Are 'Cheat Days' Okay?: Secrets to Sustainable Weight Loss with Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson!
Dec 26, 2023
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Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson, expert in the psychology of eating, discusses her journey overcoming addiction and obesity, focusing on mental health. They explore creating new rituals, the willpower gap, cheat days, daily affirmations, time restrictive eating, and the 'bright' body. They emphasize the importance of shifting lifestyles, not just weight loss. Other topics include fasting benefits, challenges of refeeding, and the book 'On This Bright Day'.
Using personalized affirmations can help individuals overcome food addiction and redirect their thoughts in a positive way.
Shifting the focus away from weight and towards a healthy relationship with food leads to lasting peace and freedom.
Incorporating moderate fasting practices can support health and sustainable habits without triggering food addiction.
Deep dives
The Power of Mantras in Overcoming Food Addiction
In the podcast episode, Susan Pierce Thompson discusses the importance of using mantras or affirmations to overcome food addiction. She highlights that affirmations can be powerful when they are personalized and believed by the individual. These mantras help individuals to counteract their inner critic and redirect their thoughts in a positive way. By repeating these affirmations, individuals can reinforce their commitment to a healthy relationship with food and resist the temptations that trigger addictive behaviors.
Moving Beyond the Focus on Weight
Susan emphasizes the need to shift the focus away from weight and towards developing a healthy relationship with food. She highlights that weight loss should be viewed as a side effect of adopting a balanced approach to eating and living. Susan encourages individuals to prioritize nourishing their bodies with whole foods and to focus on achieving mental and emotional well-being. By shifting the focus away from the numbers on the scale, individuals can find peace and freedom in their relationship with food.
Navigating the Trend of Fasting
Regarding the trend of fasting, Susan acknowledges its potential health benefits, such as autophagy and longevity. However, she advises caution for individuals with food addiction tendencies. Susan explains that fasting for extended periods may trigger intense cravings and increase the risk of binge eating episodes. Instead, she suggests a more moderate approach, such as adopting a daily eating window of 6-8 hours or incorporating intermittent fasting practices that still allow for eating three balanced meals a day. The goal is to find a balance that supports health and sustainable habits without triggering addictive behaviors.
The Importance of Mentally Nurturing a Bright Body
Susan introduces the concept of a 'bright body,' which goes beyond physical appearance and refers to a body that is mentally and emotionally free from food struggles. She emphasizes the importance of creating mental fortitude and resilience when it comes to food choices. The daily reflections in Susan's new book, 'On This Bright Day,' aim to provide inspiration, aspiration, and a sense of community for individuals on a journey towards lasting food freedom. The book includes daily topics, quotes, soul nourishment, and mantras to support individuals in cultivating a positive and healthy relationship with food.
Susan's Personal Journey and Insights
Susan shares her personal journey of overcoming addiction and finding sustainable weight loss. She discusses how food addiction can replace other forms of addiction and shares her own experiences with seeking recovery. Susan emphasizes that food addiction is a real and challenging struggle, and she reflects on the mental health implications that can arise from failed attempts at weight loss. She also highlights the impact of finding a potent solution that supports successful weight loss and a positive sense of identity and self-worth.
Balancing Moderation and the Willpower Gap
Susan explores the concept of the willpower gap and its impact on making sustainable food choices. She highlights that the willpower gap affects everyone and often leads to poor decision-making when it comes to food. Susan suggests that automating eating habits, like having three balanced meals a day and planning food choices in advance, can bridge the willpower gap. By minimizing the need for daily decisions and relying on healthy habits, individuals can overcome the challenges of food temptation and maintain a balanced approach to eating.
Today, our host is joined by Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D., the New York Times bestselling author of Bright Line Eating and The Official Bright Line Eating Cookbook. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester and an expert in the psychology of eating. She is president of the Institute for Sustainable Weight Loss and the founder and CEO of Bright Line Eating Solutions, a company dedicated to helping people achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss.
Susan starts us off by providing a deep dive on her life story and experience with addiction. They dive into her personal experience with focusing on her mental health and watching her own behavior and others to overcome this endless loop that so many people find themselves in.
Dr. Thompson lays out the process of creating new rituals for achieving freedom and how to execute it over the long term. We then dive into the willpower gap, the concept of the cheat day, the use of daily affirmations, time restrictive eating, and the idea of our "bright" body. Overall, we take time to emphasize the importance of dropping weight related goals and shifting lifestyles, weight loss is just one symptom of this holistic shift.
This episode covers sensitive topics related to disordered eating and addiction. These discussions can be emotional and triggering for some listeners. Please remember that the information shared here is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. If you or someone you know is struggling with these issues, seek help from a qualified healthcare or mental health professional.
