Rather than nurture yourself through emotional eating, here’s a list of suggestions. Create your own list as a work in progress; add and revise as you discover strategies that work for you.
Go window shopping
Buy yourself a rose or other favorite flower
Garden (get your hands dirty!)
Buy yourself something special that you can afford
Call a friend
Choose a different route home from work
Dance as if nobody is watching
Day dream about someplace you’ve been and relive those memories
Do something for yourself (non-food related) that feels great without feeling guilty
Take a walk
Stretch for the sake of feeling your body
Get a massage
Give yourself more time than you need to accomplish whatever you are doing (allow yourself guilt-free a care-free pace)
Go into a hot tub or Jacuzzi
Go to a movie
Go to a concert
Go to a museum
Go to a pet store and play with the animals or play with your own pet
Go to bed early
Go to the zoo
Have a good cry
Have a manicure or pedicure or both
Have a picnic
Enjoy breakfast in bed
Hold a baby
Hug a child
Cruise the Internet for enjoyment (not for your job)
Keep a journal
Learn to Meditate
Pray
Play your favorite music and dance to it by yourself
Read a magazine
Read an inspirational book
Listen to a motivational CD
Download your favorites from iTunes
Relax with a good book and/or soothing music
Rent a dvd, even if you’ve seen it before and loved it
Take a yoga or Pilates class
Sitting outside by the campfire on a cold evening
Sleep Late
Sleep outside under the stars
Stop and smell some flowers
Take a bubble bath
Take a mental health day off from work
Take a slow walk and enjoy nature
Take a long leisurely shower
Shop for a special gift for someone special in your life – YOU
Play on the playground equipment at a park
Bird watch in your backyard
Walk in the rain
Waste time without feeling guilty
Watch the sunrise or the sunset
Work on your favorite puzzle
Write a letter (even to yourself)
Join a club
Sit quietly and notice your breath and thoughts
Add your own:
Enjoy your own special list!
All the best,
Cathy
