Why Do I Eat So Much?

 

So why do I eat even when I am not hungry?

I work a high stressed job as so many of us these days do, and when a body is under stress the body pushes (forgive my non-medical term) out hormones to help us manage the stress. One of these hormones is called cortisol, and if the stressor is sustained, the cortisol levels remain elevated and could trigger cravings for salty (salty popped corn), sweet (pastry) and high fat (fry ups) foods that the body thinks it needs to cope - to give us the burst of energy and pleasure to combat stress. Is the trick to give up my high stressed job? I don’t think so, I think I need to (we all need to) find ways of managing stress and be present in the moment enough that when we are stressed to make the right choices in what goes into our mouths/stomachs.

If you have followed this blog you will know that I have confessed to eating when I am bored. And yes, that is a form of emotional eating. I’ll go for tea and biscuits, pastries, [to my shame] chocolate… whatever when I am bored. And it’s not only when I get bored, when I am hard at work at my desk, I tend to mindlessly reach for something to keep my mouth busy while I work. I don’t know why, but that’s the way I am, and I feel I am more productive this way. At work I am famous for having tea, soft drinks, and pastries available when I call for a meeting. I wonder if my team mates think it’s out of the goodness of my heart and not rather to fulfill my need to munch while working. I’ve come to associate both with productivity! (I’m so busted, because a number of them will read this…lol). Anyway,I am currently working on alternatives to the tea and biscuits I usually go for; so far I’ve tried water, gum…didn’t work as well as my tea and buscuits but I won’t give up – yet!

I know a lot of people who compensate negative emotions with food. Now I don’t know much about this, and won’t go here. And I can’t just say stop doing that as I have not walked 2 inches in your shoes – much less a lifetime. All I can say is that compensating food for emotions is something that should be addressed with the help of a counselor or coach. It is possible to get free of the negative emotions, and to know what to do when they arise. They don’t have to be our lives as opposed to being a part of our lives that we have under control. Enuf said!

Another trigger for emotional eating that I am very familiar with is childhood influences. From our parents not allowing us leave the table until we have wiped our plates clean even though we are totally stuffed. To families whose together time revolves around food. I grew up in a home where every holiday, celebration, special event, outing was planned around food – where we would go to eat, what we would eat, how much we would eat, what new dish we had to try out…! We never went hiking, to the movies or amusement parks, or just sat at home to watch TV- food was the center of my existence as a kid. No wonder it seems to feature largely in my life today. A date is never a real date unless we go eat something (sound familiar?) – although I am finding the joys of a perfect date being a long walk in a park just talking and getting to really know each other. (Who ever thought that my Drop It campaign would unearth so much of my emotional angst?). But seriously, what do the rhythms of your life revolve around? Healthy or destructive habits? If you don’t think about it now, you won’t ever know and become empowered to make the change.

With all these triggers, I have come to realize that when I acknowledge them I am better able to respond positively (I am RESPONSE-ABLE). I am learning that if I can identify the reasons I eat emotionally, acknowledge the situations or scenarios that compel me to eat excessively when I am not physically hungry, learn how to bounce back rather than wallow when I am caught in the web of emotional eating (a polite way of saying when I have stuffed my face excessively) then I am better able to control my emotional eating, I become more intentional about how I plan my day and what and when I eat and I am better able to keep dropping weight and maintaining the healthy lifestyle I crave.

Next week I plan on sharing some things I do to help me avoid emotional eating – not to say I have conquered it – I am still learning and hopefully as I write/blog you can hold me accountable and I can truly DROP IT 4 LIFE! J

Do you have any tips to stave away the emotional eating gremlin from your life? I’d love to hear it, just send me an email using the ‘contact form’ on your right (below my before picture), and I will be sure to give you credit.

 

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