Trade Guilt for Acceptance

“I ate too much this week,” my client moaned over her dismal results on the scale. “I guess I just need to have more control.”

“No you don’t,” I told her. “You never will.” She looked at me liked I’d grown two heads. We were walking together on the indoor track while she did walking lunges. “You’re not going to magically, somehow have more control. What you have to do is control your environment. Get rid of the stuff that tempts you.”

She didn’t want to accept this at first. “But my husband wants to eat certain things,” she said. “It’s not his fault. I have to take responsibility. I’m the one with the problem.”

“Yes,” I responded, trying to get through to her. “You have to take responsibility and admit that you don’t have control over your eating. You need to explain that to your husband and tell him you need to keep certain foods out of the house.” I smiled, “Tell him to get his treats when he’s out.”

Do you feel guilty because you don’t have control over your eating? What if you just accepted that? Could you then set guards and boundaries in your life to help yourself adopt healthy eating behavior?

Set boundaries like removing temptation foods from your home, asking coworkers to choose a restaurant with healthy options for your lunch out, telling your spouse how much you struggle and asking for his/her support, inviting friends to socialize with an activity rather than food.

Could you trade in your guilt for acceptance? If you could, you might find the ability to move forward and bridge your weaknesses.