EATING YOUR EMOTIONS

We all do it

You come home from another hard day, dealing with nagging co-workers and trying bosses. Or you had to stay home with children who would not stop arguing and drawing on the walls.

No one wants to cook or deal with dishes, so you all sit on the couch eating takeout for the third time that week. Dessert consists of a pint of your favorite ice cream.

Do your pants still fit? Or is your muffin top starting to become noticeable?

This is what emotional eating can look like, sound like you? Well, let’s dive a little deeper.

Emotional Eating Explained

All the negative emotions we feel throughout the day affects our eating habits.

Let’s remember this first and foremost: eating emotionally is okay, and totally normal! We need to ensure that it’s kept to a minimum, however, so as not to impact our health.

Many people turn to high sodium, high sugar, or high caloric foods that can be much more damaging than they realize, no matter how long people eat them.

Dopamine Release

It’s been studied that eating foods we enjoy will encourage a release of one of the “happy chemicals'' in our brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that encourages happy feelings! We love to be happy, so let’s eat yummy food!

Except, this is not always going to produce the best results. We can become addicted to the chemical release, encouraging us to continue to eat all of the junk food we enjoy.

Remember: normal and OKAY! But you want to limit it to small amounts.

Let’s Move Past This

If you’re ready to get through the binge eating, we need to find the possible source of the problem. Some examples are:

Finances

Upcoming changes

Relationship issues

Workplace hostility

Health problems

Unmet expectations

If any of these sound like something you’re struggling through, you have a deeper issue to work on before you can work past emotional eating.

As a certified life coach, I can be a helpful tool in your eating journey. If you’re friends or family that are not comfortable with working together, I have a whole network happy to assist you. Another option is that you can find a therapist for in person visits to discuss your emotional status.

Tackle the Food

If you’re ready to handle your food choices, there are a few options that will be sure to help you:

Handle your stress - If you can get through what is bothering you, you’ll likely lessen the amount of food you binge on.

Offer healthier options - Fill your fridge and pantry with healthier options that outweigh the less-than healthy choices.

Keep a food diary - Showing yourself the food you’re choosing can be very eye-opening. Your mind will begin to make changes slowly, after processing what you’ve actually been eating.

Deprivation won’t work - If you try to completely cut out the processed foods you love, you’ll fall out at some point and usually sooner than taking it slowly. Eat smaller amounts of the foods you love less frequently!

Get help - If you continue to try to do it alone, ask for assistance!

You’re girl, here, is also a nutrition coach! We can combine nutrition and life coaching to make sure you make an impact on your life. To get started with a FREE 30 minute discovery session, click this link today

xoxo,

Lucie Mitchell