Overeating, sugar addiction, and a negative body image are often intertwined. Because of the way they intersect, it can be challenging to disentangle yourself.
So where do you start? Which problem do you tackle first? I’ve received several emails from women asking me this very question. They want to know, “Do I do the Sugar Cravings support program first, or do I do the Overeating support program first?”
There isn’t one “right” way to heal. Whether you work on your body image, overeating, or sugar addiction, all will benefit. As a way of choosing where to begin, I would invite you to answer this question: What most appeals to you?
Another way of asking this question is, “Where is my greatest struggle?” That’s what I tackled first. In my case, it was sugar.
For more help, here’s a guide to help you make your way through our programs here at First Ourselves:
If you want to heal a negative body image:
1. Download my ebook, Heal Your Body Image. It’s free.
2. Join the support forums. Talk with other women who are on a similar journey. You’re not the only one who is suffering – reach out and feel better.
3. Join the waiting list for the Love Your Body support program. (The waiting list will be up soon.) Be the first to know when our body image support program is released in late 2010.
4. Sign up for our free quarterly newsletter and supportive emails. Get encouragement and support right now.
If you want to get off sugar:
1. Read or listen to my book, Overcoming Sugar Addiction. It tells you how I got to sugar abstinence.
2. Take the Sugar Addiction support program. This will teach you how to stay sugar free. This program comes with access to our private support forums for additional support.
3. Sign up for our free quarterly newsletter and supportive emails. Stay in touch and learn about live events and other products to spur your growth. Get daily encouragement to stay the course.
If you want to stop overeating (and you can take or leave the sugar):
1. Take the Overeating Support program. Tackle overeating at the root.
2. Sign up for our free quarterly newsletter and supportive emails. Stay in touch and learn about live events and other products to spur your growth. Get daily encouragement to stay the course.
If you want to heal from overeating and stop sugar bingeing:
1. Read or listen to the Overcoming Sugar Addiction book. It tells you how I got to sugar abstinence.
2. Take the Sugar Addiction support program. This will teach you how to stay sugar free. This program comes with access to our private support forums for additional support.
3. Try the Heal Overeating support program. This will help you heal your desire to overeat any food at the root, sugar or not. It’s best to take this course after the sugar course. You will still be able to access the forums.
4. Sign up for our free quarterly newsletter and supportive emails. Stay in touch and learn about live events and other products to spur your growth. Get daily encouragement to stay the course.
Here’s why I suggest tackling the sugar before you tackle the overeating:
If you’re in the throes of sugar addiction, it will be very, very hard to stop overeating. You’ll be fighting against your biology. That’s why I recommend healing the sugar first (your sugar abstinence will give you some space in which to heal the underlying pull to overeat any food.)
Here’s how this process usually unfolds:
You heal from sugar. But in the process of getting off sugar, you may be overeating other foods, like nuts, nut butters, grains or fruit. You may find that you overeat “good” foods because they’re “healthy” or because they’re not “sugar.” This was a part of my own journey.
After you are off sugar, you can do the deeper work of healing the overeating of all foods. That’s what the year long Heal Overeating support program is designed to do.
If you have a negative body image in addition to sugar and overeating challenges - and this was me, so you’ve got lots of company – I would still start with the sugar, then the overeating, and then tackle your body image. As overeaters, much of our negative body image comes from the shame and self-loathing we feel about overeating – and the extra pounds that result from this behavior.
By healing your overeating, you’ll make significant headway towards loving your body. If you are needing more support, download the Heal Your Body Image ebook and then consider taking the Body Image support program, which is coming in late 2010.
If you’re struggling with any of the above and aren’t ready to start a program: This may sound like a cop-out, but waiting is a valid option. If, in your heart of hearts, you are not willing to change, then I wouldn’t force yourself. Being unwilling to change is not to be confused with fear or anxiety or doubt about changing – those kinds of mixed feelings around change (a part of me is excited; a part of me is scared sh**less) are very normal. I am talking about something deeper – an unwillingness to commit or even try.
If this is where you find yourself, I have two suggestions:
1. Join the support forums. You can talk to other women and find the support, motivation, desire to change, on your own time. When you join the forums, you’ll get special discounts on any programs that you do take. This is a great place to begin.
2. Practice compassion until you are ready. You can’t force yourself to change – that only creates resistance and self-loathing. Instead, be compassionate with yourself – and compassionate towards whatever is keeping you from moving forward. If you find yourself fearful, anxious, or angry, explore those feelings. For example, write a letter to your fear, and see what it says. Give yourself loving encouragement until you feel ready to move forward. Compassion is the fertile soil that leads to inspired action and new behaviors – not beating ourselves with a stick or yelling at ourselves for being so “lazy” or forcing ourselves to get our act together and “shape up.”
