EMOTIONAL EATING
Self talk: What are you telling yourself?
Are you aware of the constant thoughts that are playing in your head? Messages are playing when we are not even aware of it. The messages or thoughts might be positive, negative or neutral. Negative thoughts such as “I am stupid. I never do things right. I always fail,” do not motivate us to change. They only serve to discourage us in the long run.
What messages do you tell yourself on a regular basis?
It’s not so much what we eat sometimes that does us in; it’s what we tell ourselves after we eat it. Have you ever set your goals so high that you were doomed to fail before you even started? Have you ever been so disgusted with yourself after eating a candy bar, that you thought, “what the heck, I’ll just eat another one”?
Try stopping the negative thought pattern with these thoughts, “So I ate a candy bar. That was more than what I had planned on eating. It does not make me a failure." “I am in control of what I put in my mouth.”
Try writing down your thoughts and feelings by journaling. Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a “writer”. However, you might surprise yourself as you start to write down your thoughts in a simple journal or notebook.
Let writing down how you feel become second nature to you. Getting your thoughts on paper help you to process those emotions instead of keeping them locked up inside! Once you are aware of what thoughts are in your mind, you just might be able to process the feelings that lead to emotional eating. It’s worth a try!