The cookie is not the problem. It’s your thoughts about the cookie that’s the real problem.
A quick search in MyFitnessPal and you’ll see that most cookies range from 200-300 calories each.
Even a chocolate chunk cookie from Starbucks is only 370 calories.
Certainly not going to make or break your progress.
And, let’s be honest … logically, you know that.
It’s never about one cookie though, is it?
Your immediate thought is probably surrounding your lack of control around the cookie.
One cookie turns into two. Which turns into 3. Which turns into guilt, shame, and punishment.
The cookie is an example. It might be ice cream, chocolate, chips, candy, or whatever.
It’s never about the thing.
It’s your thoughts about the thing.
It’s your feelings of no control.
So, let’s unpack that.
The cookie is your forbidden fruit.
At some point, you developed a belief that the cookie is “bad” or “off limits.”
Hell, you may even be on a program right now that tells you to eliminate sugar.
At one point or another, you began to view the cookie in terms of moral value.
It’s just a fuckin cookie.
It has no control.
But, you gave it control when you associated meaning around it.
You decided that if you eat the forbidden fruit … it makes you a bad person.
It’s an act that’s punishable by deprivation and restriction.
You labeled yourself.
You vowed to do better.
You felt inadequate … like if I only had more discipline or willpower then I wouldn’t have put that damn cookie in my mouth.
And the more you tried to avoid it … the louder the cookie got.
Like it was taunting you.
You kept ignoring it. But that cookie was persistent AF.
Each time you gave in to the cookie, you reinforced your beliefs about the cookie through your feelings of guilt and shame.
And, your solution was likely to keep the cookie out of your house and out of your life altogether.
Which is a Band-Aid fix.
Because you never addressed your thoughts and perceptions about the cookie.
There’s something else that may have been causing your overindulging.
It may have been a result of chronically under eating.
Your body may have just wanted some freakin energy.
Because here’s an important reminder … And you may want to be sitting down for this one …
1200 calories isn’t enough food. Period.
So, even if the cookie is out of the house, you still are carrying your good vs. bad food labels around and may just be craving some energy.
Which your body will get one way or another.
Next time, it won’t be the cookie. But it’ll be something. And the cycle will repeat forever until you address the root cause.
So the two main culprits … restriction/deprivation and your thoughts/perceptions about the cookie …
Are both simple to fix.
Simple. Not easy.
Do this to prevent overindulging
First, you have to make sure you’re eating enough to support your body, stress, and lifestyle.
It’s amazing how many times our clients have completely eliminated their lack of control moments around food by simply fueling adequately.
We call it Metabolic Priming.
Essentially, we’re balancing stress and restoring homeostasis so your body isn’t constantly seeking out the next quick energy hit.
What happens as a result is that your body no longer tries to preserve energy and it becomes much easier to lose body fat.
Second, you have to give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Any thing, at any time, in any amount.
This takes all of the power away from the cookie.
Once the cookie is always available to you whenever you want it, and it no longer carries that meaning of “off limits,” you’ll be able to operate with moderation.
We’ve had clients who realized through this process that their “trigger” food was something they didn’t even enjoy!
The mind is a powerful thing.
The minute you adjust your perception of the cookie, you’ll notice a world of difference.
Now, like I said, it’s simple, not easy.
Because we often carry those thoughts with us for years and they become pretty ingrained.
I even had to check myself yesterday before eating some delicious dark chocolate covered pretzels.
If I had resisted, I would have binged on them later.
But, I listened and ate a small amount which was exactly what I wanted.
The road to food freedom is a process.
Anyway, the point is that it’s a process.
One with ups and downs and plenty of setbacks and failures and opportunities to learn and grow.
This is why I don’t recommend going at it alone.
When we work with our clients in our 1:1 coaching program, we’re able to ensure that they’re eating enough to support their metabolism and reach their goals in the most sustainable way possible.
And, we ensure that they’re working through their thoughts and beliefs around food.
We also align their plan to their unique personality to help with consistency, lowering stress, improving mood, and producing better results.
Lastly, we build everything around their lifestyle so they get to have fun and enjoy the life experiences that are important to them throughout the process.
That’s the best way to make it last.
As a result, they feel total food freedom while achieving their physical goals after feeling like nothing would ever work for them.
If you’re interested in doing the same for yourself, just shoot me a private message on FB
