Overcoming Emotional Eating

Well, here I am back again recording my weekly weigh ins for all to see. I can’t believe I made my last weigh in blog post just over a month ago now. Just so you know, though, I have been following my diet and getting lots of exercise and tracking my weight loss progress with fitday.com. I didn’t let everything go during this summer’s vacation, unlike other years.

Back on July 7th at my last weigh in my weight was 192 pounds. This morning when I stepped up on the big bathroom scale I weighed…

184 lbs

As you can see, I really have my work cut out for myself. To reach my goal of weighing 170lbs by August 23rd I have to lose 14 pounds in two weeks, which is not very realistic. I want to reach my goal, but I don’t want to harm myself in the process. Slow and steady wins the race, at least as far as losing weight is concerned. I will likely not reach my goal, but I still have accomplished losing a huge amount of weight so that is something to definitely celebrate.

Addressing emotional eating and food addiction is an integral part of my successful weight loss program.

I still can’t believe I weigh 184 lbs. This is the lightest that I have been now almost since my senior year in highschool. My clothes are all loose and baggy, people are starting to be surprised when they see me (which feels really good), I feel sooooo much healthier and I don’t have the aches and pains I used to and I have so much more energy than before. It is really amazing what a toll your body pays when you carry around extra weight.

Not only are there many physical changes that happen when you lose weight, but there are also many emotional and psychological changes that happen as well. One of the biggest changes in myself is how I deal with problems in my life. I used to turn to food for comfort when I was feeling down or frustrated or bored. I would grab a carton of ice cream, or a few donuts from the store, or a box of cookies and sit and eat. Sometimes I would feel better while eating, but always I would feel worse afterward. I see how this type of behavior is destructive now. Not only would I not deal with my problems head on, I would compound the difficulties in my life by eating and making myself fatter. It really is a vicious cycle and a tough one to break, but you can break it even if it means getting professional help.

Since I don’t allow my emotions to control my eating anymore I have been forced to find other outlets. One of the best ways I have found to deal with a bad mood is to go for a long walk. Walking and taking time to think about what is bothering me is cathartic and I always feel better afterward. It seems so simple, but for most of my life I have been choosing a much more difficult path, like so many other people who are struggling with emotional eating. Emotional eating can control who you are – your moods, your self-esteem, your budget, your friendships and your family. You wouldn’t give this much control over your life to a person so why are you giving it to food? Take charge of your life and your body right now. No matter what your age, gender, relationship status or physical abilities are losing weight is something that you can do. Stop making lame excuses. Get help if you need it and take your life back from the sugars, fats and processed foods that have been controlling your life for so long.

If you’re thinking that my last statement sounds like something you would hear at an AA meeting then you’re not that far off. Emotional eating is an addiction and to overcome it you need to treat it as such. Since January 27th, when I committed myself to recording my weight loss in this blog I have discussed how to eat properly and exercise effectively to lose weight. One aspect of my weight loss program that I have not discussed, mainly because of its personal nature, is that I joined an AA group, not because I have a problem with alcohol, but because I have a problem with food. My name is Guinea Piggy and I am a food addict. Now some people may not need this kind of help with emotional eating and food addiction and can kick it on their own, but for me attending weekly meetings has been necessary and a key part of my success. I mention this because many people may not know that they can go to AA for help with food addiction, but you can. There are also other programs, such as Overeaters Anonymous (official website and list of meetings can be found at www.oa.org) and Food Addicts Anonymous, but they are smaller organizations and my not have meetings in your area, which was the case for me. The point here is that there is ways to get help all around you, but you need to want it.