When I talk to hypnosis clients about weight loss, one of the things I hear the most is that as a child, they were told to eat everything on their plate. In some cases, they would have to sit at the table until everything on their plate was eaten, or they were told they couldn’t have dessert until they ate it all.
This is a great example of how seemingly innocent things from our childhood affects us mind, body and spirit.
Mind
When someone grows up being taught that they cannot leave the table without finishing everything on their plate, they learn to eat beyond the limits of “full”. Their body may register that they have had enough, but this is where the mind kicks in and no matter what age this person might be, that voice from the past telling them they can’t have dessert, or to remember the starving children whispers to them and they keep eating until it is all gone. This is especially detrimental when eating out, if portions are very large, there are many that still feel the need to eat everything so as not to waste it, or waste the money they used to buy the meal.
Body
Eating everything on your plate affects the body as well. It is interesting to note that the majority of clients that come for weight loss hypnosis all tell me that they were told as a child to eat everything on their plate, and that they still think about that. Many regularly overeat, and this creates many problems in our physical bodies related to being overweight.
Spirit
This resembles a vicious cycle to me, because the mind says “eat every last bit”, which then allows the person to overeat, which causes sickness and being overweight. As if that weren’t enough, our spirit gets involved because then that person may develop problems with self-worth which may affect relationships with others, as well as their spiritual life. When you aren’t being your authentic self, it is very difficult to truly connect to your divine nature.
Action!
Keeping all of this in mind, my recommendation to parents is to allow children to leave at least a bite on their plate. Don’t force them to eat every bite, when they aren’t hungry for it. Don’t reward your children for consuming more than their bodies told them that they needed. Definitely don’t guilt your children by telling them that there are starving children just to get them to eat every bite of their food on their plate, because when you really think about it, what is it really doing to help those starving children if they leave a little on their plate?
If you are an adult that is struggling with this mental baggage from childhood in your weight loss journey, I’ll give you one bit of advice I give my clients – practice leaving a bite on your plate, no matter what it is, or where you are eating. You have to reprogram your mind that it is perfectly acceptable to only eat as much as your body desires. This can be difficult, I’ve had many clients tell me that they struggle with leaving a bite behind, they may feel wasteful. I’ve given suggestions to do something with the food left behind if necessary such as compost it if you can, feed it to your dogs, or scatter it for the birds. As long as a bite is left on your plate, you are reprogramming your mind, so it doesn’t have to be the tastiest thing on your plate! Just something.
Blessings,
Pam
