Stop Sabotaging your Health

My emotional eating was triggered by:

Stress - think work and deadlines and pressures

Boredom -think loneliness and emptiness

Childhood Memories - think family togetherness both the good and not so good memories

Social Influences - think food pusher and get-togethers 

 Most of my emotional eating was linked to a variety of feelings. Those feeling were a mixture of sadness, loneliness, unpleasantness, or grief but could also be triggered by positive emotions, such as rewarding myself for achieving a goal, celebrating an occasion, or a happy event.

 We all have something that we find comfort in, and if yours is food-related consider these ideas that helped me curb my comfort cravings, end my emotional eating + stop sabotaging my health.

The second step to ending emotional eating was to get an accountability coach - someone to support me when those triggers came up when my mind would try to convince me eating the pan of brownies would solve it, if only temporarily. 

People hire coaches not only for strategy or advice, but for accountability, so that's exactly what I did. Accountability works because you're not alone to face the emotions that come up and when they do you are assured of guidance and support to help you overcome. 

As a holistic nutritionist and wellness coach, I reached out to my community to find support for my emotional eating. I found freedom to break the cycle and release my emotions in a way that serves me, not sabotages me. 

Now, as an accountability expert, myself, I help my clients identify their triggers and help them end emotional eating. 

In addition, I keep my clients accountable with daily check in's, crafting meal plans based on their lifestyle, preferences, and these specific triggers, with emotional support to get through a tough moment at work or when the late-night mindlessness comes on strong - and the urge for that pan of brownies keeps calling your name. 

 I share this so that you know exactly what your investment is getting you when you hire me as your nutritionist/accountability coach.

Practical tips I've learned to leave my ice cream love affair:

1. It's not in my freezer. I simply do not trust myself to have it available to me. 
2. I remember the feelings. While the sensory overload is real with all that cold + creamy pleasure; it's the feeling afterward I remember. The feelings of crap! Stomach hurting, bloated, and the overall feeling of misery + the personal shame of failure (of feeling like I let myself down, again!)
3.  I speak the truth to myself. I speak about what is going on within me. Why do I desire this gigantic hug coming from a paper carton named Cherry Garcia? Getting real with myself and these emotions. 
4. I give myself permission to feed my emotions with a new love. For me, this has been the toughest. Tough because it takes real work to get to the core of that feeling. Identifying what it is - happy, sad, frustrated, anxious, whatever. Then finding a replacement for the ice cream...a walk or shower DOES NOT cut it! I'm sorry but you know that's the truth!

Feeding my emotions by binge-watching Netflix (reality shows are my go-to), filling a wine glass with bubbly water, hopping in a group exercise class online (the heart-pumping music is a pick me up), volunteering, or clearing out closets to donate to others always brings joy to the heart. 

My emotions have evolved and I am learning to take action rather than take a bite (or in my case the entire pint). So for now, my ice cream lover and I are on a break.