Raise your hand if you’ve “made room” for dessert despite feeling full and satisfied or if you’ve settled into the sofa with a spoon and a carton of Rocky Road after a long day at the office.
Odds are, we all have a hand raised right now.
But that’s okay. There’s a big and important difference between a chronic emotional eater and allowing ourselves to enjoy a moment of indulgence.
The non-profit self-help website HelpGuide.org assembled this list of simple but thought-provoking questions to help each of us determine the extent to which we allow our emotions to direct our eating habits.
- Do you eat more when you’re feeling stressed?
- Do you eat when you’re not hungry or when you’re full?
- Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself when you’re sad, mad, bored, anxious, etc.)?
- Do you reward yourself with food?
- Do you regularly eat until you’ve stuffed yourself?
- Does food make you feel safe? Do you feel like food is a friend?
- Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?
If you answered no to most or all of these questions, that’s wonderful. That means it’s likely you have pretty healthy relationship with food and have discovered activities or strategies to relieve stress or to deal with emotion that do not necessarily involve food.
For many of us, however, the answer is yes to more of those questions that we may like to admit.
But here’s the thing: it’s okay to admit it.
Contact us here at Mediplan Diet Services and let’s discuss your eating habits. If you’re overeating due to emotional issues, we can offer advice and point you in the direction of a compassionate professional experienced in helping folks find healthy solutions to distressing emotional hurdles both large and small.