How to Stop Eating to Feel Good

Last weekend I noticed I REALLY wanted ice cream, even though I was definitely NOT hungry.

I put the baby to bed and then got really curious about why I really wanted dessert…

And the answer came to me in a matter of seconds.

Even though it had been a great day, I noticed I was telling myself things like: 

• I’ve got so much to do with work… 
• I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done… 
• I only got 1 thing done instead of all 3… with a subtle “it’s not enough” undertone. 
• Zach will be traveling next week, so I’ll need our babysitter more in the evenings, which means I’ll have less time overall to work in the afternoons undistracted… 

I was totally in overwhelm, and I just didn’t take the time to calm my brain down and redirect it.

THAT’S WHY I WANTED TO EAT.

I would be eating to feel better.

To relax and unwind, to stop dreading the week and my “lack of time.”

Ultimately to escape my thoughts. 

This is emotional eating.

It’s a habit your brains learns that has you reaching for food (typically when you’re not truly hungry), because it knows food creates a rapid, reliable, and effective sense of relief.

And the beautiful thing is that if it’s a habit you learned, it’s a habit you can UNLEARN!

Just like I did.

So once I realized I wanted the ice cream because I was overwhelming and stressing myself out, I asked what I really needed in that moment instead. 

And the answer was rest.

I was tired.

I didn’t feel great, I hadn’t slept a lot in the couple nights prior, and even though it was 9pm and we had friends over, I just wanted to go to bed (without eating the ice cream).

I didn’t worry what other people thought of me. 

I didn’t stress that this was “our time to hang out” now that the kids were all in bed.

I honored myself and what I really needed in that moment (which wasn’t ice cream). 

Listen to this week's podcast and learn how you, too, can stop eating to feel good.

If you’d like to change your habit of eating to unwind, relax, and feel good at the end of the day, then I’d love to help.

Schedule your free consult at www.bodyyoucrave.com/schedule. I promise it’s easier than you think.