Removing old eating habits – let’s call them addictions – from your life is a courageous step that deserves to be done properly. In Creating A Sustainable You, I talked about three steps to changing your habits. The first step, is questioning your beliefs.
I also want to remind you that it is such a courageous step because you may have had this pattern for 30, 40 or even 50 years. So it’s important that you acknowledge this because you may go a little easier on yourself if things don’t change in an instant!
This article helps you gain a greater understanding of how to do change your beliefs, to create a new, sustainable habit. This week we will discuss your beliefs around food and your body.
Remember, most of your beliefs and decisions about health and wellbeing were firmly implanted in your mind before the age of seven years old. That means you had made decisions about food and eating patterns, as well as ways of approaching your health and dealing with illness, simply by observing role models in your environment.
You may have experienced your mum telling you you weren’t allowed to eat something sweet, for example, but later observing her ‘sneaking’ the same sweet thing. This might have caused you to decide that eating sweet things was ‘naughty’ or ‘bad’ and it should only be done in secret. As a result, when you eat sweet things you feel bad about yourself, or you feel guilty, hence confirming the belief that you are ‘bad’ for eating the ‘bad’ food. Can you see how destructive this has been to your life?
That is why it is so important to address these beliefs and decisions first, because they lie at the core of Why you have these eating patterns and habits. Your beliefs form the basis of why you do everything you do. From an energetic perspective, your beliefs determine how safe you feel in your body, and in the world. In eastern philosophy, your beliefs are associated with the first chakra and your feelings of stability and security.
The first question to ask is ‘What beliefs do I have around my body image and food?’
It’s important to be completely honest with yourself when you begin this process, so you can maximize its benefits. To do this, grab a notebook and pen, take yourself to a quiet space, where you feel safe, and know you won’t be disturbed. Read through this process first and then do it in a way that feels best for you.
Sit with your feet firmly on the floor, so you can sense the connection between your feet and the earth. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths, right down into your belly. If you want to you can even imagine a red spinning wheel at your tailbone – this represents the first chakra. Breathe into this bright red wheel and notice how you feel.
Now bring up an image of your body, as if you are looking in a mirror, and notice what you see. At the same time, bring in to your awareness your health and vitality, as it exists right now. Allow yourself to look at how you feel in your body.
Now ask yourself:
“How do I FEEL about my relationship with my body and my health?”
“What do I judge or criticize myself about?”
“What are my self-sabotaging behaviours, and those I just don’t like?”
Observe how you feel in your body as you ask yourself these questions. At this point, if you want to record anything, make some notes in your notebook for you to remember later.
Now ask yourself:
“What are my beliefs about my body and health?” (Maybe you believed you are powerless over your body, or that you are not worthy of having energy or nourishment, or that there is something wrong with you. Remember, be honest because that is how you will start to change).
“What effects have these old, outdated, disempowering beliefs had around my health and body image”
Observe how you feel in your body as you ask yourself these questions. At this point, if you want to record anything, make some notes in your notebook for you to remember later.
Now you have made an admission to yourself that you are holding on to some outdated beliefs around your body and food. That means you now know you have the power to shift what you believe, and how you treat yourself and food. Congratulations!
From here you can allow yourself the vision of what your body will look like if you gave up these behaviours and beliefs and consciously started to make new choices!
I’m sure it is becoming more and more apparent you are not simply eliminating a food from your diet AND why you may have tried in the past without success.
You are walking on a new path – and taking smaller steps, which leads to sustainability in changing your habits.
Remember, in all that you do, create balance and harmony, not trauma and chaos, when it comes to your body. And make it sustainable! Most of all ENJOY THE PROCESS.