The harsh truth is that discomfort is actually necessary for change. It doesn’t matter what you are trying to change, but anything worth achieving requires levels of discomfort. BUT, this can be a good thing as the skills we gain from this experience we can apply to other areas of life.

 When it comes to food, changing your expectations, attitude and actions can be very uncomfortable. Food is deeply related with thoughts, emotions and actions. Here are some examples:

It can be hard to waste food, particularly if we were brought up this way.

Food keeps us ‘busy’, and can be a way of avoiding dealing with other things, like being bored. 

Food numbs us – it’s so often used to cope with emotions and physical distress. 

Emotions can sometimes feel like hunger, often we mix up feelings such as anxiety, stress or anger. 

Food behaviours are very habitual and comfortable. We do a lot of things automatically around food and we can feel out of routine or if we change them.

In social situations we often conform to the group, not wanting to say ‘no’ in front of friends or family.

Food is everywhere, and unhealthy food is everywhere. This can make it challenging to deal with cravings.

It’s easy to use food to avoid discomforts, and make choices that don’t match goals. Achieving any meaningful goal will require pushing through the discomfort of changing your habits around food.

HOWEVER, the rewards of tolerating that discomfort are huge! Living and thriving through uncomfortable situations around food will leave you with an understanding and belief of what you CAN do. You will have tested your own capacity and the only way to build confidence is by knowing what you are actually capable of. A little bit of discomfort can bring a whole lot of feeling pretty darned good!

Here are some action steps you can actually put into practice to help you better ‘deal with discomfort’:

 “When I feel discomfort, I promise to sit with that discomfort in whatever form it takes, for 10 minutes”.

 “During that time, I will notice and name the discomfort as best I can”.

 “After that, I will make the choice I feel is appropriate”.

Without even realising, this process is going to heighten your level of awareness and have you act with mindfulness. Your choice will be a thought out decision, not a reaction. Once you become aware, you can’t just go back to being unaware. The more you practice this process, the easier it will become to work through any situations of discomfort. 

Hope this resonates, let us know if you find this useful!!

#discomfort #inspiration #selfbelief #healthandfitnessjourney #goals #changeyourmindset #emotions