Stop Overeating By Thinking in the Third Person

In the last 10 years, I have done a 360 from being a teenager with an eating disorder (yo yo-ed between anorexia, bulimia, & overeating, ranging from size 0 to size 12) to being author of Stop Overeating Today! & life coach, a healthy & happy size 4. My book has 33 stop overeating strategies that are quick & simple to explain & put into practice. Perhaps the most relevant strategy is how to stop emotional eating. Here it is:

Think in the Third Person: Next time you feel like going for that extra portion of food & you’re already full, try this out-of-body exercise. Say out loud if you can, or in your head if you're in public, what thoughts you are having in the third person, like you're describing what your friend is thinking. For example: "She feels like a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream. She thinks sugar will give her energy to push past being tired, even though it’s late & she needs rest. She wants to reward herself & thinks all that sugar & those calories are the solution, even though it will give her a sugar high & send her crashing." The more you talk about yourself as if you were a friend, the easier it is to see that your thinking is irrational & not going to deliver the results you want. Then it’s easier to break free from the emotion that tells you that you must eat now!

I have more simple & smart strategies to share. I’m a great guest because I have ample public speaking experience & I connect easily with people.

Get more advice - Get the book - www.stopovereatingtips.com

Babies Are Smarter than Adults

I've got a 9 month old and I love watching her try new foods. She is so decisive about what she likes and doesn't like. When she's trying something she doesn't care for, she makes the funniest faces of disgust and disinterest.

Just like she is decisive when she hates a new food, she is just as decisive when she is full. Sometimes I can't tell if she stops eating just because she is distracted and preoccupied with some new stimulus. So I try to feed her more, especially at night, to ensure I can get a full night's sleep by filling her up. But when she has had enough, she will purse her lips together and move her head away from me and then shout if she really wants to make her point clear, which she often does.

There is no justifying. No inner dialog in a baby's head, "it tastes so good, just one more bite." There is no emotional eating or self-medicating, "I've had such a hard day, eating this will make me feel better." Food is just fuel for her. That's it. It's not her friend or an enemy she punishes herself with by overeating when she's upset with herself. It just is.

How can adults undo all of their justifying, their emotional eating and self-medicating? How can they relinquish their relationship with friend as their friend, enemy, or sometimes both?

Some people may need to go into counseling or attend a local Overeaters Anonymous to identify how their relationship with food got so complex and how they can change it. There is also a self-help option that can help. Here is a free chapter from my book, Stop Overeating Today! that shows you the powerful relationship between our thoughts and what we eat, and how we can change our thoughts for the better. Enjoy!

Those who struggle with overeating feel more vulnerable than usual during the holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years festivities all center around friends, family, and food. With so many opportunities to overdo it, guilt is a common reaction. Anyone in recovery knows that guilt can be incredibly damaging, acting like a magnifying glass that exaggerates the negatives. Here is a strategy from my book, Stop Overeating Today! (available on Amazon), that teaches how to break free from the guilt cycle.

Take a Vacation from Your Guilt Trip

This tip applies best to all of you who battle regularly with overeating. You may feel that it is a battle you will never win and that you lack the willpower to change.

When I was recovering from my eating disorder, I found that beating myself up and feeling guilty was not an effective way to make a positive change.

I remember one particular Thanksgiving. I was determined to stop eating before I felt full. I wanted to treat Thanksgiving like it was any other meal and not an excuse for overindulgence. As careful as I tried to be, I slipped and ended up eating too much.

At first, I felt very disappointed in myself. I had made so much progress in the former two months, only to “relapse” again. It felt like a defeat. As I sat there marinating in self-loathing, a light bulb went on over my head. I needed to stop feeling terrible and put things into perspective. Had I made a mistake? Yes. Did I regret it? Yes. Did I want to put myself through more self-loathing? No. Did my mistake determine my future? No. Could I move on? Yes. You get the idea.

It’s like I had taken the magnifying glass off of my mistake and was able to see it as a one-time event, not as a pattern of never-ending mistakes. I was able to look back at all of the progress I had made, the hard work I had done, and how far I had come. So what if I messed up once? I could call it a learning experience and move on. No need to hit myself over the head again and again.

Chronic guilt is not an effective way to grow and change. It keeps you focused on the problem. When the focus is on your weaknesses and mistakes, it keeps you from visualizing how you can change and what you can do to solve your problem.
Guilt is consuming and saps your energy. Moreover, it keeps you from remembering what strengths you do have and what progress you have made. Guilt keeps you stuck in a cycle of helplessness. Even if you have taken one step back, take two steps forward and acknowledge you are moving in the right direction.

For more information on the book or to order Stop Overeating Today! visit www.stopovereatingtips.com

Stop Overeating Today! Book Q & A

Q: What makes this book any different from the thousands of other books about weight loss and diets?

A: This book has nothing to do with diets. I'm not a big fan of them because, in my mind, to diet means to deprive. What makes this book different is that the tips are straightforward and easy to read and apply. You could pick it up and read anywhere for just 2 minutes and find something useful you can apply the next time you eat. The tips are easy to remember. The tone of the book is conversational and fun. I wrote the book as a peer, not as a doctor or a professional dietitian or psychologist. I actually used these tips to help me overcome my overeating problem. I know they work. These tips are not arbitrary. They are supported, tested, and proven.

Q: Why did you write this book?

A: After recovering from an eating disorder in 2001, I wanted to help people do the same. I was a mentor in a recovery support group and noticed that overeating was a common problem for a lot of girls. Later, I became a life coach and when I talked with people about eating issues, discovered they wanted ideas for ways to stop overeating. Since I have struggled with overeating in the past, I wanted to share strategies that worked for me.

Q: What is your favorite tip?

A: Tip #10, which talks about how to stop emotional eating by using a self-coaching method called "The Work of Byron Katie". I learned this method at Byron Katie's coaching school and discovered it works for any negative emotion: stress, anger, fear, hurt, you name it. You basically ask yourself a series of 4 questions, which help you start thinking rationally and to separate yourself from stressful emotions. After you can see yourself more objectively, you can make a healthier and less impulsive decision. It sounds like a long process, but you can successfully go through this self-coaching method in less than 10 seconds. To learn more visit http://www.thework.com.

Q: What additional products or services will you offer to complement the book?

A: Everyone who buys the book is offered a free 15 minute phone coaching session, to help them apply the tips in the book to them personally. If they find that beneficial, they are free to sign up for more phone coaching. My rates are currently $100/hr.

Q: How long did it take you to write the book?

A: I worked on it off and on for the last two years, and pretty consistently since September '08.

Q: When will be book be for sale?

A: That depends. If you buy it on my website it will be available in about 10 days. On Amazon it will be available in about 25 days. Can't wait!