It's Not Willpower You're Missing

You get home from work or school, grab the chips, and while standing, begin to inhale them. One after the next, straight from the bag, barely tasting them. You overeat the snack in spite of the knowledge of what’s an “appropriate” amount to eat. And you don’t even enjoy them. You know better, I certainly know better, and yet we all do it. “Why can’t I control my eating?” you may wonder.  “Why don’t I have the willpower to stay motivated and eat well?” I know I shouldn’t be eating this way! And yet you continue.

The biggest trigger for this scenario? Excessive hunger. For any number of reasons you may under eat during the day.  Perhaps you skipped a snack because you were too busy or thought you could get by without it, maybe save some calories.


You may not even be aware of your hunger because of the volume of beverages you drink--water, coffee, diet soda, which may mask your hunger. Or you are stuck in the mindset that it’s best to deny your body what it needs. Maybe you are busy meeting everyone else’s needs except for your own.You fail to listen to your hunger, your body’s signal that you need fuel, from food. 

And then you’re ravenous. You’re looking for a quick fix to revive yourself, to get your blood sugar back up.  Impulsive, rapid food intake. No thoughts. Just grab the food. And eat.

Been there?  I’m sure.  We all have. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how much nutrition information you have.  It’s too late once you reach this point. We can’t begin to approach eating mindfully, with intent, when we have reached this state. But the tendency I see is to continue the cycle by denying hunger the following day.  Maybe you want to make up for the overeating from the day before. Or you just don’t trust that listening to your body could really work. So you under eat the next day—maybe intentionally, maybe not, and fall into the same trap.  Don’t you see that clinging to the idea that tomorrow you can have more willpower fails you?

If you want to have the willpower to be in control of your eating, you have to honor your body.  And that requires you to listen to, and respect your hunger. 

Allow yourself to eat when you are hungry—but don’t wait until your hunger has gone too far. This also allows you to not eat when you are not hungry -- the over eating that occurs because of emotional triggers, or to self soothe, or simply out of boredom or routine.


Please share your insights about your own experiences working through this issue! Thanks!