Let's be real here for a second...no matter how good you are at getting your "meal plan" down, how great you are with your health journey, no matter how much you love to workout...emotional eating can sabotage even the strongest efforts to get healthy & lose weight! I have been on a constant journey for 3 years now with my emotional eating & love/hate relationship with food. I have learnt my triggers that set my binge into overdrive. For years I battled with not wanting to eat for fear I would gain weight (when I was already struggling with a weight issue), then I would binge eat to the point being sick, then feel depressed about the choices I made, sending me back into the cycle of under eating.
The triggers will absolutley vary person to person but I believe there is a common theme for all of us:
Unpleasant emotions: When we are feeling shitty, eating (and in my case, sweets) boost your serotonin level (your sexy, feel good hormone) and lowers the level of Cortisol in the body...giving you that temporary lift in your mood.
Childhood Roots:
When you hurt your finger, did your mom reach for a cookie to make the boo-boo better? When you were down, did you grandma offer up your "comfort food"? Emotional eating can root right back to childhood! When this isn't always a bad thing for our littles to feel better in the moment, when it follows us into adulthood where we experience far more "boo-boo"s, it becomes a problem-causing crutch.
Social Situations: for me, this is a BIG one...go out with the girls, its automatically considered a "wine night". Date night with hubby <--- WINE. Visit with family from out of town...sugar packed, high fat dinner followed with WINE. See the trend here? Social situation cause breaks in your willpower to stay on track, i mean, how wants to be the host who offers water and plate of grilled asparagus?? This is a hard situation to break as society makes it so easy to pick on the people who tend to follow the health trend. (gluten-free much?!)
Regardless of your personal triggers for over eating, emotional eating, or addictive eating...HAVE NO FEAR! I am living proof you can break these habits <3 Here are a few tricks I use to fight off my emotional eating monster:
1. PLAN YOUR DAY
Meal planning, food prep, and knowing whats happening in my food world ahead of time has been a BIG game changer for me! First off, I am a meal skipper...this leads to drop in my blood sugars. Remember the hormone thing I talked about before?? Well this sends it straight for disaster! I plan my meals no more than 2-3 hours apart, this way, i keep my sugars right where they should be and I don't overindulge thinking I'm never going to eat again (yes, I'm dramatic) For tips on how to meal prep, check out Clean Eating
2. FIND FOOD ALTERNATIVES.
If your eating because you’re stressed, unwind by taking a bath or cuddling on the sofa with a blanket. Find a book you love and indulge in that. If your feeling lonely, call a friend or plan a coffee date! If your irritated, GET OUTSIDE! Breathe slowly & deeply through your nose a few times.
3. EXERCISE MORE.
I don't know about you, but i fell AMAZING after a killer workout. I feel a sense of accomplishment, freedom, satisfaction & sexiness. <--- this, my friends, is a completely different boost than the boost I get from a food rush. Exercise is cleansing to the body, a great way to boost those happy-hormones I talked about before and will keep you on your health journey track instead of sabotaging it. Im not saying you have to kill yourself for 3 hours in the gym. Try this: when your feeling like hitting the kitchen, do 3 Sun Salutations.
4. FILL UP ON THE GOOD STUFF
Cravings...they aren't as much of a mental thing as you would think! They are actually your body telling you that your lacking something! The best way to get around this...eat a well-balanced diet FULL of veggies, fruits, & seeds. You should be eating more than half of your food in the form or raw or steamed veggies. Don't like veggies? guess what, your body rejuvenates its taste buds every 2 weeks! keep eating it even if your not a huge fan...you tastebuds learn to recognize the good stuff & will start to crave this!! COOL EH?!
5. SAVOUR THE EXPERIENCE
I'm a foodie! So my foodie tip of the day for you...enjoy the moment. Eat slowly, appreciate your food. Notice the flavours, the texture, the creation. Notice the smells and the colors. Think of all the beautiful things your food has to offer in the form of vitamins, nutrients, minerals... Sounds intimate right?! IT SHOULD BE! You should have a close, healthy relationship with what your putting into your body, after all, if its going in, it BECOMES YOU!
6. SET YOURSELF FREE.
Meditation...when I say this people automatically get weirded out and picture sitting in a quiet, candle lit room with their legs crossed humming some ritualistic tune...GET REAL! Start super simple. Sit in a comfortable position, even cross legged for effect ;) Close your eyes, pay attention to your breathe. take a full breathe in through your nose for 5 counts, then out for 6 counts...in for 5, out for 6...in for 5, out for 6. follow your breathe until you can feel its rhythm. Focus on nothing but the breathe. once you feel in a relaxed state, take a BIG inhale in through the nose, decide what you need to LET GO OFF (whatever is ailing your heart) and breathe it out. Breathe out the bad, negative, shitty, awkward stuff. Breathe in positive & happy thoughts. SIMPLY RIGHT?!?!?! Please, give it a shot.
7. GET ENOUGH SLEEP, CUT OUT THE BOOZE
These are 2 things I have come to terms with...operation as a zombie is not sexy, nor is a dependancy on wine to feel great. Get in your 8 hours. Set a bedtime routine you LOVE! Invest in a great anti-aging face serum you LOVE & are excited to use at bedtime. Wash your face, get cozy, read a book. On the wine, its a sugary shitstorm whether is has the health benefits or not...LIMIT IT! and try to avoid right before bedtime, it screws with your sleep patterns. And believe me, when i've had a glass of wine or 2, I have NO problem hitting the kitchen to find some cheese of a starchy snack.
8. BE GENTLE ON YOURSELF
WE ARE HUMAN. We are going to have good & bad days. Someone asked me yesterday, do you ever eat theatre popcorn?? if so, do you just not eat all day to earn it? HELL YES I DO eat that popcorn! And no, I eat healthy as usual. <--- get the popcorn, enjoy each kernel slowly, then get back on track. Don't beat yourself up. Know that you are on a marathon journey, not a sprint. Don't burn yourself out by restricting everything all the time. If you find yourself in a binge, remove yourself, recognize what triggered it & let that go.
If there is one thing I have learnt from this journey to get my health in check, it's to remember why your starting. Have a set reason you are driven to accomplish what you've set out. Personally, I have my WHY written out in many places...when I feel like failing, I remember why I started.
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