Getting to Know Your Eating System: A Parts Mapping Demo

The Emotional Eating (and Everything Else) Podcast

You may remember that a couple weeks ago, in episode 55 of the podcast, we talked about a technique called Parts Mapping. This is something that we do in IFS (Internal Family Systems), the therapy/coaching modality that I use with my clients (and with myself!).

With Parts Mapping, we can get to know all of the parts of us that are leading us to and away from food, which gives us a much greater understanding of why we do what we do. And when we know why, we can make the kind of changes that actually make sense--and that last.

For example, you may have a part that comforts you with food, one that diets regularly, one that binge eats, one that rebels against dieting, one that's critical of your body--the list can go on. All of these parts make up what I call your Eating System. And getting to know these parts and how they interact together is the most effective way to understand and change your eating patterns.

On this week's episode, I'm lucky enough to do a Parts Mapping exercise with Sister Mary, a fantastic human being who volunteered to demonstrate this process. I am so incredibly grateful that she allowed me to do this and share it with you!

In the demo, we start by mapping out many of the parts in Sister Mary's Eating System. We then focus on another group of parts that tend to binge eat. Sister Mary had initially believed that she had just one binge eating part, but when we dove in a bit, she realized that it was actually a group of five! Although that might seem overwhelming, it was actually calming to Sister Mary to have this clarity. She can now begin the process of getting to know these parts so that she can truly give them what they need (which likely isn't food!).

You will notice that Sister Mary is already familiar with IFS, so we were able to get into things pretty quickly. She shares that she has already been working on showing her parts more compassion, which is a huge piece of IFS.

If you've never done IFS or aren't familiar with it, this process may not be quite as smooth for you as it is for Sister Mary, but stick with it--you will get there! And head back to podcast episode 55 where I walk you through the Parts Mapping process.

And if you're really interested in doing a Parts Mapping exercise, join me for the Finding Peace with Food and Your Body webinar series! In the first webinar (on March 29th), we'll be talking about emotional eating and getting to know what parts turn you to and away from food. And we'll be doing a Parts Mapping exercise to do just that! Head here for all of the information and to sign up! I hope to see you there!

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Unsure what leads you to–or away from–food? Let’s get to know your eating parts! Check out my FREE Eating Parts Cheat Sheets to start understanding what (or should I say who?) leads you to food!