Making peace with food and your body sometimes takes an intervention. I was talking to a client today about quitting smoking. As they shared how they were finally successful at kicking their long-term smoking habit (after countless previous failed attempts), I was struck by how similar their journey was to overcoming emotional eating:
1. It takes more than one try to change a habit. If you can change your emotional connection with food or eating without much fuss or muss, then it really wasn’t a big issue to begin with. If on the other hand, you have struggled with stress, emotional or mindless eating for a number of years, expect it to take some time and more than one attempt.
2. Expect setbacks. If in those moments of frustration and perceived failure you can learn from your mistakes and create a new, stronger action plan then you have made the most of your learning opportunity and set yourself up for future success.
3. Go to the root of the problem. Whether you are trying to kick the smoking habit or curb your late-night munchies, success will only occur if you can identify what is underneath the behavior. Intellectually most of us recognize bonding with a bowl of Ben and Jerry’s each night isn’t going to make us healthier or better manage our weight, BUT there is a reason we do over and over again. Identifying what triggers the drive and addressing the true issue will give you the lasting change you are looking for! This is where Emotional Brain Training is so effective. It helps you not only identify the root cause but also a host of tools to tackle the problem head on.
4. Arrange an intervention. If tackling your problem behavior is truly important to you and you are ready to do what it takes then arrange an intervention for yourself. This means even for a few days get out of your normal routine, change your surroundings and take the time to gain some perspective, challenge yourself to learn new skills and create a plan to follow through when you are home.
5. Get some honest support – Don’t try to be a hero and do it on your own, instead find one or more people who will tell you the truth and keep you focused on your goal. My client who kicked her smoking habit shared this made a huge difference in her success. I have blogged before on the importance of support and can attest in my life how this can make the difference between growing and staying the same.
If you are ready for an intervention, register for our 3rd Annual Emotional Brain Training Retreat June 8, 9 and 10th . This weekend will offer an introductory Wired for Joy course for those new to EBT as well as advanced sessions for current EBTers. We will run workshops on Intuitive Eating, Getting and Staying Motivated and New EBT Tools. The Retreat location is at the beautiful River Lodge Centre 45 minutes west of Edmonton on the North Saskatchewan river. I would love to see you there!
Click here for registration form (early bird price ends May 11th)
