You have decided that there well could be an emotional component to your current eating pattern. Great. That is perfect. Admitting that there could be an emotional relationship to food is a huge step.
What do you do with this information. Behaviors, thoughts and emotions are things that we use to protect ourselves from real or imagined harm. You may have experienced that wounding in your childhood at a time when you could not defend yourself. Food could be a comfort. As an adult, we may react to certain situations as if we where back in childhood. As an adult you have many more choices, but not if your wounded child is screaming.
If you can, get a good counselor. She/he can be a great guide in uncovering the deeper issues.
Get a nice journal. Journaling can help you through this healing process. It will open you to some surprising insights to your behaviors and emotions. It will help you take a “witness” or “observer” position in your life. When you see something objectively and without judgement, it may be very simple to make a change.
At the same time, I invite you to make some changes in your pantry to help in this healthy weight journey.
Habits and emotions and behaviors are all intertwined. Do a two pronged approach for successful weight loss. Work on the emotions/thought dyad with a counselor and your journal. Then change your behavior and habits with some behavior modification.
One of the easiest ways to change your eating behavior is to eliminate any temptations. This is best done at the supermarket by not buying foods that are going to cause you a problem. Shop the periphery of the store and stay away from the high sugar, high salt, high process foods in the middle isles.
By not having these low value foods in the house you won’t be tempted to eat them because they won’t be there. Also this will encourage you to eat better foods and in the process of doing so, change your eating habits.
If you are the shopper and chief this will be easier because you will determine what is in the cart and subsequently in the pantry. This will help everyone in the household to make healthier choices.
Another hint. Don’t snack from an open container. We tend to eat way more than we need. Portion out the food. If the chip bag says 11 chips are the serving size, take 11 chips. Put them on a plate. Seal the bag. Sit down and enjoy. If the ice cream serving size is 1/2 cup, measure it out into a small tea cup. It will fill the tea cup and you will think you are getting a good portion.
Do you need help with good nutrition? Try my book on Healthy Weight Loss for Baby Boomer Women. http://www.healthyweightlossforboomerwomen.com/main.html
Blessings, Mary Pat
Mary Pat FitzGibbons RN MS writes on weight loss and other health issues facing Baby Boomer Women today.
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Thanks for this informative post Mary Pat. My biggest change when I lost weight was doing just as you suggested and only keeping healthy foods in the house. This way when I did look to eat, who cared if I ate and entire bag of carrot sticks and celery??? It was WAY better than chips and dip! Have a great day!