Awareness of Eating
Have you ever asked yourself why you emotionally eat? Why does it seem that you can never get enough to eat? Some of us eat to to fill a void. Gulping food to get the feeling of fullness. Eating to ease the pain of emptiness. Eating to quickly get to the next thing in life.
What exactly is the void? It is a place within you that lacks life, enjoyment, love. Eating will never ever fill this empty hole or void. Food is not what the void seeks. As scary as it seems, the void is waiting for you to explore it’s darkness. It wants you to fill the darkness with your own acceptance, understanding, and love. That void must be filled with your life, your interests, your passions, your dreams and what you long for. As long as you avoid the hole or void, it will be with you.
Eating, starving, binging, or emotionally overeating all work for a variety of physical, emotional, and biochemical reasons. But they only work for the short term. But all the while, the void waits. Not to taunt and torture you, but for you to finally take a look at your own wound. Finally for you to decide that you are worthy of being loved, unconditionally, even if you do have flaws and imperfections.
So, what can you do? Here’s some strategies I’ve used that have helped me to combat emotional eating and to fill my own personal void.
1. Pay attention to your senses as you are eating. Take note of your mental and emotional state. What are you feeling and thinking? Are you filled with joy, self-pity, anger? Look for habits and self-abuse attitudes.
2. Before eating, take a moment to reflect on whether you are truly hungry, or eating to fill some other need. Are you experiencing physical hunger cues or responding to head/heart hunger. If you are tired, angry, bored, or frustrated, consider what action would allow you greater comfort than eating.
3. Avoid labeling yourself as good or bad depending on your weight or food choices on any given day. By letting go of such judgements, you decrease the importance of any one food experience.
4. Taste your food. Find pleasure and nourishment in the taste, color, texture, and nutritious value of your food, rather than in the quantity. Focus on the food and visualize it nourishing you physically and emotionally due to the healthy nutrients you’re giving to your body.
Eating is an activity that we easily take for granted. We can develop many eating styles that permit eating to be anything but a joyful, peaceful experience. Bringing more attention and thought to our meals may help us to make healthier food choices, and experience the joy of our food.
Whether your issue is eating too much or too little, the challenge is the same. Awareness must be present to check inside and find out what is going on. To develop a eating style that works for you, you have to wake up. When you sit down to eat, just eat. Sit down at a designated place (perhaps the dinner table) and resist your usual routine of reading email, watching television, or doing work.
Questions to ask yourself to become aware of your eating:
*Am I hungry?
*Will food satisfy my hunger?
*Do I choose to eat?
*Do I want the food that is in front of me?
*What am I thinking while I am eating?
*Do these food choices support my greater health and happiness?
Become aware of your eating rather than check out, zone out or numb yourself by abusing food and making poor food choices. Many times when you raise your awareness, it makes a huge difference.
The fulfillment and sense of “full” lies inside of you and is within your power; not in the unhealthy, poor food choices you could make.
Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach
Certified Back On Track Facilitator
