Thursday, December 31, 2009

Confessions of an Emotional Eater

Yes... I am admitting it.. I am an EMOTIONAL EATER!
Some of you might ask what is that really!
Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than hunger instead of the physical symptom of hunger initiating the eating, an emotion triggers the eating!
I never realized how much emotional eating was a part of my life and never thought I was an emotional eater until the twins were born.  It has become so abundantly clear that emotional eating is something I do on a regular basis or try not to do on  a regular basis.  
Being an emotional eater is clearly not what any of us want to be.
I do not want to have a really bad day with the twins and get in the car to put them to sleep and stop at a fast food drive through because I can actually enjoy a few moments of peace because they fell asleep and the food seems to taste so much better because they are quiet and because it was not cooked by me, cleaned up by me, or healthy for me.
I am more than certain I was an emotional eater before the twins were born, but it seems to be that they for the good or bad, have brought the worst out of me and my emotional eating.


Do I know why I emotionally eat?  No, I really do not know at all why I do, and I wonder if that is going to be a huge problem in trying to overcome being an emotional eater, I guess time will tell!  Being free from emotional eating takes time – it can take a LOT of time. For some people their emotional attachment to food is less severe and they can be done with the issue in months. For others, like myself, I have no idea, but it really was not until just recently that I truly realized I was an emotional eater.


So I am going to start blogging about my love/hate relationship with food and my steps to becoming healthier and not allowing food to control any part of my life...
I think I am going to start another blog with my ups and downs and successes to share with you on my journey to being a healthier me!


What is your relationship with food? 

7 comments:

The Full Nelson said...

I think that we are all somewhat emotional eaters...hard to tell right now cause I'm just an all the timer eater! BUT when I've had a bad(or good!) day I do enjoy to tuck into a pint of my old friends Ben and Jerry. Good luck and looking forward to hearing your journey!

Nicole W. said...

OH Man, Jenny...I am TOTALLY an emotional eater...not sure If I've ever admitted that either. I am 5'5 and 115lbs so No One would ever THINK I was...but I have found myself saying more than once lately "it's a good thing I have good genetics and good metabolism or I would weigh 300lbs". and it's TRUE. when Im depressed...i eat ...and its not eating at home, it has to be OUT. why is it so much better?

when I'm sad, I eat Or want to eat out atleast. when I'm frustrated, bored etc.....why does food seem so satisfying? atleast temporarily.... I know its bad for me but I do it anyway. The only good thing is lately that I've been running for the last 18mos so now when I eat terribly, I atleast know i'm going to burn off some of those calories...but lets be honest, there are heart issues to think about etc. I TOO am trying to be more conscious of my eating. I have been getting better at replacing running with eating when I'm down or frustrated. ....
so yeah..that's my story:)

linds said...

Uh, Nicole, my third chin weighs 115 pounds... ;)

AAAh! Jenny I wish we lived closer by one another! It is amazing what having a baby, er, babies brings out in you. Things you start to realize and what you do to get comfort, or heck just some sort of peace. I am with you. I hate people who could careless about food. I WOULD LOVE TO SHOVE A DOUGHNUT DOWN THEIR THROAT! ..or maybe a dozen..

I think before children you have such control over your surroundings. Meaning, you ate when you wanted to, you have time for yourself, you could do whatever whenever etc. It was hard for me to readjust and even now it is, will she wake up from her nap early.' or if she is sick i can't go to the gym..

GOOD THING THEY ARE ADORABLE AND MEAN THE WORLD TO US!

I am cheering you on!!!!! cheer me on too? :)

linds said...

oh and that mcdonalds meal looks amazing.

Kellie said...

I am totally an emotional eater too,... such a challenge! Eating is just fun & there's so many good (bad) things out there to make it an enjoyable experience.

It's a daily struggle to choose something that is good for me (but doesn't taste nearly as good) over something that will just make me feel better (even if it's just until I've polished whatever "it" is & then the guilt sets in.

I'm right there with you Jenny!

Kristi Drennan said...

I am totally an emotional eater. It's so hard. Because food is such a huge part of celebrating, comfort, and just tastes good. On top of that it's not something we can live without. We can live without alcohol and we can live without cigarettes but food...you still have to eat to live.

Matt and I are trying something new. Because every year, every month and sometimes almost every day we make goals to master. Like read scriptures, stay away from chocolate, exercise etc... and I'm sick of having to make the same goals over and over. Matt read that it takes 28 days to form a habit. So we're making a 28 day calendar for the things we're trying to master. Like me....it's going to work harder on the 'ol scripture study, stay away from milk and cheddar cheese, excercise 3 times a week and switch to dark chocolate. I'm going to watch my first four things for 28 days and "master" those. Then I'll continue to do those and start a new set of goals for the next 28 days. Like I'm allergic to dairy so I'm just working on milk and cheddar cheese at first. Then I'll add other dairy products. And then I'll go egg free (allergic to them) etc...

And then we'll see at the end of the year how I do. I hope to master these things. And part of that is to not emotionally eat.

Am I rambling? I tend to ramble.

Roth Family said...

You are not alone. I am a terrible emotional eater. Stress or boredom really does it to me. I've been trying to master this for years. At times it gets better, but it has never really gone away. Good luck. I feel for you.