Hello, my friends, welcome back to the Healthy Eating for Busy Women podcast. My name is Kat and thank you so much for being here today. I’m hoping that, […0.5s] as usual, today’s episode helps you find some relief with healthy eating. Whether that means you’ve come from years of trying to make this work or you’re just starting your journey and you really wanna make sure […0.5s] you do it right, that you solve for healthy eating at that root level. So you’re not starting and stopping all of these different methods to have the results you want. That is why I’m here.So as you saw from the title of today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how to stop thinking about food […0.7s] all day.So this is probably one of the most relatable struggles I coach on and I’ve also had in the past. It’s when we feel like food is just no pun intended, all consuming, we just are constantly thinking about our next meal. What […1.2s] if what we’re eating is the right thing or the wrong thing? Do we need to micromanage our external circumstances more in planning and tracking? It’s just something that your brain is constantly solving for.And when you have the situation where you find a lot of your thoughts go towards food. […2.2s] Hi, okay, hold on. Yes, can you sit? […2.1s] It’s okay, sit down.Good, […1.4s] go ahead. It’s […1.2s] okay. I love you. Alright, […0.5s] sorry. […1.3s] When you find that your thoughts go towards what you’re going to eat and food, it’s gonna feel really exhausting. You’re gonna feel burnt out. And this is why a lot of you will feel like you’re putting a lot of, quote unquote, […0.5s] work to eat healthy and not seeing results.A lot of the effort and work you’re actually spending in this area is the constant thinking and rumination and problem solving that’s occurring in your mind. And I like to consider this an energetic leak that’s happening that eventually will […0.5s] exhaust you.But how most of you will relate to this is constantly feeling like you’re wanting food, thinking about food or anticipating your next meal. […1.7s]I know for me, my most anticipated meal was always what I was gonna eat after work. It really became this ritual where after work, I would feel this big whoosh from the day and I would just need that comfort so, so quickly.And I would constantly be thinking about during the day when I was going to get that meal, what I was going to get. And my mind would always go towards certain foods.So it was always the foods that I found […0.6s] most pleasurable. And this felt very helpless first off, which is what you might be feeling, but it also didn’t make me feel good about myself. It filled me with a lot of guilt and inadequacy. The fact that I was having what felt like an obsession with food all of the time. And if this is what you’re experiencing, I really want to […0.7s] validate you.First off, I want you to know that it makes sense why this feels like so much of a struggle. And it’s okay if you’re tired, you’re frustrated, and it’s even okay if you’re having thoughts about yourself that aren’t the prettiest.I think that […0.4s] something that we can run into, whether it’s in […0.5s] the wellness industry or personal development industry is will think the goal is not to be like hard on ourselves, right?To not judge ourselves, which […0.4s] in a sense it is. But also if […0.4s] you are judging yourself, or you’re having thoughts about yourself that aren’t the best because of these patterns, that’s okay. Meet yourself where you’re at.I promise you, being a person who thought about food literally all of the time, one of the most painful parts was the fact that I saw myself in such a low regard because it was happening. And […0.5s] what made it even worse was that I was having a low regard, right?I was having a low regard for myself In the fact that I was having a low regard for myself, right? So […0.4s] all I wanna say with that is just take it easy on yourself. Look at all of this today with an objective eye. And we’re gonna make this feel a bit easier.So what I’m gonna talk about is the main problem that’s occurring right now with this, which is you constantly thinking about food all day.I want you to understand why this is happening and where it all actually comes from because where so many of you are being stuck is you’re just solving for this with the wrong approach. I did it for years. There’s no shame in that, but I want you to have an open mind today and consider […0.4s] what if it’s not that you are a problem or that you are unsolvable in the sense that you think about food a lot. It’s just you’re trying to solve it in a way that was never going to work. So we’ll talk about that and then we’ll talk about […0.6s] how this problem is solved for an example of that with different clients I have.And, […4.6s] And the three steps you can take today to solve for your constant food thinking now. It’s going to work. And […0.7s] I want you to just experiment with the process I’m gonna offer you today. […1.9s] And I want you to experiment with the process I’m gonna offer you today. […4.0s]So first, let’s understand why this all happens. Again, one of the most painful parts of constantly thinking about food is believing that because this is happening, something’s wrong with you. Or that you’re just addicted to food, you’re not committed enough to healthy eating, that […0.5s] even mean something about you.I want you, if you feel, […1.0s] I want you to just be honest with yourself for a moment and consider the judgment that you are making about yourself.When you notice this happening, when you notice you’re just thinking about food all of the time, anticipating your next meal, feeling, quote unquote, […0.6s] addicted to foods, what’s the judgment call you’re making about yourself? These can be really sneaky. So I think I’ll give you my examples.The thoughts I had were, I’m addicted to foods and […2.6s] really something is wrong with me. As […1.3s] blunt as that sounds, I really genuinely thought there was something wrong with my brain and that I must just be addicted. And I couldn’t be stopped. I was out of control.I want you to know that these judgments about yourself, if they relate, are not facts. These are not quantifiable, these are not something that can ever be true. It’s you making a judgment call perpetuated by the helplessness you might be feeling about yourself.And the thing is, it’s okay and safe to have human judgments. Our brain is gonna judge all day long, it’s what it does. But I don’t want you guys to indulge these judgments about you because we can’t solve for you being addicted to food, we can’t solve for you being helpless, we can’t solve for you just not having your stuff together, those are things that are gonna put you in kind of this pit of despair.And so today let’s just objectively look at what judgments were having of ourselves and say, oh, okay, that feels really crappy. I’m thinking that I’m just addicted to foods and that that’s the regard I’m holding myself in. I’m thinking I’m just helpless and that I don’t have it all together.Here’s the thing, some of you guys who are my more type aers like me, might shy away from this stuff. I’m offering you to introspectively look at where you’re judging yourself, cause you don’t see it as useful.But I want you to know that this is why you may still have this problem. I want you to get comfortable with observing things like you’re thinking and your emotions, cause we’ve all got them. Even if you more identify with that type a logical part of your brain like I do, I promise you you, […0.5s] you also have an emotional brain that is judging you.So what’s that judgment that you’re making about the fact that you think about food all of the time? […2.1s]We need to understand that because […0.6s] this judgment is going to make this problem unsolvable if we’re indulging in it. So then what I want us to consider […0.5s] is why do we have these thoughts about food all of the time?What is the functionality of that? So how most of us think this is solved for is by holding on more tightly to control with food, right?So we’ll try and micro manage our external environment with maybe planning, tracking, prepping meals and think, okay, this is what I need to do to get this together and to not constantly impulsively think about food all of the time.But that is not addressing the root problem because when we think about food all the time, it is a product of, say it with me, stress. Okay?When our brain is having thoughts about wanting comfort in food or satisfaction or just nibbling at it, it’s because we’re in a stress […0.5s] state. And a stress state is not a matter of opinion.So I wanna clear this up because it’s a common misconception. So being stressed or not, it doesn’t matter if you think you’re stressed or not. So it’s not a judgment call or opinion that you can make.What I’m referring to is your body being in a stress […0.5s] state. And when our body is in a stress state, it kind of compromises a lot of the functions that our body has.So it basically puts it in a survival state. And what does a body do when it’s in a survival state? It wants comfort and regulation from external sources because we’re not doing that on our own. And it creates things like weight retention. It wants to bar down the hatches with our energy.So really when we’re living in this perpetually stressed state on the body, our brain is gonna offer […0.4s] cravings for food because what lower stress, it is comfort. And the most readily available source of comfort as humans is food. We’ve gotta eat. We’re gonna be eating multiple times a day.So when you notice your brain constantly thinking about food rather than personalizing it and thinking this has anything to do with your values or your logic.I want you instead to almost view this like a teleprompter, right? Imagine that you’re just able to see the words going on a teleprompter, and that’s how you’re able to watch your brain.So in the past, my brain would have looked like, I just need to eat this right now. I just need a break. I really deserve to go to this fast food restaurant after work today. I, I will start again next week.Just whatever chatter I had at the time that I knew wasn’t logically me. It was just my brain constantly thinking about food, so know that stress brain and logical brain are separate parts of you. And stress brain or survival brain is constantly looking for its next nibble, and thinking about that while you wanna solve for your eating habits from a different place.And so when we think about solving this problem, we’ve gotta work with the stress brain and how it functions. We can’t try and force it away from not thinking about food […0.5s] logically. And that’s what a lot of us are doing.When we try and […0.5s] plan track, actually create control […0.5s] externally rather than looking inward and thinking, okay, how is my body experiencing stress, […0.6s] something about our society which is gonna be no surprise to you guys. We really pride a […0.4s] high functioning stress state.So in western culture especially, you will see all of the humans running around stressed. And to us, it’s not gonna seem obvious because we really don’t have an understanding of what a true stress day is. We will just consider ourselves stressed when we can no longer function.But I want you guys to think about high functioning stress. So this means you can go on about your day, you can raise the kids, go to work, accomplish tasks, but you have nothing left in the tank at the end of the day, which compromises your needs.So that means you get off of work, and your body and brain has no choice but to seek comfort to regulate that stress […0.4s] to make sure you stay alive.So when you’re constantly thinking about food throughout the day, how I want you to see it functionally is, this is your brain desperately seeking comfort, so you can bring some of that stress down. And what we wanna do to solve this problem is bring that stress down in a really sustainable way.So your brain is not having to constantly think about food for you to bring it down. Does that make sense?This is actually the function of emotional eating and comfort eating. A lot of us will think it’s a matter of control, and it really isn’t. If you’re feeling the need to comfort eat or emotionally eat, your brain is actually functioning how it should in a high functioning stress state.That’s what it’s supposed to do, […6.7s] and here’s the thing our brain is going to brain, so we’re gonna have thoughts and emotions that, um, are not comfortable, but here’s what creates a stress date.Okay, This is the most common example. So when we create that high functioning stress date, it’s not because […0.7s] of emotions or our thoughts. So it’s because of how we treat them. I’m gonna give you a more practical example of this.So let’s say […0.5s] you are constantly having a thought about yourself throughout your day, I’m not doing it, right?Okay, So you’re constantly thinking, I need to do more, I’m not doing it right? I’m not doing enough, whatever flavor of that thought is, […0.5s] and then throughout your day, maybe the emotion from those thoughts is inadequacy.So I was the inadequacy queen, that was my main emotion to process sometimes, still is. So this is a very, um, relatable example for me. But I want you to consider that, that human experience in itself right day to day isn’t the problem necessarily. It’s not having awareness of it.So a lot of us are just running out here, not having awareness of the functionality of our brain. You probably aren’t super aware yet of the thoughts that your brain thinks on a day to day basis and the emotions you’re walking around with.So what happens when we’re not aware of our thoughts and emotions, like thoughts of inadequacy, let’s say, um, just relatable example for me, haha, is it’s gonna pile up over time unprocessed.So for example, I’m never doing anything, right. Let’s say that’s the thought I was hypothetically having in the past. If I’m never looking at that thought objectively, it’s just gonna pile on, and I am going to create a quadruple decker inadequacy sandwich in my body that’s never being exhaled.So eventually unprocessed emotion actually turns into stress on the body. And this is high functioning stress, right. This is where we can, this is when we can take action throughout our days in an unregulated state.So we’ve gotta externally regulate with food and craving. So this is when you’ll notice you’re constantly thinking about food.You feel like you’ve always gotta have that comfort. It’s because of built up stress which, […0.6s] It’s because of stress, which, which happens from built up emotions that were not aware of. So I’m gonna give you guys a practical example of this again separately.This was with a client, and it actually has nothing to do with food. Most of you that are having […0.6s] this stress day, and you’re always thinking about food. It likely comes from thoughts and emotions that have nothing to do with food.It probably more has to do with your day to day life, your role as a mom or a partner, whatever it is. So this is a client I had who was a middle school teacher. So she taught 6th grade […0.4s] boys, and it was an all boys prep school, which you guys can imagine.So, uh, she […0.6s] realized in coaching that, um you know, she was constantly thinking about food, having the struggle.And we uncovered that the day to day thought she was thinking about her work was sixth grade boys should not act the way they’re acting, they’re disrespectful, they’re out of hands, they don’t respect me.And this created the day to day emotion for her of frustration, right? And this emotion is obviously very uncomfortable, it’s very quick to react. And where this kept her stuck at first was that she wasn’t even aware this was her thinking.So that was a huge step for her to just start marveling at the fact that day to day she was having the belief system they should not act like this and that, that was actually what was creating her frustration that was building up over time. So that was a step in itself.And then what happened is we started just questioning the thought, right? And I want you guys to see the functionality of this, cause I know we’re talking about thoughts and feelings, but I want you guys to see how this relates to what feels like an addiction with food.So she started questioning the fact that she was believing about the 6th grade boys that they shouldn’t be acting that way. And I forgot exactly how we addressed it, cause this was actually a couple years ago. This example, […0.6s] but I think I said to her, do you believe that thought, right?Do you believe that these sixth grade boys are not acting how they should be acting? And what happened was her entire body language change. She exhaled, and she said, actually, I think this is exactly how they should be acting.They’re sixth grade boys. And the relief that she was able to feel, not because it’s magic, but because what she did was she slowed down, and she actually became aware of her thoughts and feelings that she was carrying day to day.And she actually leaned back with it, and then observed whether it was true or not, so then she could stop building it. Does that make sense?So really, I want you guys to consider […0.6s] what do we think daily, how are we fueling our days with our thoughts and emotions, and have we actually slowed down to see if it’s something that we agree with? Do we wanna keep fueling our days with frustration?Cause here’s the thing, the biggest problem that was going on for this client, for example, is that she wasn’t aware of any of it, right? So she wasn’t aware that this frustration was constantly building unprocessed, and that was creating a need for comfort with food.She was constantly thinking about food when her next meal was gonna be. When she objectively started looking at her thoughts, those cravings started coming down, she started thinking about food less, but then what really brought the relief was when she realized, oh, I actually don’t even believe that at all. Okay, So this is a separate example, not all of you may relate to her story.I think here I just want you to understand how you’re constant thinking about food is actually solved, right?It’s not solved in the food plans and the tracking in any of those things. Those things can be fantastic. They cannot structure to a healthy lifestyle if you want to be doing them. But when we’re solving for […0.4s] having control with food and having healthy eating feel easy, it’s not gonna be solved by those external things.If you’re constantly thinking about food, there’s something internal happening here. And that doesn’t mean it needs to be more complicated. It just means it’s not solved externally, right? It’s solved with the internal work. […5.2s]And what really all of this means, right, is that constantly thinking about food is not a product of food at all. It really has nothing to do with food. It’s a byproduct of a stress […0.5s] problem.And this can be a little uncomfortable to acknowledge because most of us will feel like it’s way easier or more mathematical to solve for a food problem or a how problem, right?But what I’m offering you here is that this is actually solved for with a different skill, which is a stress problem, an emotional problem. And that doesn’t mean it needs to be messy, it’s just different.So what I wanna walk us through is a three step, kind of, is a three step kind of process you can start doing to notice how this works.My goal in giving you this exercise isn’t for you to try and perfect this and light switch it. It’s for you to just start creating evidence for yourself that this is how this problem is solved. I want you to see how effective this is. […4.7s]So the first thing I want you to start doing, similar to my client, is I want you to determine the uncomfortable thought and feeling that you are having predominantly in your day.So I would say the main subject that takes up your day, consider your thoughts about that thing. So maybe it’s work, maybe it’s the 6th graders that you teach, like my client, maybe it’s the kids.Whatever it is what takes up most of your brain space during the day. Now that thing, what’s your thought about it throughout the day? And what can really help if you’ve never done this before, is just do some check in throughout the day, maybe every hour on the hour.Okay, What am I thinking about this thing now, right? With my client, the thought she was having a 6th grader should not act this way […0.6s] and she felt frustrated.So for you, I want you to start piecing together what are the thoughts I’m having about this thing right now, whether it’s work, being a mom, whatever, and how does that make me feel? Now we have some emotional awareness and that in itself is such a foundation. So that’s step 1.Start there. […1.8s] No 2. Once you’ve gained some awareness, like a few days worth at least, I want you to just question that root thought.Okay. So like my client, I wanted her, I wanted to check in and see if she believed that that 6th grader shouldn’t act that way. I want you to do the same thing. The thoughts you notice most commonly or the main thought you notice, do you think that’s true?And if you do think it’s true, do you think it’s useful […0.5s] to think that way and just give yourself a safe space to not be wrong or argue with yourself, but to just be curious. Is that something that you do believe? And if so, why?And if not, why not? Right? […4.2s] And then 3, I want you with all of this to create a healthy detachment from your food thoughts.So much of the suffering that is happening with this is we’re making it all personal, right? Which is easy to do without realizing it’s happening. We are […0.5s] making it personal that we’re thinking about food all the time, that we’re anticipating our next meal.But instead, like I said in the beginning, I want you to kind of just see your brain like a teleprompter, […0.5s] right?So you’re noticing the food thoughts come in, you know what it’s gonna look like. And I want you to just imagine you’re looking at a teleprompter with all these words on it and you’re just watching them go by.Really, the purpose of this isn’t to fix anything, because spoiler alert, you guys, that is not in your control to fix those thoughts. They’re happening right now because of a stress state.Your brain is in control of those thoughts. All you have the power to do right now is to not make it personal that those thoughts are happening.Alright, so I want you to imagine that the teleprompters going, and it’s okay if you just lean back, watch those things happen, and be like, oh, great, yep, there my brain goes. It’s thinking about needing to deserve that food at the end of the workday, like it always does. And that’s okay.It’s totally normal. These food thoughts are just a symptom of stress that you are gonna start healing right now with awareness. […4.7s] So stop making judgments because those thoughts are happening. So stop believing I’m addicted to food, I don’t have control. Uh, This means there’s something wrong with me.Those are judgments you’re making of a normal human experience that you really don’t need to be making, […1.1s] and they’re not useful […2.0s] expectations I want you to have of how this all works is what’s in your control and what’s not, right. So what is in your control is exactly what I presented you. It’s those three steps.What is not in your control is the rate of healing and stress regulation that your body does, right? So […0.4s] really […0.9s] it’s the rate at which the food thoughts dissipate, because remember the food thoughts are a product of your brain wanting comfort.And so if you’re doing these three steps, you’re gonna notice the foods, […0.4s] the food chatter start going down.But I don’t want you to have expectations as to how quickly that should happen. Because when the thoughts are gonna start relieving themselves and […1.1s] not showing up as much is when your body feels less stress, it feels safer, it doesn’t feel like it’s in as much of a survival […0.5s] state. So let your business be how emotionally aware you are.Don’t let your business be how quickly the food thoughts go away or not. That’s actually your […0.4s] body’s job and your brain’s job. All you need to do is set the conditions for your body to release the thoughts. Make sense. […3.9s]So here’s the point of all of this, right? This is solving for the root problem, and this is what will allow you to lower this food chatter without having to force it.So many of us are having these symptoms, right? And then we’re thinking how do I just get out of this? Something’s really wrong, I can’t control myself. But when you find the actual root cause to these problems, which is what I’m here to help you do, you don’t have to push, force it or hustle to figure this out.You can just be curious, and I promise you guys if you come to this concept just curious and introspective, your body is gonna feel safer, and it’s going to start relieving stress more effectively, which I promise you is what is going to bring those food thoughts down over time. So thank you for being here.And […2.9s] if you are ready to really become that naturally healthy eater and solve your food struggles for that last time, so you can stop wasting energy and effort and brain space, definitely get inside my own your eating habits membership.The big golden nugget of this membership is, it is where we do coaching. So coaching is what will get you unstuck. We’re gonna point out all of your blind spots and you again, are gonna be wasting no precious time or energy to get this problem solved.So when you join, I can’t wait to see you in. So if it’s a good fit and you join, I can’t wait to see you inside. You can go to catrentice. Com forward slash membership. But until then, I will see y’all next week. And have a fantastic rest of your week. […2.4s]