COACH CORNER » C&T Coach Corner Food
Food
Feeling my hunger
Read Answer
Hi there! I was listening to the private podcast; Q&A 20...it talks about not eating and learning to feel the hunger. Well, my question is, when I do feel hungry, I have a hard time on WHAT to eat...
Back story: I've done it all.... but my most vivid "diet" that comes up in my brain is one I have heard from an ex-coworker. She told me only to eat one sandwich (any kind) a day. Then the rest of the day, drink red bulls.....!!!! I did, and I was very active and at my thinnest and drinking cases of Red Bull a day. I've also done the whole fasting thing... and shakes, WW, Adkins, etc...
But now yearrrrrrs later and working with Stephanie, I'm trying to feel my hunger, and my mind goes directly to caffeine!! carbs!! sugar!! And I don't have an appetite.
Also have been recently in the process of figuring out my stomach pain, I have an appointment with the gas Dr. and I'm pretty sure I have an ulcer.
So there's that issue too. HELPPP
ANSWER
Hello!
That's a great question.
Based on your question, I will assume you haven't done yet the PEACEFUL COURSE, which teaches you exactly how to find your hunger and practice food habituation. So I will coach you from being in CONFIDENT knowingly you will go deeper as you unlock PEACEFUL.
First and foremost, you need to work on your mindset around hunger. You have a lot of thoughts about your hunger, and none of them are facts. Use the self-coaching model inside CONFIDENT to work thru these:
C: MY HUNGER
TD:
I'm trying to feel my hunger
My mind directs me to caffeine, carb, and sugar
Caffeine is bad
Carbs are bad
Sugar is bad
I shouldn't desire carbs, caffeine or sugar
I don't have an appetite.
All of these are thoughts, not facts. These thoughts are what creates your feeling of despair when it comes to your hunger.
You'll need to create a new thought of your hunger to help you create new results.
Now, when we first start the process of learning to let go of dieting, food rule, and good and bad food, it's normal to feel lost when it comes to food choices.
We have three eating cues: hunger, fullness, and satisfaction. Knowing WHAT to eat relies on the satisfaction cue.
As we begin our journey, the first step is to take time to feel our cues, even if the signals are really faith at first. When the thought comes to your mind to eat or that you feel a faith signal of hunger... Take a breath. Perhaps even place both of your hands on your stomach and apply slight pressure so you can feel your hands on your stomach. And the, ask yourself these two questions (in your mind or out loud) 1) What would make me feel satisfied right now? 2) What do I want to eat?
Again, at the start of the recovery process from dieting, your brain will want everything that you have restricted at first. That's 100% normal. Your brain is testing you... it wants to know that you will really not restrict again any food. So your mind goes to what was restricted and testing the water... Will you really allow yourself to eat anything? Allowing all food is key.
Once you made your choice of WHAT to eat, being present with the eating experience is key. Be present with the eating and food. Eat Mindfully. Pay attention to how the food feels after eating. Does it serve you?
Let us know how it goes. Good work for showing up and asking for help!
Back story: I've done it all.... but my most vivid "diet" that comes up in my brain is one I have heard from an ex-coworker. She told me only to eat one sandwich (any kind) a day. Then the rest of the day, drink red bulls.....!!!! I did, and I was very active and at my thinnest and drinking cases of Red Bull a day. I've also done the whole fasting thing... and shakes, WW, Adkins, etc...
But now yearrrrrrs later and working with Stephanie, I'm trying to feel my hunger, and my mind goes directly to caffeine!! carbs!! sugar!! And I don't have an appetite.
Also have been recently in the process of figuring out my stomach pain, I have an appointment with the gas Dr. and I'm pretty sure I have an ulcer.
So there's that issue too. HELPPP
ANSWER
Hello!
That's a great question.
Based on your question, I will assume you haven't done yet the PEACEFUL COURSE, which teaches you exactly how to find your hunger and practice food habituation. So I will coach you from being in CONFIDENT knowingly you will go deeper as you unlock PEACEFUL.
First and foremost, you need to work on your mindset around hunger. You have a lot of thoughts about your hunger, and none of them are facts. Use the self-coaching model inside CONFIDENT to work thru these:
C: MY HUNGER
TD:
I'm trying to feel my hunger
My mind directs me to caffeine, carb, and sugar
Caffeine is bad
Carbs are bad
Sugar is bad
I shouldn't desire carbs, caffeine or sugar
I don't have an appetite.
All of these are thoughts, not facts. These thoughts are what creates your feeling of despair when it comes to your hunger.
You'll need to create a new thought of your hunger to help you create new results.
Now, when we first start the process of learning to let go of dieting, food rule, and good and bad food, it's normal to feel lost when it comes to food choices.
We have three eating cues: hunger, fullness, and satisfaction. Knowing WHAT to eat relies on the satisfaction cue.
As we begin our journey, the first step is to take time to feel our cues, even if the signals are really faith at first. When the thought comes to your mind to eat or that you feel a faith signal of hunger... Take a breath. Perhaps even place both of your hands on your stomach and apply slight pressure so you can feel your hands on your stomach. And the, ask yourself these two questions (in your mind or out loud) 1) What would make me feel satisfied right now? 2) What do I want to eat?
Again, at the start of the recovery process from dieting, your brain will want everything that you have restricted at first. That's 100% normal. Your brain is testing you... it wants to know that you will really not restrict again any food. So your mind goes to what was restricted and testing the water... Will you really allow yourself to eat anything? Allowing all food is key.
Once you made your choice of WHAT to eat, being present with the eating experience is key. Be present with the eating and food. Eat Mindfully. Pay attention to how the food feels after eating. Does it serve you?
Let us know how it goes. Good work for showing up and asking for help!
Fast Eating
Read Answer
My mother would always tell me I 'inhaled' my food when I was younger. This practice, regardless of how 'healthy' I eat, and no matter what diet I am on, has never shifted in me. I am looking for insight around why I might eat so fast. I am working on not judging myself for it but exploring it with curiosity. Even when I concentrate on eating slowly, I might succeed for a couple of bites but eventually just start to shovel it in mindlessly until my plate is clean.
I would love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions on resources/assistance!
ANSWER
So it would appear that you have a deep belief about yourself that you are a "fast eater" or " a person that inhales her food."
The way to understanding why you have such action is with the self-coaching model. All of our behaviors are created by the way we feel and, therefore, the way we think. So you need to find the thought(s) that create this action.
If you go back to Lesson 2 of CONFIDENT and in the worksheet "Your Confidence Storylines," we teach you how your brain functions. On p.1 we show you the complete self-coaching model:
C: eating
TD:
I'm a fast eater
I inhale my food
???
???
??
??
T: I'm a fast eater
F: _____ (Anxious? Shame? Anger?)
A: I'm not present with the eating experience, I distract myself, so I don't feel the X emotion (Shame?), I'm not present with my food, I numb myself by eating too much.
R: I move through the eating experience quickly.
One point to sit with and reflect is that, like every other human, you were born an intuitive eater and mindful eater. Along the way, someone (seems to be your mom's) told you words (thoughts) about your eating, and you took this person's words as a fact . At a young age, it's normal that we believe other people's words and take them as facts. Today, as a grown up, you no longer need to take these words as a fact... you can change this belief (perspective) what is represented in "Your Confidence Storylines" worksheet as perspective.
So it would appear that you've been holding this belief that produces thought(s) that make you feel X and the response to this feeling is A; mindless eating. R: I eat fast.
I hope this makes sense. If not, ask another question!
Once you work through your unintentional model to fully understand what is happening, you can create a new way of thinking, following Lesson 6 of Confident.
Hope this helps you!
I would love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions on resources/assistance!
ANSWER
So it would appear that you have a deep belief about yourself that you are a "fast eater" or " a person that inhales her food."
The way to understanding why you have such action is with the self-coaching model. All of our behaviors are created by the way we feel and, therefore, the way we think. So you need to find the thought(s) that create this action.
If you go back to Lesson 2 of CONFIDENT and in the worksheet "Your Confidence Storylines," we teach you how your brain functions. On p.1 we show you the complete self-coaching model:
C: eating
TD:
I'm a fast eater
I inhale my food
???
???
??
??
T: I'm a fast eater
F: _____ (Anxious? Shame? Anger?)
A: I'm not present with the eating experience, I distract myself, so I don't feel the X emotion (Shame?), I'm not present with my food, I numb myself by eating too much.
R: I move through the eating experience quickly.
One point to sit with and reflect is that, like every other human, you were born an intuitive eater and mindful eater. Along the way, someone (seems to be your mom's) told you words (thoughts) about your eating, and you took this person's words as a fact . At a young age, it's normal that we believe other people's words and take them as facts. Today, as a grown up, you no longer need to take these words as a fact... you can change this belief (perspective) what is represented in "Your Confidence Storylines" worksheet as perspective.
So it would appear that you've been holding this belief that produces thought(s) that make you feel X and the response to this feeling is A; mindless eating. R: I eat fast.
I hope this makes sense. If not, ask another question!
Once you work through your unintentional model to fully understand what is happening, you can create a new way of thinking, following Lesson 6 of Confident.
Hope this helps you!
I can’t find episode 099 on the podcast feed.
Read Answer
Lindsay posted about what a huge impact this episode made on her but there is a gap in the episodes available on my iPhone in that zone. Episode 099 is one of the missing episodes. Can you share that episode in our community? Thanks
ANSWER
I'm glad to help!
Podcast apps have limitations to the number of episodes they hold back. So we had to remove 0-100 from most apps, however all episodes are archived on the website.
Here the link to the episode: https://www.stephaniedodier.com/episodes/099-stop-binging-overeating-5-steps
Hope this helps!
Understanding Intuitive Eating-response 2
Read Answer
What you said was GOLD. Thank you so much.
My answers are as follows.
T- I should be following a diet to see results
E- Incredible sadness
A- I beat myself up and find the next diet to follow. I plan it out. I factor in the exercise. I give everything I can to try RALLY myself.
R- I follow the diet until I don't, and the result is another failure.
T- I can't control myself
E- scared
A- Create a strict plan to follow, so nothing is left to me.
R- I follow the plan for a while until I prove myself right and go out of control.
T- I will put on so much weight
E- Disgusted
A- Eat in secret and lie to myself.
R- I put on even more weight.
T- I can't just eat what I want.
E- Panic
A- Restrictive eating. Don't go out so I won't be tempted.
R- I restrict myself on every level until I lose all control.
I see my struggle is because I don't trust myself or the process of Intuitive Eating.
I don't trust it because there is no plan, I can't see or gauge my results, and I am scared I don't know what I'm doing so I will fail again.
ANSWER
Great work! So I’m going to provide you with coaching on your response and guide you to the next step.
1- Step 1 of changing anything in your life is to understand why is it you want to change and why. This is what step 1 of self-coaching does for you. So is it clear to you what the problem is?
Is it your body? Is it you actions? Or is it your thinking?
First model coaching:
Incredible sadness isn’t an emotion. Refer to worksheet Processing All the Feelings. Get familiar with the different emotions and identify the one that represents what you feel within you. This is really important. Could it be despair?
This coaching will apply to all of your models. What else to you do beyond the spectrum of food and diet as a result of how you feel? When we feel profound emotions such as despair, the consequence will go way beyond food and diet. That’s a guarantee. How does it affect your relationship(s)? Your work? Your self-care? Your family?
Explore your A line way deeper… this will help you commit to changing your thinking. You will see patterns of coping behaviours beyond the food as well. For example, every time you feel despair, even at work, you likely do the same actions… yet the problem isn’t food. Can you see the power of doing this?
Finally, it appears that you found the real issue… you don’t trust yourself. Intuitive eating isn’t the problem as we expected. It’s normal that you don’t trust yourself now because that’s exactly what dieting required… it required you to disconnect from trust and respect towards yourself. So your mission is to rebuild a relationship of trust and respect with yourself. The way to do this is intuitive eating. Slowly gradually, you will practice trusting yourself at first with your eating cues.
Now, let’s work on an intentional way to think of self-trust using Lesson 6 of Confident.- Change your thoughts, Change your life!
My answers are as follows.
T- I should be following a diet to see results
E- Incredible sadness
A- I beat myself up and find the next diet to follow. I plan it out. I factor in the exercise. I give everything I can to try RALLY myself.
R- I follow the diet until I don't, and the result is another failure.
T- I can't control myself
E- scared
A- Create a strict plan to follow, so nothing is left to me.
R- I follow the plan for a while until I prove myself right and go out of control.
T- I will put on so much weight
E- Disgusted
A- Eat in secret and lie to myself.
R- I put on even more weight.
T- I can't just eat what I want.
E- Panic
A- Restrictive eating. Don't go out so I won't be tempted.
R- I restrict myself on every level until I lose all control.
I see my struggle is because I don't trust myself or the process of Intuitive Eating.
I don't trust it because there is no plan, I can't see or gauge my results, and I am scared I don't know what I'm doing so I will fail again.
ANSWER
Great work! So I’m going to provide you with coaching on your response and guide you to the next step.
1- Step 1 of changing anything in your life is to understand why is it you want to change and why. This is what step 1 of self-coaching does for you. So is it clear to you what the problem is?
Is it your body? Is it you actions? Or is it your thinking?
First model coaching:
Incredible sadness isn’t an emotion. Refer to worksheet Processing All the Feelings. Get familiar with the different emotions and identify the one that represents what you feel within you. This is really important. Could it be despair?
This coaching will apply to all of your models. What else to you do beyond the spectrum of food and diet as a result of how you feel? When we feel profound emotions such as despair, the consequence will go way beyond food and diet. That’s a guarantee. How does it affect your relationship(s)? Your work? Your self-care? Your family?
Explore your A line way deeper… this will help you commit to changing your thinking. You will see patterns of coping behaviours beyond the food as well. For example, every time you feel despair, even at work, you likely do the same actions… yet the problem isn’t food. Can you see the power of doing this?
Finally, it appears that you found the real issue… you don’t trust yourself. Intuitive eating isn’t the problem as we expected. It’s normal that you don’t trust yourself now because that’s exactly what dieting required… it required you to disconnect from trust and respect towards yourself. So your mission is to rebuild a relationship of trust and respect with yourself. The way to do this is intuitive eating. Slowly gradually, you will practice trusting yourself at first with your eating cues.
Now, let’s work on an intentional way to think of self-trust using Lesson 6 of Confident.- Change your thoughts, Change your life!
Understanding Intuitive Eating – response
Read Answer
Understanding Intuitive Eating - response
My response -
C-Eating
TD-I cant just eat what i want, i cant control myself and i will put on so much weight.
T- i should be following a diet so i can see results
E-Overwhelmed , stuck , sad
A-Go back to restricted eating
R-Feel like a failure again
ANSWER
Great work, sister!
So if I'm clear, you want to understand better why you are responding in such a way to intuitive eating? If that's not right, report your question, and I will change my answer. But right now, this is what I'm going to coach you on.
So you listed C: Eating, but from the look of it, it's about intuitive eating.
C: Intuitive Eating
TD-I can't just eat what I want
I can't control myself
I will put on so much weight.
I should be following a diet so i can see results
Up to here, all is good. Now you need to individualize each thought so you can see what A-R each one creates.
Each individual thought creates 1 emotion. So what you listed was many emotions in the E line. You need to ask yourself: When I think, "I should be following a diet so I can see results," what do I feel in my body. If it's hard to figure out, first know it's normal. You need the practice to be able to feel the sensation each thought creates in your body. Dieting numbed your ability to feel… so you need to rekindle this skill.
So close your eyes and repeat the thought, "I should be following a diet so I can see results", and scan your body. What do you feel? What emotion is that? Is it overwhelmed? Stuck? Sad?
Then when you put your finger on this emotion, ask yourself: "When I feel X, what do I do"? Fully explore your range of action? In the moment? Later in the day? The next day? How does this emotion impact, yes, your relationship ship to food, but what beyond that? When you feel stuck, you may have thought of going back to dieting, but you may also procrastinate in your work. You may ruminate on your relationship… what else happens?
Then when you feel this way X and take the Actions… what is the result? Remember that your thought creates your result. So your results should prove your thought right. So, for example, if you think, "I should be following a diet so I can see results," you are likely to create ONE of these results: a desire to go back on a diet/ go back on a diet / explore the newest diet(s) / not practice intuitive eating ….
T- I should be following a diet so I can see results.
E: XXXX
A's:
R:
T-I can't control myself.
E:
A's:
R:
T- I will put on so much weight.
E:
A's:
R:
T-I can't just eat what I want
E:
A's:
R:
Once you explore all of these thoughts, sit back and reflect. Can you see how your thoughts about intuitive eating create your struggle with intuitive eating?
What do you want to believe about intuitive eating? If you want to create the result: "I'm becoming an intuitive eater," what do you need to think to create this result? That's what we call intentional thinking… we think intentionally to what we want to create.
So I suggest you do the self-coaching as above and resubmit for coaching. Then I can coach you to make sure you are fully conversant with self-coaching and then you can create your intentional thinking.
My response -
C-Eating
TD-I cant just eat what i want, i cant control myself and i will put on so much weight.
T- i should be following a diet so i can see results
E-Overwhelmed , stuck , sad
A-Go back to restricted eating
R-Feel like a failure again
ANSWER
Great work, sister!
So if I'm clear, you want to understand better why you are responding in such a way to intuitive eating? If that's not right, report your question, and I will change my answer. But right now, this is what I'm going to coach you on.
So you listed C: Eating, but from the look of it, it's about intuitive eating.
C: Intuitive Eating
TD-I can't just eat what I want
I can't control myself
I will put on so much weight.
I should be following a diet so i can see results
Up to here, all is good. Now you need to individualize each thought so you can see what A-R each one creates.
Each individual thought creates 1 emotion. So what you listed was many emotions in the E line. You need to ask yourself: When I think, "I should be following a diet so I can see results," what do I feel in my body. If it's hard to figure out, first know it's normal. You need the practice to be able to feel the sensation each thought creates in your body. Dieting numbed your ability to feel… so you need to rekindle this skill.
So close your eyes and repeat the thought, "I should be following a diet so I can see results", and scan your body. What do you feel? What emotion is that? Is it overwhelmed? Stuck? Sad?
Then when you put your finger on this emotion, ask yourself: "When I feel X, what do I do"? Fully explore your range of action? In the moment? Later in the day? The next day? How does this emotion impact, yes, your relationship ship to food, but what beyond that? When you feel stuck, you may have thought of going back to dieting, but you may also procrastinate in your work. You may ruminate on your relationship… what else happens?
Then when you feel this way X and take the Actions… what is the result? Remember that your thought creates your result. So your results should prove your thought right. So, for example, if you think, "I should be following a diet so I can see results," you are likely to create ONE of these results: a desire to go back on a diet/ go back on a diet / explore the newest diet(s) / not practice intuitive eating ….
T- I should be following a diet so I can see results.
E: XXXX
A's:
R:
T-I can't control myself.
E:
A's:
R:
T- I will put on so much weight.
E:
A's:
R:
T-I can't just eat what I want
E:
A's:
R:
Once you explore all of these thoughts, sit back and reflect. Can you see how your thoughts about intuitive eating create your struggle with intuitive eating?
What do you want to believe about intuitive eating? If you want to create the result: "I'm becoming an intuitive eater," what do you need to think to create this result? That's what we call intentional thinking… we think intentionally to what we want to create.
So I suggest you do the self-coaching as above and resubmit for coaching. Then I can coach you to make sure you are fully conversant with self-coaching and then you can create your intentional thinking.
Understanding Intuitive Eating
Read Answer
Hi! I understand that thinness does not equal heath. However, if I can eat what I like, when and how much won't, I just end up getting fatter. I am only just beginning this course so I am struggling with shifting my mindset. If I try to explain this way of thinking to people it just sounds like I am giving up and it's an excuse to eat anything. Does that make sense?
ANSWER
Your question makes total sense. It makes sense because that's what society wants you to think, be and act.
These thoughts are what have been keeping you dieting for years. So yes, you have to shift the way you think.
The way to change your mindset is to use the self-coaching framework. This is why we teach you the self-coaching framework right away in Conquer & Thrive. Your thoughts are what create the way you feel and produce the action you take with food, health and everything else in life.
There are 3 stages in self-coaching: 1- Awareness of what is going on 2- Choice- empowering yourself to decide to change what is 3- Creating your new intentional thoughts.
So I would suggest you create a few self-coaching models to create awareness (step 1).
C: Eating
TD:
If I eat what I want to will get fatter
If I eat how much I want, I will get fatter, and I'm sure there are more thoughts, aka how you trust yourself. How you trust your body to eat, etc...
When you individualize each thought, you will see how it impact your life:
C: Eating
T: If I eat what I want, I will get fatter.
F: How do you feel when you think this thought? Anxious, scared, depressed???
A: When you feel this F (above), what action do you take? So, for exao0mple, when you feel anxious, what behavior do you have? Do you desire to numb? Do you procrastinate? Do you avoid? Do you disconnect?
R: when you take the actions above, what results do you create? So for example, when you feel anxious and try to avoid feeling your feelings and numb the discomfort with Netflix, do you end up eating emotionally and overeat?
The other portion of your question is a different circumstance that you are having thoughts about...
C: discussion with others
TD:
I need to validate my decision
Others will think I make an excuse.
Others will think I have given up on myself.
If you follow the self-coaching we teach you, you need to individualize each thought and discover F-A(s)-R.
Does thinking this way is producing you the results you want in your life? If not, then you can create a new way of thinking with the intentional self-coaching model.
I would suggest you create the stage 1 Unintentional models for both Circumstance and submit them here. We can coach you.
Then you create a new way of thinking about each, aka shift your mindset.
ANSWER
Your question makes total sense. It makes sense because that's what society wants you to think, be and act.
These thoughts are what have been keeping you dieting for years. So yes, you have to shift the way you think.
The way to change your mindset is to use the self-coaching framework. This is why we teach you the self-coaching framework right away in Conquer & Thrive. Your thoughts are what create the way you feel and produce the action you take with food, health and everything else in life.
There are 3 stages in self-coaching: 1- Awareness of what is going on 2- Choice- empowering yourself to decide to change what is 3- Creating your new intentional thoughts.
So I would suggest you create a few self-coaching models to create awareness (step 1).
C: Eating
TD:
If I eat what I want to will get fatter
If I eat how much I want, I will get fatter, and I'm sure there are more thoughts, aka how you trust yourself. How you trust your body to eat, etc...
When you individualize each thought, you will see how it impact your life:
C: Eating
T: If I eat what I want, I will get fatter.
F: How do you feel when you think this thought? Anxious, scared, depressed???
A: When you feel this F (above), what action do you take? So, for exao0mple, when you feel anxious, what behavior do you have? Do you desire to numb? Do you procrastinate? Do you avoid? Do you disconnect?
R: when you take the actions above, what results do you create? So for example, when you feel anxious and try to avoid feeling your feelings and numb the discomfort with Netflix, do you end up eating emotionally and overeat?
The other portion of your question is a different circumstance that you are having thoughts about...
C: discussion with others
TD:
I need to validate my decision
Others will think I make an excuse.
Others will think I have given up on myself.
If you follow the self-coaching we teach you, you need to individualize each thought and discover F-A(s)-R.
Does thinking this way is producing you the results you want in your life? If not, then you can create a new way of thinking with the intentional self-coaching model.
I would suggest you create the stage 1 Unintentional models for both Circumstance and submit them here. We can coach you.
Then you create a new way of thinking about each, aka shift your mindset.
I need help in figuring out how alcohol fits in to my commitment to going beyond the food.
Read Answer
I have never abused alcohol but particularly during the pandemic, I am drinking more regularly. Unlike my history with sugary foods, I don’t drink beyond a point where I feel like I have had enough. However, drinking often leads to my eating sugary food in quantities that take me beyond fullness or satisfaction.
ANSWER
As humans, everything we do, we do for a reason. We have a significantly evolved brain that leads us to make the best choices given the circumstance we are experiencing. That's a fact.
So from this place, let's look at the action of drinking alcohol. You state that the circumstance of the pandemic led you to have the action of drinking alcohol. What are your thoughts about the pandemic? Your thoughts about the pandemic create a feeling that produces the action of drinking alcohol.
I'd suggest you use the self-coaching model to first investigate the thoughts you have about the pandemic and the actions/results it create in your life. Then you can decide if you want to continue to think this way, given the results it created for you. If you choose to change your thoughts about the pandemic, you can then use the intentional self-coaching model to create new thoughts.
It also appears that you have thoughts (opinions) about food containing sugar as you label then as "sugary foods" which sound very much so dieting term. Food is neutral that it contains sugar or not, but our thoughts about the fact that it contains sugar is what makes it good or bad. Typically foods that we believe to be "bad" are restricted. Restriction creates urges and desire to eat because of its restriction. That's the conundrum of dieting: restriction & binging.
This is what intuitive eating is centered around: stopping labelling food so we can put an end to the cycle of binging and restricting.
ANSWER
As humans, everything we do, we do for a reason. We have a significantly evolved brain that leads us to make the best choices given the circumstance we are experiencing. That's a fact.
So from this place, let's look at the action of drinking alcohol. You state that the circumstance of the pandemic led you to have the action of drinking alcohol. What are your thoughts about the pandemic? Your thoughts about the pandemic create a feeling that produces the action of drinking alcohol.
I'd suggest you use the self-coaching model to first investigate the thoughts you have about the pandemic and the actions/results it create in your life. Then you can decide if you want to continue to think this way, given the results it created for you. If you choose to change your thoughts about the pandemic, you can then use the intentional self-coaching model to create new thoughts.
It also appears that you have thoughts (opinions) about food containing sugar as you label then as "sugary foods" which sound very much so dieting term. Food is neutral that it contains sugar or not, but our thoughts about the fact that it contains sugar is what makes it good or bad. Typically foods that we believe to be "bad" are restricted. Restriction creates urges and desire to eat because of its restriction. That's the conundrum of dieting: restriction & binging.
This is what intuitive eating is centered around: stopping labelling food so we can put an end to the cycle of binging and restricting.
How do I transition to evening down time to address night time eating?
Read Answer
I typically move through my day - from waking up to right after dinner time - without being driven to seek out food to soothe or numb. I am not bingeing but I am eating sugar-laden or salty and greasy foods in a way that is not intuitive and in quantities that are more than what my body needs to be physically full. It feels impulsive and mindless instead of mindful but there is sometimes a streak of anger about striking back at what I expect of myself or a retreat from the world, particularly if I didn’t do “enough” during the day.
ANSWER
A great place to begin is to understand that all of our behaviours, called Action in the self-coaching model are created by an emotion (or feeling). Our emotions are created by our thoughts.
So if you are wondering how to change a behaviour, the first place to start is to investigate what thoughts create the current behaviours (action) so that you can create new thoughts that will produce new behaviours.
When I read your question, I see a few thoughts:
"Sugar-laden food"
"greasy food"
"I'm eating in a non-intuitive way."
"I eat more then what my body needs to be physically full."
I didn't do enough."
These are thoughts not facts. Thoughts are opinions and judgement, qualificative that are created by yourself.
So let's put this into a self-coaching model:
C: Nighttime eating
TD:
The food I eat are sugar-laden food.
The food I eat are greasy food.
I'm eating in a non-intuitive way.
I eat more than what my body needs to be physically full.
T: The food I eat are greasy food
F: Disappointment
A: I eat quickly to avoid, I eat mindlessly, so I'm not present to my disappointment
R: I eat mindlessly, therefore more than I feel hungry for.
What if the thought that food is greasy wasn't there? What if you didn't label food as greasy or not? What if food was food?
That's what intuitive eating is centered around—removing food labels, so we no longer attach value to our food choices and therefore avoid all numbing or rebuttal actions.
I would suggest you also do a self-coaching model around what seems to be your thought around your productivity as it appears that you were having unproductive thoughts about it as well, which creates the emotion of anger. It looks like anger produces an action of isolation, aka retreat from the world.
In would also recommend listening to Podcast 211 - The Gift of Emotional Eating. Night time eating is great example of emotional eating.
ANSWER
A great place to begin is to understand that all of our behaviours, called Action in the self-coaching model are created by an emotion (or feeling). Our emotions are created by our thoughts.
So if you are wondering how to change a behaviour, the first place to start is to investigate what thoughts create the current behaviours (action) so that you can create new thoughts that will produce new behaviours.
When I read your question, I see a few thoughts:
"Sugar-laden food"
"greasy food"
"I'm eating in a non-intuitive way."
"I eat more then what my body needs to be physically full."
I didn't do enough."
These are thoughts not facts. Thoughts are opinions and judgement, qualificative that are created by yourself.
So let's put this into a self-coaching model:
C: Nighttime eating
TD:
The food I eat are sugar-laden food.
The food I eat are greasy food.
I'm eating in a non-intuitive way.
I eat more than what my body needs to be physically full.
T: The food I eat are greasy food
F: Disappointment
A: I eat quickly to avoid, I eat mindlessly, so I'm not present to my disappointment
R: I eat mindlessly, therefore more than I feel hungry for.
What if the thought that food is greasy wasn't there? What if you didn't label food as greasy or not? What if food was food?
That's what intuitive eating is centered around—removing food labels, so we no longer attach value to our food choices and therefore avoid all numbing or rebuttal actions.
I would suggest you also do a self-coaching model around what seems to be your thought around your productivity as it appears that you were having unproductive thoughts about it as well, which creates the emotion of anger. It looks like anger produces an action of isolation, aka retreat from the world.
In would also recommend listening to Podcast 211 - The Gift of Emotional Eating. Night time eating is great example of emotional eating.