emotions Archives - Diet Free Radiant Me | Intuitive Eating | Emotional Eating

Mastering Intuitive Eating

My client, Amanda, who is working with me on intuitive eating, walked into my office, sat down and starting crying. Once she was able to stop crying, she told me how she recently had a breast cancer scare. Her doctor called her and told her she needed to go for a second mammogram, they “saw” something on the first one. After the mammogram, a biopsy needed to be done. The results came back as benign, and she was crying of happiness.

What a sigh of relief.

Now, her focus shifted back to taking care of herself since in the 2 weeks prior while she was going through what seemed like torture and waiting for results, she found herself soothing herself with comfort foods.

Isn’t it crazy how life often throws you curveballs? They come with no warning and can sweep you off your feet.

These curve balls can often make it difficult for you to stay focused on your intuitive eating journey. You may come face-to-face with various obstacles you don’t expect, and feel like you have no support, even when you need it the most.

In theory, you should be able to use the techniques you learned throughout your journey, but training is one thing; practice, support and accountability is another. It can be extremely beneficial to continue to have support while you start integrating your intuitive eating training into your daily life.

This is where my new membership program Intuitive Eating Mastery Circle can play a role. This program will provide you with the support and accountability you need while you embark on integrating your intuitive eating practice into your daily life. You will have my support as well as the support of a group of wonderful women who are all on the same journey.

With this membership program, we meet twice every month for live, small group coaching calls on the phone and during open office hours in our private Facebook group. During these calls and during open office hours, we work through any lingering diet mentalities you may have, bust through your limiting beliefs and, most importantly, deal with challenging times in your life without falling back to using food to cope.

The best part of this Mastery Circle is that what we focus on and discuss depends on YOU. Whatever obstacle you may face or struggle you may have, you can ask me and your new family for support and we can help you through it. You will always have someone on your side.

Head on over to IntuitiveEatingMasteryCircle.com for all the details and to get started right away. Register by midnight Eastern on Wednesday September 13th and SAVE 50%.

If you have any questions about the program, please email me at Bonnie@DietFreeRadiantMe.com so I can help you and see if this program is a right fit for you.

I look forward to seeing you in our Mastery Circle!

3 Steps to Stop Emotional Eating NOW

“Why do you eat?”

It seems like a simple enough question. But is it?

This is a question I ask all my clients in our first session. As I am learning about their weight history, diet history, challenges and struggles, I stop and ask them “why do you eat?”

They pause, look at me and say, “that’s a great question”.

There is a myriad of reasons why you eat. Yes, it might be from hunger, true biological hunger. But then again, it may not be. Do you know what true biological hunger feels and sounds like? Probably not if you’ve been a dieter and you’ve been eating based on food rules that have been dictated to you, including when and what to eat.

Stop and think about it. Are there reasons other than hunger that you eat?

Perhaps when you are bored? Lying around the house on a rainy day with nothing to do so you find yourself in the kitchen?

Or maybe you had a disagreement with your partner and you feel sad, hurt or lonely?

You remember the last time you were sad and hurt you ate the double chocolate fudge Haagen Daz ice cream and felt so much better.

Or so you thought…

But then, suddenly you felt worse. You now feel guilty, ashamed and disheartened with yourself. “Why did I do that again?” And, you feel physically uncomfortable, bloated, heavy, sluggish, with acid buildup! Oh, and let’s not forget the original feelings of hurt and sadness which is not multiplied by 100!

How long do you want to ride this emotional eating vicious cycle? It’s not fun. There is a way off, but you have to commit to taking action, because it won’t happen by itself.

Here are 3 steps to get your started:

Identify your emotional eating type and trigger Take a long hard look at your eating habits and discover what type of emotional eater you really are. And, what are your particular triggers that lead you to the cookie jar over and over again!

Create customized strategies to manage your emotional triggers. If you don’t tailor your strategies to your specific triggers, you will constantly jump from one strategy to the next, getting nowhere. In addition to customizing your strategies, it is imperative to learn how to actually feel your feelings, and to be okay with that. This is a tough thing to do, yes it is. But you can do it with the right direction and support!

Use food as your ally. Instead of viewing food as your enemy like most chronic dieters and emotional eaters do, take a step back and realize that the right nutrition can actually help you balance your brain chemicals and regulate your blood sugars to best manage your moods, emotions and stop your cravings.

So, how do you implement these 3 steps and get results?

Join me in Total Food Freedom™, a program to help you end emotional eating and enjoy a new relationship with food. Learn what your emotional eating archetype is, what your emotional eating triggers are, and how to customize and tailor the strategies for each trigger. And, learn how proper nutrition can be your secret weapon to ending emotional eating for good.

Enrollment closes Sunday May 21 at midnight Eastern.

Class starts on Monday May 22nd!

Learn more and register here > www.TotalFoodFreedom.com

Do You Feed Your Emotions?

One of the things that come up often in my work with my clients is how they deal with their emotions. We all experience different emotions throughout a given day. Those emotions can be sadness, happiness, stress, anxiety, boredom or many others. It is totally normal to experience these emotions from time to time, but how you cope with them is key.

So let me ask you a question: How do you handle your emotions?

Do you look for support from someone close to you?

Do you journal how you are feeling and use one of your coping mechanisms to help you get through it?

Or, do you reach for food?

Do you find yourself reaching into the food cabinets when these emotions arise? How do you feel after you eat your “go-to” mood fixer food?

As an emotional eater you use food as a way to solve your problems, so you think. But in reality, food will not make these problems go away. They will certainly distract you for a time but once you stop eating, the problem and your feelings will still be there. You sadness, anxiety, boredom or stress, will still need to be addressed. But now, there is likely some added guilt and physical discomfort from overeating.

Does this sound like you?

If it does, know you are not alone.

Here are 4 steps you can take today to move away from emotional eating:

Acknowledge when you turn to food to comfort your emotions. Are you choosing foods to help numb your emotion? What emotions are you feeling in that moment? Take a moment to breathe and think about what you are doing. Journal what comes up for you.

Stop and listen to your body before turning to food. What are you truly feeling? If you can honestly say you are hungry, then by all means you should eat….a well-balanced power snack or meal. But if you are being true to yourself and really want to help yourself, you won’t automatically say “I’m hungry”. Instead, you will think about what you are feeling and how you can comfort yourself without turning to food.

Seek support from a loved one or counselor. Talking through your emotions instead of eating through them is an amazing feeling.

Journal things that you enjoy doing that can distract your during your emotional times. Take a walk, do a puzzle, read a book, etc. Figure out what works best for you.

Let’s dig even deeper into how to end emotional eating.

Join me on Thursday, October 13^th for a free live training called A Simple (and Delicious) Way to End Emotional Eating.

Click here to learn more and to register.

Read This if You are an Emotional Eater

There is nothing wrong with foods being a source of pleasure. In fact, the more positive your relationship with food, the better you will feel about your eating habits.

But, there is a fine line between a positive food relationship and using food as comfort.

The notion of seeking “comfort” from certain foods can lead to problems with your relationship with food. If you are eating something to gain a sense of comfort, this begins to connect your eating to emotions instead of satiety.

There is a difference between eating a food you love because you are enjoying the taste of it or the ceremony for which the food represents, and eating to soothe emotions.

If you eat to feed your emotions, then you may be an emotional eater.

Let’s take a look at the cycle of emotional eating:

Your emotional trigger might be stress or even lonliness, which can lead to overeating and bingeing. You might be looking for “something” to fill a void that you seem to have in your life. That food may give you relief in the moment, but shame, guilt and body bashing can quickly follow.

This can become a vicious cycle, leaving you with a poor body image, negative self-image and those same emotions you started with.

When you eat for comfort, you are likely looking to avoid feeling whatever feelings you are experiencing. Because let’s face it, feeling feelings is hard! You hope that food will solve whatever problem you are having, but you know what? Food will not solve the problem. Once you stop eating, the root of your problems will still be there. And on top of that, you likely feel bloated, tired and physically uncomfortable.

The best way to deal with your emotions is to look at the root of the problem, instead of turning to food.

Use food as fuel rather than therapy.

This is not to say you can’t eat the foods you previously considered to be “comfort foods”. Instead, simply redefine their place in your eating plan, and make them a part of your healthy lifestyle, not a part of your mental well-being.

Would you like to delve further into your emotional eating?

Join me for Facebook Live in my Private Facebook Community on Thursday October 6^th at 8 pm Eastern where I will coach you through your biggest emotional eating and body image challenges.

No Facebook? No Worries!

Sign up HERE for a FREE TRAINING on October 13th

Topic: A Simple (and Delicious) Way to End Emotional Eating

PS: Even if you attend our Facebook Live, I recommend you still register for the Free Training.

Is Intuitive Eating just for Women? A True Father’s Day Gift!

I recently had a potential client express how he was stuck in the dieting mindset. He had tried many diets before and has lost the weight and gained it right back. He has feelings of failure and did not know how to break out of the cycle. I suggested intuitive eating and how it can help him. He realized that is exactly what he needs, but hesitated for two reasons:

Reason #1: He is so used to wanting and getting results quickly, that to engage in a “food behavior therapy-type” program wasn’t going to get him the instant results.

Reason #2: He thought this type of deep work was only for women, and what would people think if he embarked on this journey?

Well, after a few more minutes of conversation, he realized that reason #1 was exactly why he was speaking to me in the first place. Yes, all those diets gave him quick results, but those results never lasted. So, what good were they?

As for reason #2, I get it. Quite a few men think the path towards intuitive eating is more for women than men.

But listen up men! Intuitive eating is not just for women. Men and women were both born intuitive eaters and the process to reclaim this is unisex and can benefit everyone.

The work I do with my clients in my 5 Step Intuitive Eating Program is a step-by-step process to help you transform your relationship with food, where you end the battle with food and your body and achieve great pleasure in eating once again.

If you are a man reading this blog, I’m sure you have your reasons as to why you assume this process is just for women. Men don’t like to talk about their emotions, right? May I ask you why? Is it because of what society thinks? Is it just because men don’t “do emotions”?

Men – It is OK to talk about your emotions! You are not alone. Intuitive eating will show you and teach you how to cope with your emotions without food!

With intuitive eating, you’ll be able to enjoy eating your favorite foods without experiencing the guilt afterwards. You’ll learn to accept your body, and with acceptance comes appreciation of your body. From there, your mindset will change and you’ll be able to build a better relationship with food. Your body will thank you.

What better time to take charge of your health and break free of the dieting mindset than around Father’s Day?

Here are two steps you can take today to start the journey to become an intuitive eater:

Commit to saying goodbye to the quick – fixes. Truly recognize this isn’t your long-term solution.

Take advantage of my Father’s Day Gift to you – a Break Free of Dieting Strategy Session. During this session we will uncover the challenges that’s been holding you back from losing weight forever, and we will map out your intuitive eating path. Just click here to schedule your free session.

Happy Father’s Day!

What is Mindful Eating?

Diets are all about restriction. Someone hands you a meal, or a diet book lays out a specific plan of what you can eat, when you can eat it, and how long you should follow this set of “rules” in order to reach your goal. The problem with that is once the diet is “over” the weight has a tendency to come back, because there is no longer a road map to follow.

You may have read or heard the term “mindful eating” when it comes to weight loss, but it is hard to figure out what that term actually means. Many of the issues that dieters face come from a lack of tuning into certain feelings and cues while eating. Then they punish themselves for overeating and move on to another diet with a new set of restrictions.

Mindful eating is about paying attention to the act of eating, without judgment. When you do this, you will find you eat when you are hungry, not for emotional reasons. You will find that by giving yourself permission to eat, you only eat to a level of healthy satisfaction because you are tuned into your hunger and you honor it, rather than restrict yourself to a certain way of eating. Food should be something that fuels you. It should not be used to feed emotions. The more attuned you become to your eating, the more you will be able to differentiate those feelings of hunger and feelings that relate to other life issues that are not meant to be handled with food.

The process of learning to become a mindful eater is a journey. It is about taking steps towards becoming someone you love inside and out. Becoming a mindful eater will end your search for the next diet road map, because through mindful eating, you will have already found your destination: a body you love, that you can maintain without dieting.

What are some things you can do to become more attuned to your hunger today?

Tag Archive for: emotions