What if it doesn't? What can you do if a simple mental decision is not enough to tackle emotional eating?
Here are some addiction examples:
- Emotional eating
- Smoking
- Drugs
- Alcohol
- Sex
- Etc
What you want to find out is exactly how this specific addiction works and how you can naturally tackle it without major effort.
What are the dynamics?
Your body needs energy, this is why the eating trigger is there first. This original instinct is good and positive.
Because of lack of food, the instinct of overeating is there as well. It is like creating a reserve because you have not been eating for a long time.
This is where the "frustration-overeating" response is created. Pain-eating. Emotional pain - eating
In other terms, there is now an emotional conditioning which works like this: You feel emotional pain - You eat.
Does this work?
Yes it does partially.
Why?
Because eating does give you pleasure. It gives pleasure to your body.
It gives as well substance to your being and represents a way of concentrating back energy on yourself.
For instance, when you worry about others, giving yourself food and especially food that triggers pleasure (like sweets, highly salty, etc) does create "pleasure chemicals" in you and that emotion overpowers the negative emotion you had before.
In other terms, you eat to compensate a negative emotion.
It is a fighting strategy which allows you to kick a negative emotion.
In other terms, emotional eating or overeating is not a mistake.
It is a solution which does work and achieves exactly what you want.
I repeat it: it does work!!!
You do actually replace a feeling of emotional pain by physical and emotional pleasure which gives you a kick.
So far, no problem, right?
So, why is emotional eating a problem?
Because of the side effects.
The foods you take in generate an excess of energy which turns into overweight.
The equation is relatively simple.
It is the side effect of your fighting strategy which pulls you down on the long term.
So, the solution is quite simple: you need a new fighting strategy to tackle your moments of "weakness".
It is clear: right now, your emotional eating instinct is self destructive.
Whatever created is now destroying your health.
So, the best way to go is to replace the emotional eating strategy by another fighting strategy which works best.
More on this in another post
http://vitalcoaching.com/stayfit.htm
To your vitality!
vitalcoach