Eating indiscriminately feels like living in a cloud; you may be unable to think clearly or find some perspective on your appetite, making it nearly impossibly to avoid the temptation to eat haphazardly. Often indiscriminate eating is marked by a strong compulsive urge to eat that feels irresistible and beyond your control. You may not even realize that your hand is buried in the cookie jar or bag of chips until it's too late. The pattern often results from a cloudy kapha-mind and can increase feelings of lethargy, sluggishness, low mood or depression, excess weight, low self-esteem, and poor energy.

You must find a way to awaken the mind from its stupor in order to overcome an indiscriminate or compulsive eating pattern. Bitter herbs are the wake up call for a dull mind, pulling you out of an urge to eat indiscriminately. You might also try splashing cold water on your face, which quickly draws a hungry mind back to the moment. Try celery, it has an inspiring crunch and tends to depress appetite.

Generally following a kapha-pacifying diet which is full of bitter green vegetables and dry, spicy, pungent foods can lighten a dull kapha mind, increase energy, and revitalize the body. Limiting processed food, refined sugars and flours which create fogginess and aggravate kapha is equally important. The best way to avoid addiction triggering foods is by not buying them at the grocery store. Or, at least keeping them out of reach.

Indiscriminate eating is also an opportunity for growth, despite the pain and shame it may carry. Take a moment to examine your relationship with yourself and your relationship with food. When not caught up in the urge to eat, consciously consider the meanings and significance that food holds for you. Do you restrict certain foods from yourself, skip meals, or refuse to eat in front of others, only to find yourself mindlessly gorging later? Is food a source of comfort, a source of fuel, a distraction from boredom or unhappiness, a liberation from pain? Do you believe that your body size restricts your right to eat and nourish yourself fully? Notice your mood and the time of day that you tend to eat indiscriminately and come up with a plan so that you will not be tempted, or how to stop yourself if you are. As with many maladaptive habits and patterns, bringing awareness to your behaviors without judging yourself harshly starts to unravel their power and gives you back control.

Many people who struggle with indiscriminate eating use food as a way to numb uncomfortable emotions. It is a way to "stuff something away." For this reason, cultivating your ability to examine, experience and tolerate discomfort without using food or other distractions can bring greater emotional resilience and help you overcome indiscriminate eating. The more mindful you can be towards your emotions and your eating habits, the more your relationship with food becomes intuitive and instinctive, as opposed to dispassionate and thoughtless. Ayurveda shows you how food is medicinal and teaches you how to truly enjoy your food and remain aware while eating so that you can create health as opposed to degrade it. Remember, your body is your piece of God and your emotions are its messenger. Recognize your intrinsic worth, listen with curiosity, and feel fully so that food can become a source of nourishment instead of a mindless, thoughtless habit.

AGGRAVATES THESE DOSHAS & QUALITIES

Imbalance Accumulates

Improper food and lifestyle causes balances to accumulate. Ayurveda shows you exactly which doshas and qualities are likely to accumulate in your body. Once these doshas and qualities accumulate too much, they will begin to cause imbalance. You can reduce an imbalanced dosha or quality by removing things that aggravate it from your diet and lifestyle.

V = VATA, P = PITTA, K = KAPHA

To learn more about the symbols above, click on them.

SEE A DIET WHICH REMOVES THESE QUALITIES

ADDRESS ISSUES IN STAGE OF DISEASE 0

Potential causes increase and disturb your imbalanced doshas and qualities, causing them to accumulate and spiral out of control. For example, if you're overheated and eat a chili pepper, heat may become excessive and cause disease. As a dosha or quality accumulates in your body according to your dietary and lifestyle habits, it is more and more likely to cause disease. You can reduce an imbalanced dosha or quality in two ways, by removing, or lessening the frequency of aggravating causes from your diet and lifestyle, as well as by favoring balancing diet and lifestyle practices. For example, try eating something as cool as a cucumber when you're overheated, instead of a chili pepper.

REDUCE THESE RELATED SYMPTOMS & HABITS

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR UNIQUE BODY?

What aggravates it? What heals it? Then get your Personal Ayurvedic Body Book! This book, written by founder and director of Joyful Belly, John Immel, is individually formatted for your unique body and will help you confidently choose food that restores your healthy glow to get you feeling like your best self. Just $19.99!

ADD TO CART

About the Author

John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda. His approach to Ayurveda exudes a certain ease, which many find enjoyable and insightful. His online course Balance Your Ayurvedic Diet in a Week provides tools for gracefully healing with Ayurveda to thousands. John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda , which specializes in digestive tract pathology & Ayurvedic nutrition. John and his wife Natalie recently published Explore Your Hunger: A Guide to Hunger, Appetite & Food.

John's interest in Ayurveda and digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel, including his public service work in South Asia. John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem. His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion. John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing. In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.

John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots, and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church. Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick. That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well.

Read more