Confessions of an Emotional Eater

Life is roller coaster of emotions. It is full of situations one can not, and should not try to predict. And for someone who loves to plan out life and daily activities, this can be a challenge. A sometimes fun challenge, as something new and unexpected happens causing excitement and happiness. And a sometimes not so fun challenge as a single text or word spoken can bring up some major issues you have to deal with in your own life. That is what this week has been... a fun, frustrating, stressful roller coaster of emotions.

While the first part of the week had a few downs, it was for the most part happy. I was excited to start this journey and get out of this box I seemed to have placed myself in. The second half of the week however seemed a little more frustrating. I'm not saying some huge monumental event happened this week, and if I told you the particular instances in which I am referring, most people would be like, "really, you're getting upset over that?."

However, to someone, like myself, who is an emotional eater trying to get healthy, it is those little things that can drive someone to get away their feelings of frustration, anger, etc. Those times when things seem to be falling apart, and all you know to do is to turn to food, because that's all you've ever done. When things are bad, you eat. When things are good, you eat. When things may seem to look like they are going to go good/bad, you eat. That is all I've ever know. If I had a bad day, you could tell because if you looked at my bank statement, all you would see are fast food, ice cream and junk.

Emotional eating, I am finding, is one of the biggest challenges to this journey to health. It covers so much more than just physical health, but mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It affects every aspect, which is probably why I'm realizing early on it is something I must deal with head on. I must face this part of me that wants to run to food for comfort, rather than the support of friends, the comforting arms of a Heavenly father, or even myself.

My challenge to myself for the next week is to find ways to deal with the emotions, other than eating them away. I may find ways that work great, and I may find ways that do not work for me. Either way, I want to be in control of my body. I want to feed it what it needs based on healthy choices, not based on my emotions.

“When we give up dieting, we take back something we were often too young to know we had given away: our own voice. Our ability to make decisions about what to eat and when. Our belief in ourselves. Our right to decide what goes into our mouths. Unlike the diets that appear monthly in magazines or the thermal pants that sweat off pounds, unlike a lover or a friend or a car, your body is reliable. It doesn't go away, get lost, stolen. If you will listen, it will speak.” 
― Geneen Roth, Breaking Free from Emotional Eating