Am I reading your mind?

                               
Am I reading your mind?

At least once a week, I’ll say something and one of my clients will say, “Whoa. It’s like you’re reading my mind.”

I’m not actually a mind-reader. But I do know what it feels like to struggle—desperately—with food, with my weight, and with my body.

I remember all the thoughts that used to run through my mind—vicious, cruel thoughts about myself.

I remember what I used to say to myself during especially bleak moments when I felt out of control with food.

I remember. So I say those words aloud to my clients and ask, “Is this what it’s like for you? Is this the type of thought you’re saying to yourself?” And most of the time, yup, it’s just like that. The same pain—in a different body.

Let’s try it out.

Read the following statements. Do you recognize any of these sentences? Do you say these words to yourself? Am I reading your mind?

“If I gain any more weight, then I’ll be ugly and nobody will love me / my spouse will leave me or have an affair / my whole life will fall apart.”

“Certain foods are good and certain foods are bad.”

“There’s a right and wrong way to eat.”

“I don’t have any self-control. I need more willpower. And I need a specific meal plan to follow or else everything gets even more out of control.”

“I am just ‘bad’ when it comes to food. I always screw things up. I’m weak.”

“If I eat ‘right’ then I feel good about myself. If I eat ‘wrong’ then I feel bad about myself for the rest of the day.”

If you’re nodding your head, thinking, “Yes, that’s me, I say those things to myself all the time…” then first, I want to wrap you in a big enormous hug because I know you’re in pain.

Second, I want to encourage you to get some support—whether it’s from a friend, counselor, therapist, club, group, or a coach like me. Get someone to help you. Work on changing those painful sentences inside your brain into new sentences—better ones, more positive ones. New sentences that make you feel unstoppable and powerful instead of feeling like a failure.

When you change your thoughts, you change your whole life.

So if you want to change the way you eat—and change the way you feel about your body—it all starts with the sentences you’re saying to yourself inside your own mind.

PS. Here’s a song that always shifts me into a GREAT MOOD. (Warning: it’s basically impossible to listen to this and NOT dance across the room.)

xoxo,