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Do your feelings influence what and when you eat? I used to eat ice cream (and other sweets) when I felt stressed, bored, or unhappy. (To be honest, I still sometimes eat for those reasons.) We choose to do particular things when we feel a certain way. Imagine you are feeling stressed, bored, angry, or sad - and yet - have no desire to eat to make yourself feel better. It is possible!
Your feelings matter. When you use food to prevent yourself from feeling unpleasant emotions, those feelings do not permanently go away; they are just temporarily suppressed. When you emotionally eat, rather than eating because you’re hungry, you eat more food than your body needs and are more likely to gain weight. If you also eat just because “everyone else is eating,” you also overeat.
Before you eat for any reason other than hunger, take a moment to think about how you feel. If you’re not hungry, what will that food do for you? If you want to feel energetic, light, confident, and look good in your clothing, is that snack helping you reach your goal? If you're looking for comfort, will you truly feel better because you ate the entire pint of ice cream or drank that bottle of wine?
Can you care for yourself and eat in a way that aligns with how you want to feel later today, tomorrow, and next week? When you choose to eat for reasons other than hunger, take a moment before you put any food in your mouth to consider why you are eating. Are you eating to numb your feelings, de-stress, or just because the food is available? Are you eating to be part of the group or to make someone else feel good? Are you eating to provide comfort for yourself if you’re feeling lonely or unhappy? You're successful in other areas of your life - you can also be successful around any food! You’ve shown that you can do hard things. It's not very hard to manage how you think around food; however, it does require persistence and desire.
No food magically puts itself in your mouth. Your hand does not bring the food to your mouth of its own free will. You choose to eat that food – even if it sometimes feels almost instantaneous. Your first step is to slow down and pay attention. Track how frequently you eat something without being aware of making a conscious choice. Give yourself non-food rewards when you choose not to eat when you're not hungry. The more frequently you allow yourself to feel your feelings, rather than eating to suppress them, the easier it becomes.
If you want more help, schedule a discovery call with me at: https://calendly.com/coachbarbarakatz/60min There is no pressure or obligation, but coaching may be the help you need to finally lose weight for the last time so that you can reach and stay at your natural weight without dieting!
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