Let’s talk about how our thoughts can totally mess with our eating habits—like, to the point where they become self-fulfilling prophecies. You know that voice in your head that says, “I could never have a box of cookies in my house without eating the whole thing”? Or maybe it’s, “If I start eating chips, I won’t be able to stop.” The funny thing about these thoughts is that the more we believe them, the more they end up becoming our reality.

Welcome to the world of confirmation bias, where your brain is working overtime to prove your beliefs true, even when they’re not helping you. Let’s dig into this because once you understand how this works, you can start shifting those thoughts and stop setting yourself up for failure with food.

What Is Confirmation Bias?

Confirmation bias is basically your brain’s way of proving what you already believe. It’s a sneaky little trick where you focus on evidence that supports your belief and ignore anything that goes against it. Your brain loves efficiency, and instead of constantly questioning everything, it tends to stick with what it already “knows”—even if what it “knows” isn’t serving you.

So, if you walk into a situation with the belief “I can’t control myself around cookies,” your brain is already primed to find every bit of evidence to prove that’s true. You’ll notice the moment you reach for the third cookie and think, “See? I knew I couldn’t trust myself.” But what you won’t notice as much are the times when you only ate a couple of cookies and then moved on. Your brain conveniently skips over those moments because they don’t fit with the story it’s been telling.

Your Thoughts Become Your Reality

When you constantly tell yourself things like, “I can’t have cookies in the house because I’ll eat them all,” guess what happens? That exact thing. You’re basically priming yourself to live out the belief. You buy the cookies, and before you even open the box, there’s already a sense of dread—“Here we go, I won’t be able to stop.” So, you eat one, then two, then five, and suddenly the box is gone. And there it is, the self-fulfilling prophecy. You believed you couldn’t stop, so you didn’t. Your brain is doing a little victory dance like, “See? I was right.”

But was it? What if the belief was the very thing setting you up to fail in the first place?

Why Does This Happen?

Our brains love predictability. Even if it’s a negative belief, there’s comfort in knowing something. It’s why we cling to these stories we tell ourselves. Your brain wants to make sense of the world in the easiest way possible, so it keeps feeding you the same narrative because it feels familiar. And every time you live out that narrative, it’s like, “Yep, see? That’s just how it is.”

But those stories are just that—stories. They’re not facts. They’re beliefs you’ve picked up somewhere along the way, and they’ve become so ingrained that they feel like truth. But they’re not set in stone.

How Confirmation Bias Shows Up with Food

Let’s say you believe, “I always overeat when I’m stressed.” Confirmation bias is going to kick in hard. The next time you’re stressed, you’re already expecting to overeat. So, you reach for the chips or the cookies, and when you do, your brain goes, “See? This is just what I do when I’m stressed. I overeat.” But what if you stopped to question that thought? What if instead of buying into the belief, you paused and asked yourself, “Is this really true? Or is this just a story I’ve been telling myself?”

Breaking the Cycle of Confirmation Bias

So, how do we break free from this self-fulfilling prophecy? It starts with catching the thought before it takes over. Next time you think, “I can’t have just one cookie” or “I always binge when I’m stressed,” pause. Ask yourself, “Is this the only way to see this situation? Is it possible I could have a different experience?” This little pause gives you the space to challenge the belief before it becomes reality.

Here’s a quick exercise: next time you catch yourself thinking a limiting thought like, “I’ll never be able to stop once I start,” take a breath and ask yourself, “Is this really true? Can I find any evidence to the contrary?” Maybe you remember a time when you had dessert, enjoyed it, and didn’t spiral into a binge. Use that as proof that your belief isn’t the whole truth.

Put It into Practice

Let’s say you’ve always believed you can’t trust yourself around certain foods. Instead of walking into the situation with that thought, try this: pause before you eat and ask yourself, “Is there a different way this could go?” Give yourself permission to eat the food, but stay mindful and check in with yourself as you go. Challenge the belief that you can’t stop, and see what happens when you take a different approach.

And if you find yourself in the middle of that old thought pattern? That’s okay, too. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s awareness. Every time you catch yourself in the act of confirmation bias and choose to think differently, you’re breaking the cycle.

Choose To Show Yourself Something Different

Confirmation bias is a tricky little thing that can make our thoughts feel like reality, but you’re not stuck in those beliefs. The stories you’ve been telling yourself about food and your eating habits can change, but it starts with noticing when those thoughts pop up and challenging them. It’s not easy, and it takes practice, but every time you pause and ask yourself, “Is this really true?” you’re creating space for a new reality—one where you’re not controlled by those old stories.

So next time you catch yourself thinking, “I could never have cookies in the house without eating the whole box,” challenge it. Is that really the only way this goes? Or could there be a new way to see it?