One thing most emotional eaters have in common is that their childhoods didn't feel particularly nourishing. Even if their caregivers were loving and kind, often there just wasn't enough quality attention and listening, good attunement, soothing, comfort, empathy or consistent compassion. Even well-intentioned parents can miss the mark if they themselves didn't learn these skills somewhere along the
loving yourself
Happy International No Diet Day
May 6, 2022 – Posted in: diet mentality dieting embracing emotions emotional eating fasting food addiction forgiveness gratitude motivation to change habits overeating, dieting, weight loss perfectionism recovery resolving emotional eating self-acceptance self-compassion stress and overeating stress eating weight lossI bet you didn't know that today is International No Diet Day. Well it is, and its observed annually on May 6th. It's a day dedicated to raise awareness regarding the dangers of dieting and to celebrate body acceptance and body shape diversity. Despite the entrenchment of the diet mentality in our culture, research demonstrates that diets don't
Can Mindfulness Curb Overeating?
May 31, 2021 – Posted in: compassion depression embracing emotions emotional eating hope hurts identifying emotions and needs Inner Nurturing loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments Making lifestyle changes mindful eating mindfulness overeating, dieting, weight loss overwhelm reducing stress resolving emotional eating self-compassion self-defeating thinking self-doubt self-love stress and overeating stress eating weight lossMindfulness, according to Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Mindfulness for Beginners, is “awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Mindfulness can be traced to Buddhist origins and the practice commonly referred to as “mindful eating” is an offshoot, involving slowing down and paying attention
Are You Sure You Want to Stop Your Emotional Eating?
April 26, 2021 – Posted in: embracing emotions emotional eating identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments overeating, dieting, weight loss resolving emotional eating self-love weight lossOf course you do! But wait-- before you answer so quickly, take a moment and really think about all that your emotional eating does for you. Without realizing it, it might just be your best friend. Which of the items on the following list apply to your emotional eating? It's always there for me and never
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
Do You Feel Worthy of Self-Love?
May 10, 2014 – Posted in: adjusting expectations compassion emotional eating forgiveness losses and disappointments overeating, dieting, weight loss perfectionism procrastination resolving emotional eating self connection self-acceptance self-love self-worth unmourned losses weight loss worthiness wounds from childhoodWe've all heard it said that you can't love anyone else until you love yourself. And although we know there's truth to this old adage, most of us persist in looking for love outside of ourselves, often in all the wrong places. In one of my emotional eating groups this week, we discussed the concept of worthiness. I asked the
Do you feel worthy of self-love?
February 14, 2013 – Posted in: adjusting expectations compassion depression emotional eating forgiveness gratitude greiving overeating, dieting, weight loss perfectionism resolving emotional eating self-acceptance self-love self-worth weight loss worthinessWe've all heard it said that you can't love anyone else until you love yourself. And although we know there's truth to this old adage, most of us persist in looking for love outside of ourselves, often in all the wrong places. In one of my emotional eating groups this week, we discussed the concept
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
The emotional eater’s expectations: are they realistic?
August 15, 2011 – Posted in: adjusting expectations depression emotional eating greiving hurts losses and disappointments old pain old pain overeating, dieting, weight loss reducing stress stress and overeating stress eating unmourned losses wounds from childhoodAfter spending Saturday afternoon with a close friend, Jackie came home and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies. The time spent with her friend Carol did not feel nourishing. The two dishes of ice cream and the plate of hot, fresh baked cookies did. Just baking the cookies felt more nourishing than spending time with Carol. Jackie knew that an afternoon with Carol meant
Hope is everything
June 29, 2011 – Posted in: dieting emotional eating flexibility greiving grief grieving hurts losses and disappointments losses and disappointments old pain old pain overeating, dieting, weight loss painful childhood memories reducing stress stress and overeating stress eating trauma Uncategorized unmourned losses unmourned losses weight loss wounds from childhoodThe Random House College Dictionary defines hope as "the feeling that what is desired is also possible or that events may turn out for the best." It's certainly easy to have hope when everything is going your way--you just landed a great job, met the man/woman of your dreams, lost a lot of weight or won the lottery.