I was talking with a very dear patient the other morning, a lady I’ve known and treated for several years. We have worked a lot on weight and blood sugar issues. We discussed diet again of course, and she said how frustrated she was that she knew what she needed to do, but just couldn’t do it.
Reminds me of the Apostle Paul (Romans 7:15-NIV):
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
See? We’re not alone in this. Pretty universal. Heck, if everyone did everything he or she were supposed to, I and every other doctor would probably have been out of business long ago!
What can we do when we’re stuck in a rut? Let’s take for example, when it comes to food and eating stuff that WE KNOW won’t make us any healthier, thinner, or, in the long run, happier with ourselves?
And what I tell you here may sound very counter-intuitive, but it’s life changing…
The next time you come to yourself in the middle of a box of cookies, or a bag of candy, Stop for a second. Then tell yourself that you have every right to eat it, and that it does, somewhere make you feel good. Then, actually eat a little more, and here’s the key…ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN!!! Savor the texture, the flavor. Pay attention to how it feels, tastes, smells. Immerse yourself in the sensation. And RESIST ANY NOTION OF FEELING GUILTY OR JUDGMENTAL ABOUT IT.
Food does many things for us. It provides many needs. It increases our glucose, provides structural building blocks, energy, etc. One of the things it does is it increases our neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine and serotonin. Wanting an increase in these levels often is what actually makes us want certain foods and we get full when we’ve gotten boosts in those levels (or so it seems), but if you’re allowing all of these simultaneous negative, judgmental voices and emotions in while you’re eating, it’s going to take a heck of a lot more of that food to get your chemistry boosted! If you can ditch the negativity, you’re going to find (as so many of our patients do) that your intense craving for them will soften and you’ll get satisfied and full on them so much easier.
Give it a try!! Enjoy that food MORE!!! It can be a magic way out of a pattern that’s been frustrating you
J.Matthew Andry, MD