Episode 84. Karen was spiraling. She had been doing so well. She was eating well, walking daily and feeling great. But for some reason today she felt off. She ate more than usual at lunch, maybe because she was scrolling mindlessly on her phone and saw a few upsetting posts about someone she went to high school with who is battling cancer. She kept scrolling, and before she knew it, she had eaten too much. She felt stuffed. Not super stuffed, but enough to feel uncomfortable. She got mildly frustrated with herself after this, but doesn't totally spiral out... yet. She told herself, (somewhat subconsciously), "it's fine, it's one meal, you can get back on track immediately. Relax." But she moves on with her day and doesn't acknowledge the actual thoughts that were going through her mind in the moment. Partly, because she's ashamed of them. She shouldn't feel so self-critical and she knows it isn't helpful. She needs to be kinder to herself, she knows this. She just tries to think of something else instead. If she were really honest with herself, that simple act of eating more at lunch and feeling overfull triggered thoughts like: * "I can't believe you did that, you feel sick now, that's what you get." * "You were feeling so good, and now you're going to fall back in old habits." * And if we dig to the core thought, it was: "You're going to fail again." She continued to feel off all day, and before she knew it she had an extra snack in the afternoon even though she definitely wasn't hungry. By the time dinner came, she felt tired (physically and emotionally), mad at herself, and it was all she could do to heat up leftovers and have dinner in front of the TV. And why not pull out the ice cream, she clearly blew it for the day. All because she didn't fully address what we really bothering her. That hidden sentence that popped up right after she ate a bit extra at lunch. Ready to Stop Going it Alone? One of my biggest regrets in life is not seeking good therapy sooner. You deserve to feel truly guided on your relationship with food and your body. MindBodyHealth is an incredible practice led by my great friend and colleague Dr. Sapna Dosh. This wonderful group of psychologists and dietitians provide evidence-based therapy in person in Washington DC and Arlington VA, and via teletherapy in over 30 states across the United States. Go to MindBodyVA.com to set up your free consultation call and get matched with an excellent and totally vetted therapist today! Be sure to let them know the Motivation Made Easy podcast sent you. Your future self will thank you. How Our Hidden Sentences Hold Us Back You see, our brains avoid the truth of what we are really saying to ourselves about our eating, because it's painful. And a big part of us knows that that inner critic in us can be incredibly unhelpful. Karen's logical attempts to reassure herself were well intentioned. But her brain was still triggered by all the hidden critical thoughts she wasn't acknowledging. The ones exacerbating the pain and silently keeping us stuck. The Power of Mindset Most of us have many unhelpful hidden sentences all the time. And until we learn to unpack them and really examine them, and even look for the positive intention behind that part of us, they will continue to silently impact us, without our control.