By: Chaz Merkel

I have always liked that catchy little phrase for some reason.  There is something about it that is a little titillating and dangerous.  And after all, we all have our little 'inner demons' lurking inside us...waiting to attack at the first sign of weakness.  Just when I think I have kicked a bad eating habit, I find that some situation (usually stress related), will cause me to undermine myself and find a reason to cheat.  I will find some way to justify my bad eating behaviors and excuse myself for doing something that I know perfectly well is not right or is unhealthy for me.  And yet I still do it...why?  Hmmm....therein lies the million dollar question!

We all have what my psychologist friend Dr. Robert Levine calls, our "inner saboteur".  Just think about it, and remember that the first step to solving a problem is recognizing that there IS a problem.  This is where our 'little devils' or inner demons come in.  They work in the shadows of our subconscious.  They are VERY devious!  Once you are able to identify a problem and begin to correct it, the sneaky 'inner saboteur' of our subconscious will find another path to weasel its way in and accomplish the same mission...just in a different way.  "We are our own worst enemies", as the saying goes.  After all, our very own 'inner saboteur' knows its way around us better than anyone else possibly could.

I would like you to just take a moment and do a little soul searching.  Find a quiet low lit place to sit and think about which eating behaviors you know are wrong.  You know better than anyone else what you put in your mouth.  When you do something you know is wrong or unhealthy you are not fooling anyone.  You are only cheating yourself.  Examine those eating behaviors and try to find a 'trigger' that seems to precede that behavior.  As banded people we are all different, and yet we have a lot of commonalities through this disease of obesity.  We've all encountered many of the same emotions and obstacles.  Those experiences continue to plague us subconsciously.  But we are not alone in our feelings.

So how can we outsmart our inner demon?

There is something called the ancient brain which is located at the very base of our brain stem.  For my purpose today I am going to use a very outdated scientific term called 'The Reptilian Brain', because it suits my example perfectly.  Think about crocodiles.  They have survived over 250 million years.  What do they really do?  They eat, they sleep, they poop, and they mate....that's about it.  But there is one thing they are extremely good at...and that is SURVIVAL!  They see everything in one way, and one way only...as a threat to their survival...or not.  When we as human beings are put in any kind of situation, we also approach it with what remains of our 'Reptilian Brain'.  A small instinctual part of us still sees everything in terms of 'survival'...either life or death.  Our higher more developed brain is the modifier for these basic instincts.  Unlike the crocodile, we have speech and language skills, and the ability to reason.  And with that ability to reason we can also find ways to justify our behaviors and excuse ourselves, even when we know what we are doing is wrong.  It is all just a battle between the primitive 'Reptilian Brain' and the modern...'developed brain'.  Our brains all work the same, and we find ways to justify our bad behavior.  Guilt, insecurity, self loathing, anger, etc.  are all byproducts of the battle between our reptilian brain and our modern brain.

We are constantly in a dialogue with ourselves.  We are unaware because it is so second nature to us.  Everything is perceived initially as either black or white, positive or negative, life or death.  Then we modify those thoughts with our higher more developed brain.  Did you know that about 90% of our negative thoughts slip by completely unnoticed?  This is why we often find ourselves mindlessly doing things we know we shouldn't do.  It can manifest itself in how we deal with our relationship to food and how we can find ways to cheat, deceive ourselves, or justify inappropriate behaviors.  Example:  "I'm stressed", I've had a bad day", My spouse is mad at me, I hate my job, I hate my life, I am not attractive enough, I don't feel liked or valued...I deserve a treat.  Perhaps feeling that we are not worthy of something better.  Feeling such as these can only be compounded if someone is dealing with forms of depression.  And depression tends to go hand in hand with obesity.  These thoughts are in our subconscious, resting mischievously on the sidelines, running their own game without our permission, or even our awareness.  The saboteur work as well as it does...because it works in secret.

Understanding this concept and recognizing what we are doing to ourselves is like flicking on the light in a room with roaches.  What do they do?  They scatter!  But the modern 'developed brain' is very smart.  Even after you have spotlighted the problem, those little demons are working on new ways to fool ourselves.  So even though we may start to recognize some of our bad behaviors and begin to change them...our 'inner saboteur' will adapt itself and try to weasel its way through a different door.  So we must always be aware and vigilant.  Self knowledge and the understanding of our 'triggers' can be a valuable tool.

Our inner saboteur can creep up on us in a moment's notice.  Sometimes we react the way it wants us to so quickly that it is too late to fight it off.  For example, instinctively to reaching for a treat or a snack...when we know we are not really hungry...or need it.  We have shoved it in our mouths before we were even fully aware of what we were doing.  Then we feel guilty and perhaps do it some more.  That's what our inner saboteur wants us to do.  It's a sticky trap.

We need to actually 'witness' our saboteur.  Because to 'witness' means to observe, take note of, or be present to.  This does not mean that you are always capable of correcting or resisting your saboteur.  We are after all only human beings...and we have flaws.  But by just being as fully aware of your feelings as possible, you can often short circuit the need to cheat.  Focus that bright light of attention on your saboteur...and its power will diminish.  Like Dracula...the inner saboteur can't stand the light of day.

So beginning today, we can all start becoming more aware of our behaviors, our triggers, and our 'inner saboteur'.  Think about the whole concept.  We have just begun the process of shining that light on our inner saboteur, our 'inner demon'.  And once we have done that...there is no taking it back.  Make this moment the moment we begin making changes in our lives for the better through self knowledge and understanding.  By telling the truth...we CAN shame that devil!

My Banded Best!

Chaz

(aka Chaz Martino at www.chazmartino.com)

Chaz Merkel

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