My Approach
Overeating leaves us feeling uncomfortable in our bodies and makes us feel like we’re not in control, ultimately contributing to weight gain. We tell ourselves we have to do better; but we don’t. There’s hope! Through both mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) methods, you will begin to understand your overeating habit and develop strategies to eat foods in amounts that you can live with.
Together, we will discover, process and problem-solve the following themes in our nutrition counseling sessions.
- Strategies to prevent your overeating habit
- Eating with greater awareness and enjoyment
- Discovering and changing sabotaging thought patterns
- Connecting with your body’s hunger, fullness and taste signals
- Planning your meals and snacks more often
- Developing a food environment that sets you up for success
- Destigmatizing your “fear foods”
- Strategies to navigate your food cravings
"Dieting is the only way to control my eating."
"I should eat this salad even though I really feel like pasta."
"I am GOOD all day and then by the evening I lose control."
"I can never eat sweets because sugar is bad for me and I can't control the amounts."
Mindfulness, the other method taught in our sessions, is training your capacity to observe the experience of your body and mind and then slowly begin to bring automatic reactions under more conscious control. It includes deliberately paying attention to your sensations of physical hunger as well as the many other reasons driving you to eat. Research is showing promise of how mindful meditations can improve how individuals relate to food, eating, and distressing thoughts and emotions so prevalent in individuals suffering from disordered eating. You will learn to better connect to your body and observe your subtle hunger and satiety cues with regular mindfulness meditations.
Eating more mindfully can help with out-of-control eating and can help you be more satisfied with the food you eat. However, the reality is that our bodies tend to want to stay at the same weight. In order to actually lose weight, you still need to make conscious choices about cutting back on your calorie intake while increasing your physical activity. There are many evidenced-based strategies that can help including, increasing your plant food consumption, balancing macronutrients, strategic use of meal replacements, and journaling, to name a few. We talk about these strategies in our counseling sessions once you’re related to food in a healthier way. The goal is that we approach this “lifestyle change” not like a rule-based “diet” but as a way of life.
The reality is that some individuals need more than nutrition counseling can provide to lose beyond 10-20% of their weight, and medical treatments may be indicated.
