Food and Weight Battles:
(Why You Will Never Win )
By: Melissa McCreery, PhD
Ive been fighting with food my whole life.
Im so sick and tired of fighting with my weight. I dont think Ill ever win.
Its been going really well and Ive lost twenty-five pounds. I just wonder how long it will last.
These are real quotes from real women who contacted me recently about my emotional eating coaching programs. I get emails almost daily from women whove spent more energy than you can measure fighting with weight, battling the scale, and trying desperately to control their eating.
Even when things are going well, it can feel like a tightrope act requiring constant discipline, vigilance, and will power.
Its exhausting. And the sad thing is, its a losing battle.
Because it IS a battle. And it will continue to be a battle, even if you are winning it.
As long as you are battling, food cannot be your friend. And when you battle your weight, you are at war with yourself. Id like to suggest a different way of approaching all this that will allow you to stop struggling, fighting against yourself, and feeling guilty and ineffective.
There is no trust or ease or peace or relaxation.
A fight means that food potentially has power over you.
Battles take energy. Valuable energy. Even if you are winning.
As long as you are battling, food cannot be your friend.
And when you battle your weight, you are at war with yourself.
Clients have come to work with me because they are determined to win the battle. And Ive always suggested a bigger and more rewarding challenge.
I call it peace with food.
Peace. Calm. Ease. No conflict. A relationship with food that works. That doesnt drain your energy or your mood. That allows you to move forward and be your Best Self.
Peace with food is a relationship without tangles or desperation or deprivation. Food fuels your body. Food feeds your senses. You can taste and you can savor. And when you arent hungry, you can walk away.
Peace with food begins with the acknowledgment that your current relationship with food exists for a reason.
Be respectful and curious about how you are currently using food:
- to cope?
- to manage feelings (emotional eating)?
- for comfort or to protect yourself?
With the right tools and support you can find alternatives that work better. You can stop fighting and start creating peace with food.
And then you can start thinking about what you will do with all that extra hope and energy.
