My Battle With Emotional Eating On A Weight Loss Journey
I have more than one reason for sharing this today. First, I want it to be known that just because I am a Beachbody Coach and a huge advocate for health and fitness, and I practice the lifestyle that I teach, I also strive and want to be an open book. Secondly, I hope that if you are reading this and also struggle with emotional eating, it will inspire you so that you can overcome it and still achieve your weight loss journey goals. Lastly, if you are reading this because someone you love struggles with emotional eating, I hope he can shed some light on what they may be feeling.
Looking back, I think I’ve always struggled with emotional eating, but didn’t realize it until recently. In early January, we decided to participate in a 21-day Daniel Fast with our church that we attend. I knew he was struggling with my eating habits and had started to drift, so I prayed that this partial fast would help me recover. My husband decided to join me and we’re currently on the 18th. If you’ve never heard of this before, it’s a partial fast where he cuts out any remaining breads, sugar, coffee, and animal products; basically cut out everything but fruits and vegetables. . My senses have been heightened to my cravings since I can’t have my comfort foods, and I’m increasingly recognizing the struggle I have with emotional eating.
Things I’ve noticed:
路 I am addicted to certain foods/drinks because of how they make me FEEL. Example: My decaf coffee makes me feel comfortable and relaxed (Emotional Eating Red Flag #1)
路 I find myself eating mindlessly when I’m BORED. Especially at night when I sometimes find myself wanting to eat everything in sight. (red emotional eating flag #2)
路 I often find myself feeling guilty after mindlessly eating, because I’ve realized I wasn’t really hungry to begin with. (red emotional eating flag #3)
路 I have certain “trigger” foods (CARBIONS), which I have a hard time stopping even when I’m full. These trigger foods are all foods that I am addicted to for feelings of comfort. Example: French fries or bread in a restaurant (Red flag #4 Emotional Eating)
According to WebMD, one way to help determine if you’re physically or emotionally hungry is to focus on a particular food. For example, after a really stressful day at the office, I NEED carbs, usually things like chips, bread, pizza, and fried foods, things I don’t eat very often. And what if I can’t get one of these comfort foods when I have this feeling? I get upset. Hello? That’s not good.
Also according to WebMD, what you seek to satisfy an emotion depends on the emotion. Personally, I crave carbs and sugar when I have some sort of emotional eating episode. But in this article I read, it says that happy people tend to be more drawn to pizza or steak, while someone who is in a bad mood might reach for ice cream and cookies. I rarely want ice cream or cookies, so I guess that means I’m happy. 馃榾
If you have been following me for a long time, you know that I have my own weight loss story that I share. Last year, I lost a little over 30 pounds. You may be wondering, “How did you do so well fighting emotional eating, and how can I do it too?” Well, first I’ll tell you that my results could have been much better. I cleaned up my eating dramatically, but I still could have done better by following the meal plans, so I could have had better results. However, in my opinion I did wonderfully and am very happy now. I want to share with you some ways I lost weight while battling emotional eating.
路 I joined an accountability group. I feature them on Facebook if you ever want to get on one. Having others also aware of what I was doing really helped me, and still does!
路 I started exercising at home and replaced one meal a day with Shakeology. This only kept me more consistent and doing my workouts 5-6 days a week was obviously a big reason for my weight loss. Shakeology helps me with my cravings.
路 While I still battle late-night episodes where I want to eat every carb in sight, I started looking for healthier options. I shouldn’t eat anything after dinner, but hey, it was an improvement.
路 I didn’t let an episode of emotional eating derail me – I followed the next meal with what I knew I had to do to continue losing weight.
路 I made sure I ALWAYS had snacks on hand. Every day I go to work with breakfast, 2 snacks and lunch. This way, I’m less tempted by the constant array of greasy treats arriving at the office. Example: The other day someone brought in some amazing donuts. My need for comfort kicked in, but I got it back by eating my strawberry snack.
I’d love to hear from you: Do you have your own battle with emotional eating? How are you getting over it? However, do you need help to overcome it? Comment below and let’s chat!