start over, or eat perfectly, or restrict yourself in some way, then I can guarantee you are going to be disappointed in yourself at the end of the day, or maybe by the time breakfast is over. [Yikes]

Boy oh Boy, do I remember those days. Yep, I admit it, I'm a recovering perfect eater who was in the search of The Perfect Diet. I thought having the perfect diet would be the answer to all the issues I was facing with food and my body. Little did I know that it kept me stuck in a vicious, yo-yo cycle for years.

Anytime I would get off track, or not eat "perfectly," I would consider myself a failure, and throw all my healthy eating efforts right out the window. I'd take a huge (not intentional) pendulum swing to the other side and go off the rails. Can you say cupcakes?? And shame....?

Needing to have the perfect diet is a disaster waiting to happen when it comes to weight loss

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You see, there is no such thing as a perfect diet. There is no such thing as being a perfect eater. Thinking that there is will set you up to feel a whole heckuva lot of frustration, disappointment, restriction and ZERO balance.

It's hard to know why we behave this way with food. Sometimes it's linked to weight loss, sometimes it's link to body image, sometimes it's linked to wanting to be healthy.

Most of the time, it's linked to needing to feel a sense of control in our lives over something.

How I became a perfect eater

You see, growing up in an alcoholic home resulted in me feeling as though I needed to always control my surroundings, my food, my body, my relationships, etc.

I never felt safe. I was always scared. I never knew what was coming around the corner.

So, to cope, I turned to food and did whatever I could to control that. But, the problem was that I was also at war with my body, so trying to control my food and eat perfectly was a HUGE detriment to me.

Being such a perfectionist not only with food, but in general, built a huge wall around me. I had such a warped sense of self due to all the chaos at home, and food became my only safe haven, and place of comfort. Or so I thought...

In my early years, I literally had a top dresser drawer full of candy that I would secretly eat behind the closed doors of my bedroom. (You can read more about that here.) That made me feel good for a while, but it didn't last long because then I turned 12 and realized my body was changing, and that took my issues with food to a whole other level.

Now, I wanted to control my food so that my body would look a certain way. I strived during my teen years, and well into early adulthood looking for The Perfect Diet that would promise me all the results I wanted; a thin, perfect body and optimal health. Because I thought that was where happiness resided.

But happiness didn't reside there. The only thing that resided there was misery and suffering. And I spent over 20 years stuck in the cycle of restricting, dieting, creating food rules, binge eating, emotional eating and starting over every day before I was finally able to heal and let go of my very unrealistic need to eat the perfect diet and have the perfect body.

So, I felt I must share the ways I navigated this tricky terrain, and some of the steps I took to heal and come to a healthy, balanced and free place with my eating and my body.

STEP ONE TO NAVIGATE PERFECT DIET PITFALLS

Make a list of all the rules you have around food. Every single one.

Here are a few examples of ones I had:

I can't eat carbs
I can't eat sugar
I can't eat after 7pm
Cupcakes are BAD
Candy is BAD
I can only eat candy on the weekends
I can NEVER eat candy
I will only eat salads for the next 10 days
I am giving up chips forever

Choose one of those rules, the one that feels the easiest to let go of, and tell yourself you are going to practice letting it go for the next 5 days. Every time you catch yourself wanting to believe whatever you tell yourself about that food, say out loud, "I'm letting that go...." Observe what happens.

Food rules keep us stuck. They are loaded with judgement which is shortly followed by shame. We can never feel successful if we have a ton of food rules that we aren't able to follow.

Often when we let go of the tight reins we have on certain foods they lose their pull, meaning it's very possible we might not want it as much when it's no longer forbidden. You get the idea.

STEP TWO TO NAVIGATE PERFECT DIET PITFALLS

Give Yourself Permission.

Shift the word perfection to permission. I know you might be thinking that if you give yourself permission you will go off the rails, or get out of control, and it may feel that way at first. Once you give yourself permission to eat something WITHOUT JUDGEMENT, you will have a whole different experience, I promise.

It's the judgements that create the most suffering. And the judgements are all tied to the Food Rules I talked about in Step One.

Whenever you judge yourself for what you ate, how much you ate or your actions, it solidifies it into your brain even more. Our brains feed off of negativity, and once we go there, it's hard to get out.

Once you let go of a rule, and allow yourself to have that food with FULL permission and NO judgement, I guarantee that food won't have as much pull or attraction for you when it's no longer forbidden. Try it and see what happens.

Once I let go of my rule around not allowing myself to have cupcakes, I had a cupcake, and guess what? I didn't even want it....it lost all it's "sparkle."

STEP THREE TO NAVIGATE PERFECT DIET PITFALLS

Check in with your Body.

So many of us are completely disconnected from our bodies and what they need. We get ourselves into trouble by listening to our minds, which will often not make the best most optimal choice.

Before you eat, pause. Ask yourself what you are needing. Check in with your body. Connect with a deep breath. Are you even hungry? If so, what would feel good. If you aren't hungry, what are you needing? Wait for the answer, and then make the next best choice from that place.

Sadly we all-too-often listen to our minds which will usually overrule the subtle sensations of the body. Our body, at it's core, wants to be healthy and balanced, but our mind, behaviors and patterning have different ideas for us.

You can break these patterns and behaviors that have been ingrained for a long time, you have to do it in the moment, consistently by making a different choice then the one you've always made.

By connecting to your body each time you go toward food, you will start to shift this pattern and eventually break it.

IN CLOSING

Needing to be perfect in any sense of the word is detrimental to our self-esteem and well-being. Perfectionism keeps us stuck and disconnected from our authentic truth. It also keeps us distant from others; it creates a suit of armor around us.

Let yourself be OK with not being perfect. Remove the judgements, cut yourself some slack and give yourself permission to start living in a way that feels authentic, joyful and connected.

Try out these 3 awesome steps and see what starts to change in your relationship with food, and yourself. Give up the need to have the Perfect Diet and see what your body chooses instead. I think you will be pleasantly surprise. And always know that you are doing your best, no matter what!

Check out my video below to hear my Whoopie Pie Story and how I was stuck in Perfect Eating for years.

October 6, 2017

in Blog by Melissa Costello

How to Tame Sugar Cravings

Sugar cravings. I’m sure you are familiar with them, as most people are. They can run your life and often leave you feeling out of control.

When working with new clients I always ask them what their biggest food vice is or the biggest challenge they face when it come to their eating, and the answer is always; Sugar, or foods that turn to sugar, like refined, processed carbs.

It’s next to impossible to avoid it. It’s in almost every processed food in some form or another. It’s in yogurt, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, toothpaste, mouthwash and even mustard!

Manufacturers are even using fancy names like, evaporated Cane juice, fructose, maltose or raw cane sugar to try and trick us, when the truth is, it’s still sugar and it still has the same effect on the body.

One thing is true, our body needs sugar to survive. Our muscles need it after a workout to restore glycogen supplies and our brain needs it to function. We do need it, but not in the amounts, or from the sources that an average American is ingesting it from today.

That’s insane! And not only is it insane, but eating that much sugar is causing a whole slew of health problems for kids and adults.

The Pitfalls of Sugar

Sugar inhibits the effect of leptin, which is a hormone that lets your body know when it’s full. So your body never feels full and you keep right on eating!

Adult onset diabetes rates are at their highest ever, and so is obesity. Sugar is the biggest culprit of these two diseases. Some agencies are claiming that sugar is as addictive as cocaine and heroine, in that it releases the same “feel-good” chemicals in your brain that heroine AND cocaine do, short-term of course, leaving you wanting more.

There has even been recent talk of taxing it, like we do cigarettes and other addictive like substances. Anything that creates a craving for more, even from just having a small amount, is considered an addictive substance.

Think about this: if you drink one cup of coffee every day and put 2 teaspoons of sugar into that coffee, and multiply that by 7 days, that’s 14 teaspoons of sugar a week, just in your daily coffee. If you multiply that by year, it’s 728 teaspoons or 15.16 CUPS per year! And that does not account for all the other foods you eat daily that are loaded with sugar and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup.)

Did you know that eating sugar can suppress the immune system for up to 6 hours? Why do you think so many people get sick right after the holiday season? Their immunity is so worn down from eating so much sugary, fatty food that they are completely vulnerable to any bug that is out there.

Here is what my dear friend, Christa Orecchio from the Whole Journey writes about sugar: “Today, over a third of the calories we consume come from sugar or white flour, which is highly refined and acts just like sugar in our system. When these foods are consumed, your blood sugar spikes creating alarms to sound in your bloodstream and forces the release of insulin into the blood to turn the blood sugar into energy. Once turned into energy, your blood sugar should start to return back into the acceptable range. When a soda or a piece of candy is consumed, our bodies struggle physiologically to cope with the enormous potency of sugar. The human body doesn’t have a compensatory mechanism or the ability to adapt to the massive quantities of sugar we consume today.”

You Can Overcome Sugar Cravings

Well, there is hope; there is a way to tame your Sugar Monster and overcome sugar cravings. There are ways you can still keep sweetness in your life while cutting out the “bad” stuff. You don’t have to fully deprive your taste buds, which do need to be sweetly satisfied from time to time, but you can do it in a healthful way.

Many of us also tend to turn to sugary food for comfort, which seems to be another big mountain to climb in the world of healthy eating. Comfort eating otherwise known as emotional eating (Click here to see my blog on Overcoming Emotional Eating ), is something many of us engage in when we are stressed, anxious, feel alone, or experience anger or sadness.

We use food as something to “get us through,” or comfort us, when in all actuality it could be negatively feeding our feelings, and causing major mood disorders. During my Vital Life 30-day cleanse, which are 95% sugar free, except for certain types of fruit and small amounts of low-glycemic sweeteners, mostly all of my participants claim feeling more even-keeled, more patient, level-headed and full of natural energy.

This is due to balanced blood sugar levels, which is next to impossible when you keep feeding your sugar monster and the sugar cravings day in and day out. Keeping blood sugar levels stable will help you to have sustained energy and focus throughout the day, as well as help your metabolism to fire properly.

Below are some simple steps you can follow to begin to tame your sugar monster and alleviate sugar cravings. Remember, that Rome was not built in a day, and breaking habits can take any where from 21-32 days of consistent action. If you really want to break your sugar addiction, these steps can help you on the road to “recovery.”

Remember, coming off any “substance” can cause detox like effects, so be sure to drink a lot of water and take care of yourself by listening to your bodies needs.

Step One to Tame Sugar Cravings

Eat foods that are high in complex carbohydrates and fiber throughout the day (when you are hungry) like beans, gluten free grains, yams, apples, and pears. This will ensure that glucose is slowly released in your blood stream giving you stable blood sugar levels all day long.

Step Two to Tame Sugar Cravings

Eat breakfast within an hour of waking up and have some protein with complex carbohydrates, this will help to slow the release of glucose in your system.

Step Three to Tame Sugar Cravings

Drink 2 teaspoons of Bragg apple cider vinegar in 6-8 oz of water before bed each night, or sip throughout the day, this will help to curb sugar cravings by regulating your blood glucose levels. It’s especially beneficial for those with Type 2 Diabetes.

Step Four to Tame Sugar Cravings

Take a high quality B-Complex and 1,000 mg of Chromium Picolinate per day to help with your daily cravings. A significant number of studies have shown that chromium can normalize blood sugar levels, improve blood sugar utilization and decrease insulin requirements in patients with glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.

Step Five to Tame Sugar Cravings

Manage daily stressors. Stress can be one of the reasons we seek out sugary foods for comfort. Stress is also hard on our adrenals, and makes them work overtime, which will affect blood sugar levels. If you are someone who needs caffeine to get your started in the morning, or as a pick me up in the afternoon, chances are your blood sugar levels are out of whack.

Step Six to Tame Sugar Cravings

Use lower glycemic sweeteners such as Stevia, Coconut/Palm Sugar, Mesquite Powder, Lucuma Powder and Xylitol (these can all be found at your local health food store.) Remember these are still a form of sugar, it doesn’t give you free reign to eat as much as you want. Use a drizzle here and there, or replace these sweeteners for real sugar when baking.

Step Seven to Tame Sugar Cravings

Address underlying emotional issues that cause you to eat sugary foods. Work with a coach, or therapist to help you get to the root of your comfort eating and sugar cravings. When you feel a craving, sit with it instead of feeding it. See if you can determine if the craving is real or if you are seeking solace outside of yourself. You can journal about it and see if anything further comes forward. You might feel super uncomfortable, but sit with it until it passes. Awareness is the first step to breaking any habit.

Not only is sugar the culprit of many prevalent diseases today, but it is also responsible for premature aging, arthritis, brittle bones and more. It is highly acidic, which creates an unhealthy and toxic internal environment in your body.

Over time, the more you eat clean, healthy, alkaline rich foods, the less and less your body will crave the sweet stuff. You will be crowding out those bad foods to make room for the good ones, and your body will let you know! I am rooting for you, and a sugar-free life!

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