Never give up

“Never give up what you want most for what you want today.” ~Neal A. Maxwell

Let’s start by considering the quote above. The entire topic of emotional eating can be summed up in this one quote. “Never give up what you want most for what you want today.” Every time you choose to eat because of an emotion, you aren’t searching for food. You’re searching for a feeling. Or maybe you’re trying to escape feeling, as that’s common with emotional eating, as well. 

Any time you eat due to emotion (happiness, sadness, grief, stress, etc.), you’re using the part of your brain that wants immediate results or instant gratification. Oftentimes, your actions are a form of avoidance or escape. People use different forms of escape. For example, some people may nap to escape dealing with life’s demands. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to escape sometimes. Vacations are also a form of escape; however, escaping becomes a problem when it gets in the way of your goals. What you need to learn today is that there are other forms of escape that have nothing to do with food. 💯

Read the definition of emotional eating: 

Going to food for other reasons than nutrition – using food to create a feeling or enhance or avoid (stuff down) a feeling; usually not related to hunger.

It’s important to note that you aren’t “bad” if you struggle with emotional eating. Nothing about food is “good” or “bad”. Food is a necessity and we’ve depended on it since birth. As infants, we relied on our mother’s milk to help soothe a dysregulated nervous system. Unfortunately, many of us continue to rely on food for the same reasons without learning other coping skills.

 The thing I want you to remember is that you aren’t alone and there is HOPE. ✨