Have you ever tried to fix the same thing over and over again?
You tell yourself you need more discipline. You make another rule. You promise that Monday will be different. You focus on the food, the scale, the evening snacking, the exhaustion, or whatever behavior keeps frustrating you.
But what if the thing you are trying to fix is not actually the problem?
That is what caught my attention in Nir Eyal’s Psychology Today article, To Fix Your Problems, Find the Root Cause. His point is that lasting solutions require us to look beneath the obvious problem and understand what is driving it. In his work on distraction, for example, he explains that the behavior we see on the surface can be an attempt to escape an uncomfortable internal feeling.
I think this is incredibly relevant to what we learn in Body Bella.
For years, we have been taught to look at weight as the problem. If the scale is higher than we want, we assume the solution is obvious: eat less and exercise more.
But the number on the scale does not tell us why the body is responding the way it is.
Physiology matters.
Sleep matters. Stress matters. Nourishment matters. Hydration matters. Hormones, medications, digestion, movement, habits, and what is happening in your life can all become pieces of a much larger picture.
The same is true of eating behaviors.
If you repeatedly find yourself reaching for food when you did not intend to, simply telling yourself to “stop doing that” may never answer the more useful question: What keeps happening before I do it?
Are you exhausted? Did you go too long without nourishing yourself? Are you overwhelmed? Is this something you have done at the end of every stressful day for twenty years? Are you trying to soothe something that has nothing to do with hunger?
That does not mean every choice requires a deep psychological investigation. Sometimes you just want the cookie.
But when the same pattern keeps showing up, curiosity can take you much further than criticism.
This is one of the reasons I want you learning why in Body Bella instead of simply following rules.
When you understand what your body is asking for and begin recognizing what is happening underneath a pattern, you have much more information to work with.
Instead of saying, “What is wrong with me?” you can begin asking, “What is driving this?”
That is a very different question.
And sometimes it changes everything.
Because if you keep treating the symptom while ignoring what is creating it, you may spend years trying harder at the wrong solution.
Your body is giving you information all the time.
Pay attention to it.
Get curious about it.
And before you decide you simply lack willpower, look a little deeper.
The problem you can see may only be pointing you toward the problem that actually deserves your attention.
And remember, you are an example to everyone around you. When the people you love see you respond to your body with curiosity instead of criticism, you show them that caring for ourselves begins with understanding ourselves.
Keep going,
Dr. Brookh Lyons
Founder, Body Bella
You don’t need to be fixed. You need to be supported.
Book a consult or Explore the Body Bella experience
To read the article that inspired this Body Bella observation: To Fix Your Problems, Find the Root Cause - Psychology Today
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Green Bay, WI 54301
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