Be aware of your limiting beliefs

The dieting cycle of deprival interspersed with lapses of unregulated eating is chaotic. It reinforces the belief that one lacks self-control over food. This type of belief is called a ‘limiting belief’. These are the opinions that we hold about ourselves that act as barriers to manifesting what we want usually because they stop us from taking action to achieve our goals.

Dieting can also instil the fear that if one is not dieting there is loss of control over eating. This is another limiting belief which prevents people from abandoning diets. (Perhaps they also do not know that a normal relationship with food is re-established through hunger-led conscious eating).

Repeatedly affirming a limiting belief such as, “I have no power over food” is an effective way of reinforcing that idea. Sociologist Robert K. Merton coined the phrase ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. When we predict that we will fail, we may create stereotypical behaviour that actually causes the failure and fulfils the prophecy.

Challenge any beliefs that do not serve you by disputing them with questions like, “Really? Is that always the case? What other possibilities are there?”