When life hands me lemons, forget about making lemonade, I make a whole doggone lemon pie…LOL. Not really (especially since I don’t like to cook), but the point I’m trying to make is that because I am an emotional eater, the highs and lows of life ARE my triggers. If I am not tuned in, I will find myself reaching for those things that make me “feel good”, but are not good for me.
So what is my contingency plan?
I know I have to discipline myself to “put off” the things I’m used to doing, and “put on” the things I know will truly be good for me.
What does that look like?
My Triggers Put Off Reaching For: Put On
Tired, sluggish A Pepsi Go Workout
Deadlines to meet A Bag of Chips Prioritize my task
Need a quick boost Coffee and Donut Take a 15 min. walk
Irritation A Piece of Pie Pray
Bored A Piece of Fried Chicken Read a Book or Write
How has this new way of reacting responding manifested itself in my life over the last few days?
Well, because life has not slowed down to allow me to get it together and to lose this weight free of drama, I’ve found myself at a point of decision more times than I can count. Particularly over the course of the last few days in dealing with an emotional issue that left me feeling drained, depressed and disappointed in myself. But rather than give into the temptation to reach for EVERY SINGLE LAST THING on my “put off” list, I found myself slowing down and stopping to process my feelings rather than stuffing them down with something to eat. (Sidebar: Growth Is Painful)
The pay off?
-
The obvious one – A 3 lb. weight loss
- The implementation of better coping skills
- Not compounding my emotional state with feelings of guilt on top of the already present negative feelings I was experiencing
- The good feeling of I can do this, I can beat this thing
So while being aware of my emotions is a wonderful thing, having a plan to deal and better cope with them, and actually putting that plan into action is a step in the right direction.
Much Love
~ Stacey