Most wellness, nutrition, and weight loss experts agree that excess weight gain begins with the mind. The subconscious mind drives our repetitive and instinctive behaviors, including our daily eating routines.
Our experiences shape how we think and react. How we adapt to our environment is based on these unique experiences and thought patterns. For instance, when someone feels fear, stress, or anxiety, they often turn to “comfort food.”
Comfort food varies for each person but generally includes foods that remind them of happier times, often from childhood. It could be anything from Spaghetti-Os, grape jelly donuts, meatloaf, frosted corn flakes, or a favorite ethnic dish. Essentially, the subconscious mind pushes us to eat these foods to revive those positive feelings.
When the brain first learns something, it stores it in short-term memory. Repeating the behavior over time moves it into long-term memory and embeds it in the subconscious, making it a reflexive or instinctive action.
This means that when triggered, the learned behavior happens automatically, often without conscious awareness. Triggers can be a thought, object, place, certain words, or even a smell. Once this behavior starts, stopping it is hard because it’s so ingrained.
Emotional eating is connected to this process. Weight loss coaches define it as “eating to address an emotion rather than hunger.” This usually involves eating sweets or high-calorie foods.
People crave the comfort these foods provide – their smell, taste, appearance, and texture. Many women turn to chocolate when they feel sad. Some might eat a whole pint of premium ice cream or devour a box of Krispy Kreme donuts.
When someone struggles to control their eating, it’s usually because of emotional eating, driven by learned behavior. This is a common factor in obesity, along with medications, endocrine disorders, lack of exercise, and poor dietary knowledge. However, the main issue often lies with emotional eating.
To lose weight effectively, start by changing your mindset. Don’t abruptly change your diet and exercise habits without addressing the root cause of your eating behavior, as it might cause you to relapse.
The first step is recognizing that you eat based on emotions. This emotional eating leads to unwanted fat accumulation. Make your conscious mind aware of your subconscious thoughts to monitor your behavior better. This awareness allows you to catch yourself when you crave comfort food. If you can’t catch yourself, you can’t change the behavior.
For the first few weeks, focus on recognizing these unhealthy learned behaviors in your subconscious. Accept that to lose weight, you need to gradually eliminate these behaviors. It took time to learn them, and it will take time and repetition to unlearn them. Remind yourself of this as you embark on your weight loss journey.
True, lasting weight loss is part of a broader goal: achieving optimal health. Even when you reach this goal, it’s an ongoing process. Life is about change, and our bodies are dynamic groups of cells working together to form our unique selves.
Take a moment to determine what you truly want beyond just a slim body. Achieving your desires depends on having a healthy, resilient body. If your body is not in good shape, your abilities will be limited, potentially shortening your lifespan. Understanding this can gradually shift your subconscious mind. Eventually, you’ll make health-promoting decisions instinctively, and old, unhealthy habits will fade away.