I cannot believe this smart brain of mine…

Ever since I learned from you how it functions and why it is biased to love and seek flour and sugar, and that therefore I don’t need to beat myself up for it because it simply does its job, I have been using this self-compassion approach against myself.

Here’s what it looks like:

I will have an urge to eat off protocol, and then I will remind my brain that we no longer eat these foods.
And what it will answer is miraculous!
It will say: ‘It’s okay for me to have this because I am not going to beat myself up for doing that because I am wired to love these foods.’
Or, it will say: ‘I can have this now, because I can always resume my protocol any time I want.’

Interestingly, when I put the first thought into the model ‘It’s okay for me to have this because I am not going to beat myself up for doing that because I am wired to love these foods’), it creates a sense of peace with myself if I will choose to answer the urge and eat off plan, because the thought promises the delicious food AND that I will not beat myself up later on. Yet there’s an underlying knowing that I will still feel shame and guilt and regret afterwards.

The second thought (‘I can have this now, because I can always resume my protocol any time I want’) also generates a feeling of control and empowerment, but in both cases the result will be that I overate.

So can thoughts create a good feeling that lead to unwanted results?

Also, how freaking motivated my lower brain is!