Write It Down Instead of Eating It.

Write It Down Instead of Eating It

In all my years of yo-yo dieting, I remember feeling like I was eating out of control.  It was as if I couldn’t stop. 

This hit me on day when I was at the funeral of one of our son’s friend. Needless to say, the feeling of sadness was consuming.  Or I thought it was.  Did I want to feel sad? Of course!

What I found myself doing was trying to cover or buffer that feeling. After the service, I had one cookie, then another, another…..I can’t even tell you how many I had!  I know it was more than five. Food was an easy choice for me to cope with the uncomfortable emotions. Eating the cookies dulled the pain, but only temporarily. 

This experience really caught my attention.  What is going on!? I was out of control!

The more I learned about buffering I also learned that my brain was actually operating exactly as it was designed to.  

When we consume food, our brain receives a reward. A neurotransmitter, dopamine, is released into our system. It tells our body, “That was good.”

This is wonderful because this will keep me alive.  The bad news is, that when I am unwilling to feel uncomfortable emotions, I can buffer them  with dopamine by eating food. 

This wouldn’t be so bad except the highly processed flours and sugars compound this effect.

Natural foods in their unprocessed state trigger a steady dopamine release.  Processed and concentrated food like substances trigger an unnatural dopamine hit!  Our brain say, ”WOW!  That was fantastic.  You should do that again and again!” 

When we repeat this cycle, our brain becomes overloaded with dopamine and down regulates it.  When this happens, we are required to eat more in order to trigger the release of dopamine.

When I said earlier, that the brain operates exactly as it was designed to,  this is the design process.  The problem is that our brain has not evolved so that it can handle the overstimulating, processed and concentrated ingredients in food, in alcohol, in online shopping, television, video games and more.  We can’t just ignore the effects these have on our brain if we want to achieve our goals and become the best version of ourselves. 

When I work with my clients, I explain  that it is just like mixing baking soda and vinegar. You will always get bubbles.  When we mix concentrated, processed substances with our body, we will always get over stimulated dopamine hits.  It’s simply science.

With this understanding, now we can make informed decisions about what we eat and in the activities we invest our time in.  

In my program, Shifting Inside Out, I have created simple tools like the chalk board you see in the picture.  It's the "Write It Down Instead of Eating It" chalk board.  It is a reminder to take the time to write the one word emotion I'm feeling, instead of burying it with food.  It is amazing how the time it takes to pick up a piece of chalk and write a word is enough time for me to engage my higher level thinking.

This one simple practice has been a powerful tool that has helped me stop buffering with food.

If you would like to know more, one simple mini session with me can completely change your mind about how you view yourself, your food, and your life.  

Click here to get started scheduling a free mini session with me.  https://peghinman.wufoo.com/forms/free-mini-session/