I didn’t – and still don’t – want to do this. I’ve put it off and pushed it away acting like I don’t have a problem. I don’t want to talk about how my emotions and other issues relate to my eating habits… but I need to. I wish I could just exercise away all my extra weight and forget about the reasons why I reached this weight in the first place.
But its not that simple.
Exercise makes me happier to a certain point. It gets all those good chemicals running in my brain but it doesn’t solve the deeply rooted issues that lead me to overeat. I have to do that myself by spending time with the messy, broken parts of my life. I have to explore them and try to find ways to heal those parts.
I am a person who would much rather skip this step of self-reflection and healing. I know it is important but I would rather find the right diet or exercises to keep me healthy instead. But that would cheat me out of lasting success and true health. True healthiness is not just physical but also mental and emotional. If I don’t deal with my problems and figure out why I emotionally eat and how to control it then I will just regain any weight I manage to lose.
I’ve done that once already. Regaining 40 pounds of the 55 that I lost has been a terrible experience. I never want to repeat this lose-gain cycle again. Once is enough for me so I am going to make sure I don’t repeat it. I am going to do the things I don’t want to do and finally look at the emotional side of my eating in the hope that this will finally help me to find healthier eating patterns.
I’m not totally sure where this will lead, what I will discover, what I will do to accomplish this, or what I will share on this blog. Hopefully whatever occurs will lead me to fix the problems I have with food so I can finally reach a healthy and STABLE weight. So, this might not be fun, but its going to happen.
Yup. Figuring out what triggered my emotional eating and how to DEAL with that was one of the first key steps I took when I decided to start losing weight. It’s still something I have to work on, but it is very possible to change your eating habits.
Tony’s last blog post..Living a Fantasy
Ugh, emotional eating. I wish I knew why eating made me feel so ok with things. It’s why I’ve managed to hit 300…and rock bottom. Can’t wait to see your progress with this!
Kelly’s last blog post..Ugh
Eating my emotions has always been my biggest problem.
Best of luck to you.
SeaShore’s last blog post..Weigh in, 60 lbs gone
You’ll figure it out. The main thing is that you keep trying.
I have faith in you!
Cammy’s last blog post..Weekend! and More About BlogHer
It’s hard. It’s frightening, and there is MANY a time when you go “I don’t want to do this, why can’t I just KNOW without having to go through the process of FINDING OUT?”
However, it is one of the few parts of the weight loss process that benefit you emotionally, mentally AND physically.
Best of luck, you can do it. :-)
Marshmallow’s last blog post..So You Wanna Be a Swimmer
I still haven’t figured that one out myself…
AndrewE’s last blog post..Reflecting on the run
Most of the time I feel like it’s one part biochemical response and one part long-term habits we’ve developed that make eating (certain foods) feel comforting. This is something that’s very much an issue in my life as well. I know that it can be beat—saw that MizFit recommended Geneen Roth to you on Twitter, and I know that she went through a lot of this too.
Hilary’s last blog post..Link Soup: January 22, 2009
Thanks to all for the encouragement. I am beginning to see that this is a problem a lot of us share…
@Kelly
I can’t wait to see progress too. And I know you will do well too. If I can do it, you can do it.
@Cammy
You are so awesome. Its nice to hear that someone has faith in me!
@Hilary
I think MizFit’s recommendation was a good one. I quickly looked over Geneen Roth’s website and I think I can learn a lot from her.
Hi Mary,
Exploring the reasons for my emotional eating was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. But without that exploration I never would have started to deal with my severe binge eating/compulsive overeating problems. I’ve figured out that my mindset is absolutely everything.
If I don’t have control over my emotions and impulses to overeat, than it just doesn’t matter what diet or exercise plan I’m following because I’ll cheat or give up.
I now deal with my emotional issues first and then the healthy eating and wanting to exercise comes later and much easier.
It is hard, but its so worth it.
~ Gina
Gina from Diet Renegade’s last blog post..I ate a hamburger and my stomach was like whoa
I wish you much luck on your journey of self introspection. I’ve been currently doing the same…and it’s been shocking and sometimes scary, but as I learn more about myself….it makes total sense!
MaryFran’s last blog post..self loathing
Similar to you, I lost 55 pounds, kept it off for about a year, then it slowly climbed back on. I’ve relost almost 25 pounds again, and have mostly figured out how not to binge/eat emotionally, and not only that, I had to figure out how to eat like a normal person, having never learned anything but diet/binge. Or rather, I am learning to eat this way. It’s a long, annoying, painful road to take, but I’m quite sure that I won’t gain the weight back. I’m not losing it very quickly, but it’s slowly happening, and not bothering me too much, though sometimes I get frustrated and impatient.
julie’s last blog post..Stupid blog, stupider me!
I know what you mean, I feel like I could have written the same post (we’re even the same weight). I know we have to come to terms with the emotional part or we’ll be back on the losing and re-gaining cycle again. Let’s get off the emotional roller coaster and learn how to have a “normal” relationship with food, exercise and our bodies. Make good decisions and keep the faith.
P.S. I just found your blog … I’ll be back to catch up and check your progress.
MB’s last blog post..One Step Forward, Two Steps Back …
Girl… dealing with emotional eating on that… emotional level is tough. I’m currently in therapy try to address it and journaling/blogging to help work through the gunk. It’s tough but I’m sure, in the end, it’ll be rewarding. Can’t wait to hear your adventures!
Just_Kelly’s last blog post..Manic Monday and the Episode Where Kelly had an Insanely Busy Week