Something that I hear a lot when working with women who struggle with their weight is “I am fat”. And I totally get it. When I was in the height of my food and body struggles, I had a really bad habit of labeling myself as “fat”. But you are not fat. You HAVE fat. There is a big difference between the two. Your fat does not define you.
Those of you who have been with me for a while know that I strongly believe that what you think and speak creates your world. You may be unaware of this if you are in the habit of victimizing yourself, but we actually speak things into existence. What you put out comes back at you.
It is amazing just how much suffering we can eliminate by owning our minds. If you want to make peace with your eating challenges, you have to create a new inner world when it comes to how you relate to food and your body. It wasn’t until I consciously began to explore my thoughts, beliefs, and mindsets around food, that I was able to begin doing the inner work that is necessary to create lasting change.
We get to choose what we think about ourselves. If you want to transform your relationship with food and your body, you have to start to redefine your “I am” statements. The words “I am” have such a strong creative power, so it is especially important to watch how you are labeling yourself.
When you are ready to grow, you have to identify and challenge your self-destructive beliefs. Watch how you talk to yourself about your weight. If you truly desire to stop binge eating, emotional eating, or overeating, you have to create an internal world that supports where you want to go. You can not create the change and transformation you desire from a place of negativity and self-attack.
Now remember, this is a practice. These negative thought streams, these conditioned, patterned responses were built up over years. It is really important to meet yourself where you are at and work from there.
Take a moment and write out all of all of the limiting, negative “I am” statements that you use. Take a complete inventory of these. Really write them all out. This is about waking up to what is going on in your mind. Awareness cures. When you become aware of something, the process of healing can actually begin to happen.
Next, I want you to invent some loving and kind affirmations for yourself. Statements that evoke a feeling that you wish to create. Choose to think and say these affirmations as true.
As you continue to repeat positive “I am” statements with conviction and passion, you will begin to chip away at even the strongest of resistance. Now notice how these statements make you feel. When they feel negative, almost like a big fat lie, this indicates resistance and these may take longer to impact. How quickly you can shift an issue depends on how deeply the belief is held, as well as how determined you are to bring about change. It is a process of retraining your brain to work for you, instead of against you.