Emotional Eating Myths 101
You have a human condition called
“Feel Bad, Eat Food, Feel Better”.
You have it.
I have it.
We all have it.
The actual problem is the “feel bad” part of this equation. So food becomes the solution to feel better.
The TRUE SOLUTION is to know when you are feeling bad (often gets suppressed) and then learning how to BE with yourself in that condition, instead of numbing or suppressing it. Then FREEDOM from emotional eating can take shape.
Sounds fun, right?!
But seriously, there’s an art of self awareness and compassion that you can learn. And in doing so, can transform your eating habits with way less will power, effort, or rules, and much more fun, freedom and pleasure!
I invite you to first recognize that you are human. Humans feel bad. Humans don’t always know what to do with that, or aren’t taught how to be with those parts of themselves.
Humans also live out the “feel bad, eat food, feel better” equation every day of their infant lives. So this equation has been conditioned in you from birth.
This is why my first step with my clients is to replace shame with understanding and self compassion.
Shame FUELS emotional eating and sucks the life right out of you. After all, if you already felt bad in some way (bored, stressed, anxious, sad, etc) then making bad food choices, that you feel you should be able to control, makes you feel even worse!
Feeling worse just FUELS the “Feel bad, Eat food, Feel better” equation.
When you better understand your patterns and that you aren’t broken or a will power weakling, you now have the energy to change! You’re not a victim to this wiring.
Now that you can see yourself with some understanding, the next step is to pause and ask yourself a powerful question, like “what is asking to be seen?” And follow that up with “what would nourish me right now?”
Begin to really listen to yourself in that tension of wanting to self soothe with a bag of Cheetos. It’s not really about the Cheetos. Something more important is going on.
What is it?
Naming it and helping emotions to come to the surface is powerful. Proclaiming the truth at that moment can also become a superpower. For example, maybe what comes up for you is “I’m tired”. Ok tiredness isn’t necessarily an emotion but it is a “feel bad” kinda state.
What else might you notice here?
Maybe feeling tired means you justify a treat or indulgence. Maybe that was modeled to you. Like, “hey, I've worked hard, I’m tired, I deserve this treat.”
But wait? You don’t need to justify anything. You’re a grown up!
You just said you’re tired.
So what would nourish you? A nap? Canceling something on your calendar? A brisk walk with fresh air? A hug?
The process of bringing emotions to the surface and learning how to metabolize them is an incredible tool that my clients learn in just a few weeks, but as they use this tool, they uncover so much about themselves.
They learn the stories they’ve been given about food.
They are able to get rid of the “good” and “bad” buckets food used to fit into and all the other toxicity that our diet culture has conditioned us to think.
They become their own coach, finding new and brilliant ways to nourish their entire LIFE.
I love this work so freaking much!
When you can take a really challenging issue like emotional eating and use it as a life lesson to uncover the deepest parts of yourself and meet your needs with love and compassion, an entirely new life opens up.
AUTHOR
Kim Parker Scheid
Mind-Body Eating Coach,
CEO Three Point Balance
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