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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Fat Tuesday Recap ... Emotional vs. Physical Hunger

It was a bad day folks in the soup de jour department but a break through in the emotional eating department. Yesterday was a good and bad day. Good because there is a lot going on in my life right now I am excited about, bad because I feel like I can do better and haven't when it comes to this weight loss journey (I know so vague). One thing I never really thought about until recently is the disaster that can happen when food and emotions mix. I got to thinking that we eat when we are happy, we eat when we are sad, we eat when we feel nothing at all, we eat when we are stressed and why is that? In my quest to feed my need for knowledge I came across an article in Today's Diet and Nutrition about emotional hunger vs. physical hunger.


I've noticed I do two things when emotions come into play in my diet: I either eat or I don't eat. Weird right? Most emotions and celebrations involve food - a graduation, a party, showers, funerals. Even rewards can be centered around food when we do well and excel at something. When we are kids and we get hurt sometimes we are given a Popsicle or ice cream to sooth in our comforting. How do we break a learned behavior such as emotional eating?

As I've learned throughout this journey so far you have choices. Choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Choices for exercising. Choices for if today you will put off what you should've done yesterday. Choice to eat balance meals or skip a meal here and there. I wish I had a new word for choices, and options really isn't that much better! These choices are at times dependent on the situations we find ourselves in daily. For example, if we have a bad day at work we have a choice to take that day home with us or leave it in the office. How we deal with that bad day is when emotions come into play. I don't know about you but when I use to have a bad day in the office I would eat, go home and site on my couch and let that day fester until I decided I was ready for bed. Most times I was so busy at work I wouldn't eat and when I got home I would eat whatever I could, and eat to the point where it would hurt. Yup hurt. Not emotionally but physically. It's not the best feeling in the world folks, I don't recommend it!

Now the question becomes what is the solution to these learned emotional behaviors that have lasted all these years, that have been there through thick and thin and that I've relied on so much through good and bad times? For one, it's finding other ways to deal with these emotions instead of dealing with them through the use of food. For example, instead of taking out your bad day in the office out on your fridge, take it out in the gym, the sidewalk, reading...the list is endless. I've been making a list of all the things I CAN do: go for a walk, create a piece of artwork, sketch up a new jewelry design. And while this is going to take some time to get use to, it's necessary to. I can't let my emotions get the best of me because I worked too damn hard to be where I'm at today. I don't want to walk down that path again, so something has to change!

Sorry for the one way ticket to Debbie Downerville. It's all part of this journey I suppose, and whether or not I like it, I'm going to have to deal with it. Hope all is well with everyone! Keep fighting the good fight everyone...WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT!

1 comment:

  1. I know it is probably easier said than done, but Cuz, you are kickin' ass and takin' names with this weight loss journey of yours! You should be very proud of yourself. You have come so far and should be so proud of yourself. I know I'm proud of you and so are so many others. Just remember, you are losing the weight the right way ... and that takes time. Don't get too down on yourself because you are an inspiration!!!

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