Is Emotional Eating OK?

Are you an emotional eater? Chances are if you are overweight and actively seeking help for that you are. Emotional eating occurs when individuals turn to food in order to deal with or, more accurately, forget about emotional stress or depression.

Even after losing over 50 per cent of my total body weight, I emotionally eat. It is a natural reaction to stress, which, if properly managed is okay. What is far more important is training your mind to view yourself differently and to use occasional emotional eating for when it is needed, not as merely an excuse to over indulge and stuff your face.

You Cannot Be Victim Anymore
A lot of attention in the weight loss industry surrounds the psychological reasons behind overeating and obesity. As a result, I am constantly asked in interviews and personal meetings how I learned to 'deal' with my emotional baggage in order to shed my weight. The short answer is that I didn't!
That's right, I am still stressed and I still get depressed over my past and my future. However, rather than conceal those problems with food I made the conscious decision to stop being a victim to these thoughts and rather use different ways to manage the inevitable stresses in my life. I have learned to become a mover and a thinker, to use activity to manage these bouts rather than calories.

If you want to 'win' your war against weight you need to become a soldier, a victor, not a victim. You need to be fearless, and put the problems that lead you to food into perspective. Think about it: if you eat every time you think about your failed marriage are you doing anything to pick up the pieces and start again? No! If anything you're preventing it and action is better than inaction. The "if onlys" in our lives hold us back.

The Higher the Hurdle, the Higher the Jump
I am always asked about the biggest 'hurdle' in my weight loss journey all those years ago. And, while I readily admit that walking into the gym for the first time on my own was scary, that is about all I can come up with.

This isn't because the process was easy or natural for me. Quite the contrary! Rather, I chose to view each 'hurdle' not as a barrier, but a reason to learn how to jump. Each craving I fought, each sore muscle I had helped me prepare for that jump. They were simply learning experiences that I needed in order to make it.

One of my signature sayings is, the higher the hurdles you have to jump in life the higher you learn how to jump. Continuing to view yourself as a victim does not make you a winner. Yes, it is harder for others, but just as the barefoot Kenyan works harder to earn an Olympic gold than the private school boy from America, at the end of the day, the winner still needs to be the fastest man on the track, no matter the road it took to get there.

Life is not fair. There is no way to get around it and the sooner you come to that realisation the better. There are many reasons that we emotionally eat and many of them are heartbreaking and valid.

However, you cannot allow them to continue to define your life and your journey.

Successful weight loss is similar to taking your life and straining it through a sieve-the more muck at the bottom, the longer the process takes, but, eventually, all the bad bits are separated out. Success relies on your ability to choose to be a victor, not a victim.

Article Source: EzineArticles