#130, The Barrier Before the Food Intro Without even realizing it, your feet walk you to the pantry. Like a sleepwalker, you reach out, open the door, and grab the package of oreos. You have a couple but find that they are eaten so fast that before closing the door you sneak a few more. Eek, a little crazy how quickly and without much thought it feels like we start eating food. So, what do we do about this? ***Membership Promotion*** www.loraarmendariz.com/weightloss *** Personal We went back to work this week after our Spring Break finished. I confess to doing a lot of work during my break. Tax season always seems to bring extra work with it but it was a relief to get so many things checked off my list, either way. Concept A lot of emotional eating due to weariness, stress, sadness, frustration, or fear can happen without a lot of thought. You might even feel like it's nearly an out-of-body experience without a lot of mental processes involved. Do you know why? When you're stressed in any way, your lower brain likes to take over, becoming loud and obnoxious. So it is super easy to just do what it says, feeling like you don’t have the energy to say no or stop yourself. When I am first coaching women on emotional eating, they often aren’t ready to simply give it up completely. Instead, we work on adding a single barrier between the urge and the action. For example, if they always pour a glass of wine after a long day, then a barrier might be that they do five minutes of journaling first or go to a quiet room to pray and breathe for a few minutes. Then, they can re-evaluate whether or not they want the wine. It doesn’t mean they are saying no, instead they are slowly teaching their brain a different solution besides food. After a while they learn that the first thing they do when in emotional distress is some quality self-care and eventually the wine loses that feeling of necessity and you can turn it down. Spiritual Application We are so human. I love the part of Romans where Paul says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” in Romans 7:15.+, NIV. I have to laugh every time I read that verse because it is exactly how I feel sometimes as I am fighting for health and personal growth. We definitely can benefit from some bumper rails in our life because your initial desire will often be based in the flesh. Practical Application This practice will take some planning. In my membership I like to encourage women to make an “If-Then” contract saying that they can have whatever they normally have if they first take good care of themselves. To do this, it is pretty simple. Grab a piece of paper and make a list of situations and food you usually turn to when you are stressed. Then list a few things that you would like to try or that typically make you feel better that are genuine self-care. The next time you feel the urge to emotionally eat, pick 1-2 things from the list and do that before turning to emotional eating. However, don’t view this as a license to eat or drink whatever. Instead, remember that you are using the practice as an opportunity to retrain your brain to care for yourself in a better way. Journal Prompt Now, here is a powerful question I want you to consider journaling. What are you needing this food or beverages to do for you? The answer to this is powerful because it will clue you in to the kind of self care you could use that would help you turn away from the food or soda or alcohol you’re craving. Sign Off You are a rock star, sweet sister! Keep doing all the amazing things you are doing. I’ll talk to you next week. Good bye for now.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
by Lora ArmendarizYou Can Do It!Do you want to fall out of love with a destructive habit? The first 42 episodes of this podcast are a resource for anyone who wants encouragement and information as they take a six week break from a habit in order to fall out of love with it. Archives
April 2024
|