How to get back on track

How could anyone ever tell you you were anything less than beautiful? (Libby Roderick)

Overate at Thanksgiving? I didn’t, because we didn’t celebrate it here in Germany. But sometimes I do eat past full, and getting back to normal can be hard.

The most successful technique for going back to normal eating after a large meal (or several large meals) is to stop thinking about what and how much I’m eating.

Yes, that’s right, stop beating yourself up over the burger, fries and chocolate cake you wate when you weren’t even hungry. Stop criticizing the fact that you ate not only a nice slice of pumpkin pie, but also a slice of pecan pie AND a big piece of Aunt Virginia’s coconut cake. It’s over and done with. Go listen to Michael Buble singing “That’s Life.” Then get on with your own life.

If you really want to discover why you ate too much at a particular moment, don’t look at the food, but rather inside your brain. What were you saying to yourself as you decided to reach for that bite too far? What were you saying to yourself once you realized that you were eating past full?

Write those things down, because these words are your real enablers. They cause you to eat more than you really want to, and these words are what you will change to create a permanent healing from compulsive eating.

Here are some examples of mine:

Ohmigod, I can’t believe I ate that. And I wasn’t even hungry.

  That’s ok, at least you’re nicely full. Now you get to find out how long this food keeps you from feeling hungry again.

Geez, I didn’t need to eat that, and I certainly won’t lose weight eating every meal that way.

So what? It’s just food. You clearly had a reason to eat it, and every day you are getting better at recognizing these moments and changing it.

Recovery comes one bite at a time, and requires plenty of practice.