Did you indulge a little this past holiday by having a piece of your favorite pie? OR did you find yourself gorging on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (and the like) followed by several pieces of your favorite pies in addition to other assorted desserts?
I do hope that if you had a piece of pie, you allowed yourself the luxury of enjoying every bite – eating each one mindfully and with full awareness of it’s taste, texture and overall deliciousness. And I do hope that once you finished eating that piece of pie you didn’t feel the guilt that many of us experience when we eaten a particular food that isn’t on the “healthy” list.
When you give in to a desire to eat something that just plain tastes good and feels good to eat in the moment without guilt attached, you have experienced a taste of indulgence. And this, my friend, is a good thing…
On the other hand, when you give in to a desire to gorge yourself on everything in site that taunts you with it’s “must have” scent and you don’t stop until you feel either (1) sick to your stomach or (2) like changing into a pair of sweat pants, than you have experienced over-indulgence.
Unfortunately, over-indulgence is most often accompanied by guilt, frustration and a big serving of regret. And, if you’re trying to keep your weight down it might also be followed by restriction, denial and deprivation for a period of time until your will-power gives in and you’re overtaken by over-indulgence once again.
This is a viscous cycle that will not only prevent you from losing weight and being at your most optimal health – it messes with your self-confidence, self-control, self-esteem, self-love, self-compassion…shall I go on?
If you recognize this pattern of over-indulgence followed by restriction and deprivation that I just described – know that there is a way out.
Here’s what to do:
First, become aware of the triggers that move you toward over-indulgence to begin with. Become an archeologist and dig deep. What’s really going here?
Next, forgive yourself for not being perfect. Be loving and compassionate with yourself.
Next, devise a plan for the next time you encounter one or all of the triggers you wrote in step one. You can choose to completely remove yourself from being in the situation that triggers you or you can plan a distraction that will help you get your bearings before you “attack” the food in an act of over-indulgence.
Sometimes it simply takes waking up and becoming aware of what’s really going on for you to help you move through the situation with greater ease.
So next time you feel yourself being pulled into an act of over-indulgence that you know will not end well – wake up, dig deep and discover what’s underneath.
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