Does it feel like you're living your life, day-to-day, with many of your needs unmet? Do you think this may have something to do with your overeating or imbalanced eating? If so, you're not alone. Many people, frustrated by years of unmet needs, find themselves regularly turning to food for emotional comfort, pleasure, soothing, escape,
loneliness and overeating
Do You Turn to Food When You’re In a Transition?
July 28, 2017 – Posted in: embracing emotions emotional eating greiving identifying emotions and needs Late night eating loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments Making lifestyle changes motivation to change habits overeating, dieting, weight loss overwhelm procrastination reducing stress resolving emotional eating self connection self-defeating thinking stress and overeating stress eating transitions unrealistic expectationsThe Random House College Dictionary defines a transition as "a change from one position, state, stage, subject or concept to another." Many emotional eaters have difficulty with transitions and turn to food as a way to comfort and soothe themselves during the transition process. Here are some examples of what I call "transition eating": --You
Are You Eating Over Unmet Expectations?
June 28, 2017 – Posted in: adjusting expectations depression emotional eating greiving hopelessness identifying emotions and needs Late night eating loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments Making lifestyle changes overeating, dieting, weight loss personalizing procrastination resolving emotional eating self connection self-worth stress and overeating stress eating unrealistic expectations weight lossJackie baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies after spending Saturday afternoon with her close friend Carol. The time spent with Carol did not feel nourishing. The two dishes of ice cream and the plate of hot, freshly baked cookies did. Just baking the cookies felt more nurturing than spending time with Carol. Jackie was
Are You Taking Things Too Personally?
September 25, 2016 – Posted in: adjusting expectations embracing emotions emotional eating hurts loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments overeating, dieting, weight loss painful childhood memories recovery resolving emotional eating self-defeating thinking self-love self-worth stress and overeating unrealistic expectations weight loss worthinessI could tell when I entered the waiting room of my office that Samantha was having a bad day. She appeared depressed--she sat slumped in the chair and she was visibly upset. Her mascara was running and she looked like she had been crying. Unlike times when she was more upbeat, she was not distracting herself with her phone
Are You a Late Night Eater?
August 26, 2015 – Posted in: blood sugar imbalances delaying gratification diabetes diet mentality embracing emotions emotional eating food addiction glycemic index high cortisol levels high insulin levels hope hopelessness identifying emotions and needs insulin resistance Late night eating loneliness and overeating Making lifestyle changes motivation to change habits overeating, dieting, weight loss reducing stress resolving emotional eating stress and overeating stress eating sugar addiction sugar cravings weight loss whole unprocessed plant foodsAlright, let's be honest. You eat dinner most nights at a reasonable hour, but then, later in the evening, you find yourself heading to the freezer for your nightly ice cream fix, or to the pantry to raid the cookies and chocolate stash. Truthfully, you're not even hungry, but you feel a craving for something sweet and fatty. Nothing to be ashamed of--late
Can Emotional Overeating Affect Your Sex Drive?
July 25, 2015 – Posted in: loneliness and overeating Making lifestyle changes motivation to change habits overeating and libido overeating and sex drive overeating, dieting, weight loss oxytocin resolving emotional eating self-love Sex and overeating stress and overeating weight lossWe humans are pleasure seekers. In fact, in order to ensure our survival, there are mechanisms embedded in our genes that “wire” us to seek pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy. Unfortunately, since nature’s plan for guiding us towards survival and reproduction is a system dependent on what feels good, the door is wide open
Is Your Eating an Act of Rebellion?
October 7, 2014 – Posted in: compassion depression despair disappointment embracing emotions emotional eating forgiveness grief grieving hurts identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments old pain overeating, dieting, weight loss painful childhood memories perfectionism rebellion reducing stress resentments resolving emotional eating self connection self-acceptance self-compassion self-love self-worth stress eating trauma Uncategorized unmourned losses weight loss worthiness wounds from childhoodShirley, a 37-year-old wife and mother, looks forward to her nightly binges.They are the only time she feels totally free and in control of her life. She resents the fact that her husband doesn’t earn more money and that she has to work full-time while raising their three-year old. She’d like to have another child before time runs out, but can’t
Are you eating over losses and disappointments?
September 30, 2014 – Posted in: depression despair embracing emotions emotional eating grief grieving identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments old pain overeating, dieting, weight loss painful childhood memories resentments resolving emotional eating self-love stress eating unmourned losses weight loss worthiness wounds from childhoodMost of us don't like to spend much time thinking about our losses and disappointments or painful childhood experiences.Yet, without much effort, they are brought to the forefront of our minds when something in our environment triggers thoughts of them. We see a happy couple and think "Oh, yeah, I had a loving relationship with
Do You Turn To Food When You’re In A Transition?
January 28, 2014 – Posted in: delaying gratification depression dieting emotional eating loneliness and overeating overeating, dieting, weight loss procrastination resolving emotional eating stress and overeating transitions weight lossThe Random House College Dictionary defines a transition as "a change from one position, state, stage, subject or concept to another." Many emotional eaters have difficulty with transitions and turn to food as a way to comfort and soothe themselves during the transition process. Here are a few examples of what I call "transition eating":
Emotional Eater’s Don’t Just Eat when They’re Sad or Depressed
June 15, 2012 – Posted in: compassion embracing emotions emotional eating identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating overeating, dieting, weight loss purpose of emotions resolving emotional eating self connection self-acceptance self-loveAt a seminar I gave recently on emotional eating, Cyndie, an attractive, well-dressed woman in her late forties came up to me and shared: "Even though I'm obviously overweight, I don't think that I'm an emotional eater because I don't eat at all when I'm sad or depressed. In fact, I can't eat at those