Day 35: Dealing with Emotional Eating

Boo hoo! Feeling Blue :(

Tip of the Day

Listen to your body – when you are keeping a food diary, keep track of what you eat, and how it makes you feel (physically), but also how you were feeling when you ate (emotionally) especially if you mess up and eat something you shouldn't.

I stopped drinking soda because it made me feel horribly bloated and sick! I have also recently found that when I eat my delicious beef stew, that my digestive system get's a little bit “hyperactive” and produces some unwanted effects... and that's all I'm going to say about the specifics of that, since I don't want to over-share. I think it's important to pay attention to how the food you eat makes you feel, and make future choices – sad to say, I don't think I'll make and eat this stew very regularly. That doesn't mean that it's bad for you, it just means that some of the ingredients don't agree with my digestive system.

Knowing what emotions and foods help your body

 vs adversely affect it, is important for being active in your best health.

FOOD

Breakfast: apple-cinnamon oatmeal

Snack: 2 string cheeses, 1 small apple

Having healthy snacks on hand keeps
you from making poor choices

Lunch: a veggie sandwich and 2 HBE

Snack: 1 vanilla yoplait yogurt

Dinner: 1 cup beef stew and ½ cup snow peas

I'll tell you want I WANTED to eat though... I was driving home from work a little bit after 8, and I drove by Little Caesars and Red Robin. I wanted a big, fat cheeseburger and fries, or a bag of garlic crazy bread (which I would eat the WHOLE thing by myself on the way home). I didn't but I wanted to.

It's good to stop and try to figure out why I felt like eating that stuff. I had watched the Seahawks game - and they LOST :( Boo hoo! I had also just got done with a very full day of work, where I had NO time to stop and breathe, jot down chart-notes for my clients or communicate with family, let alone eat. I had certain expectations for having some down-time, which didn't go as planned or expected. I think I was just SO tired and fed up that I was just in emotional overload mode.

Literally. I think at one point in my hurried comings & goings I commented to one of my co-workers about understanding why toddlers throw themselves down on the floor and have melt-downs when they get super tired. I shared that sentiment, but alas, I am a full-grown adult, and they would have fired me and hauled me off in a cop car to the looney bin if I had done that. Keep it together man!!

SO! Emotional and physical exhaustion plus being hungry = emotional eating... or at least the desire to do just that. Good thing I had a piece of fruit in my purse, and didn't make any unplanned stops. See? Identifying what is going on emotionally sometimes is the key to keeping yourself from a destructive spree. Whether it's flopping on the floor or having a chocolate-laden binge, you want to be in control. Knowledge IS power :)

EXERCISE

I made an executive decision, and took the day off. Sundays are usually my day off, but this week I took of Friday as well, and intended to work out today, but since my Sunday is totally full of activities; going to church and then working, with only enough time in between to change clothes and eat lunch; I figured I worked hard enough at work to merit taking a day off.

My desire for unhealthy, easy, super yummy but empty calorie laden food was brought on my exhaustion, not being emotional. If it had been, I would have forced myself to workout, to work through the emotions, and deal with them positively. But tonight I'm tired, taking a break, and I won't make a habit of it. Now, for a full night's sleep, which is also important for great health... but more about that tomorrow!

Thanks for reading everybody :)

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