Emotional Eating
Yesterday I was hungry and eventually it became my total focus. I couldn’t really figure out what was happening. I hadn’t changed anything in my morning routine so there was no reason for it that I could see. Then this morning I read Gigi’s guest post on Cranky Fitness and a freakin light bulb went off in my head.
I was upset yesterday, kind of feeling moody, down in the dumps, crabby. I wasn’t like that all day, but I certainly started the day out like that. I have a co-worker who I absolutely adore and think he is a very intelligent man. He works in Ontario, not at my location, and over the years we have become quite good friends (I’ve been with this company 21 years). When I travel to his work location, we spend quite a bit of time together. I’ve gotten to know his children quite well and absolutely love them (is daughter is a true angel). Anyway, we work on the same team, fairly high up there in terms of knowledge and recognition from leadership. There are areas he excels in, and others that I do but we really respect each other for our individual knowledge base. Anyway, this part is going to sound whinny, but he was telling me yesterday how he and another team mate attended a meeting with the leadership team about some new technology that I’m really into (it’s my special knowledge base) and I was upset that I wasn’t invited to go as well. Now our boss, is here where I work, in fact she is my friend. We were friends before she became my boss and is my learn to run partner….. My silly little feelings were hurt. It put me in a rut, and I felt sorry for myself for a couple of hours. During that time, I noted I was hungry. Very hungry and I didn’t eat any less than I normally do in the mornings. Gigi’s post turned on the light for me because of how she described the differences between emotional hunger and physical hunger. My hunger was instant, I drank water to get rid of it but even when I ate my normal snacks and lunch, which normally would have satisfied me, I was still feeling hungry. Feeling hungry from my neck up only. HMMM…. I think I’m going to start adding these thoughts/feelings in my journal and see if I can find something to stop the emotional rollercoaster wanting food to satisfy it. How do you deal with it?
Have any of you seen/heard this band? I had 4 tickets for last night’s show so we took Ron’s Mom and my daughter and went out to the Keg for dinner and then to the show. Well WOW, what a performance. Their light show alone made it worthwhile. The music was a bit loud for my ears but it was still very good. Christmas music with a very rock flavor. I was worried about Dorothy (she is 75) and that she would hate the show (I didn’t realize it was so Rock Music based) but she did enjoy it very much except the lights. We were on the floor, 20 rows back from the stage and their light show was very flashy. This type of light hurt her eyes as she as recently had surgery. It also hurt my eyes and gave me a headache by the end of the night, so I can imagine how much it bothered her. But what a show! I did enjoy it and would see them again (with ear plugs J).
Short one today,
I hope everyone has a FANTASTIC day and is making good choices.
Ttyl,
Sandra
Emotional eating is one of my biggest challenges. When I am effective with it I try to have a dialogue with it and identify the emotions behind it. I could really relate to your work trigger yesterday...
ReplyDeleteI want to go see TSO now. It sounds like it was really awesome.
one word...gum.
ReplyDeleteIf I have something in my mouth....I'm good. Or I eat pistachio nuts slllooooooowwwwwly.
I suck on one, crack it open, eat the nut...pick another one..premeasured baggies full of pistachio nuts. Or, I simply confront the source of my pain. YOu could ask your boss/friend why she didn't invite you along? Good way to get it off your chest.
Emotional hunger is so very real. I do something similar to Chris, I'll eat sunflower seeds, cracking them as I eat them. Sure, they aren't the greatest thing to eat lots of, but you can't eat lots of them fast if you are having to crack them.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew how to beat this.
Gum helps me too, but sometimes I just need to eat real food. It is hard!
ReplyDeleteI love the Trans Siberian Orchestra. We went to see them last year, and it was amazing!
Because my boss is my friend, I am able to talk to her and I do plan on it. I was just in a little huff the other day. I'm over it now but plan on still asking her what's up. I'm calling it job security now - does she have other plans for me? You know that kind of thing.... these two that went to the meeting are young blood in the company so they deserve to get some special treatment... but so should I ... hee hee.
ReplyDeleteGum... yes I chew that stuff all the time. Not sure if it is all that good for me but I must have it it my desk because the other issue I have is if I get bored I want to eat and some days here at work, I get bored. So chewing gum helps there too. Steve, I think you are in IT as well and may understand that you can only stare at a server console so long without wanting to do something else :)
Thanks everyone for your comments - it is very much appreciated.
Great post, but it's such a hard topic... maybe try to have cut up veggies in the fridge or other healthy options on hand? It is very hard, but if you can give yourself time to sort through the emotions that helps to cut off a binge. Anyhow, I wanted to swing by and say thanks for signing up for the Christmas Challenge! I can't wait to start!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your note in my blog. Great minds think alike! Just yesterday I bought some individual bags of chips, and I'll see how well I can manage these. I have never done this before. But the abstaining eventually gets to me.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your post, something similar to your story is what caused me my problem on that Monday when I went out to buy chips. Would love to find a solution to that challenge!