The #summerofintuitiveeating continues and here was are at principle number seven, Honour Your Feelings Without Using Food. This is timely for me as I’ve had an emotionally challenging time over the past few weeks…heck, the past year even! And I’ve noticed an increase in emotional eating in my own life. I was glad to get a refresher on what exactly emotional eating is and ways to approach it.
Let’s see what Tribole and Resch have to say about this principle in their book, Intuitive Eating:
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food Find ways to comfort , nurture, distract, and resolve your issues without using food. Anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger are emotions we all experience throughout life. Each has its own trigger, and each has its own appeasement. Food won’t fix any of these feelings. It may comfort for the short term, distract from the pain, or even numb you into a food hangover. But food won’t solve the problem. If anything, eating for an emotional hunger will only make you feel worse in the long run. You’ll ultimately have to deal with the source of the emotion, as well as the discomfort of overeating.
When looking at emotional eating I always think it is important to note that the goal isn’t a total banishment of emotional eating. Rather it is making sure that eating to comfort ourselves isn’t the only option we have to turn to in times of emotional turmoil, and that we aren’t engaging in it to an extent that compromises our physical or mental health. Tribole and Resch seem to agree as they assure us that eating comfort foods occasionally can be a normal part of a healthy relationship with food – as long as we are still in touch with satiety levels and eat without guilt. Let’s say I’ve had a hard day at work and I come home and decide that I’m feeling a little emotionally vulnerable and that one of my favourite comfort foods – macaroni and cheese is what I want to eat. What I don’t want to do is heap guilt and remorse upon myself for eating the macaroni and cheese, and as a result feel like I’ve been ‘bad’ and eat past fullness then engage in even more emotional eating to comfort my guilty feelings. Instead, I aim to offer myself compassion, allow myself to enjoy the good tasting food without guilt. In this scenario, I am more calm and more likely to feel satisfied and be able to respond to my body when it tells me I am full. The deep dive into despair and a possible binge situation is avoided.
So…the trick seems to find more ways we take care of ourselves emotionally and when we do comfort ourselves with food, offer ourselves compassion, not recrimination and guilt. On my personal journey I have found both strategies to be helpful. I do things like yoga, walking, music, meditation, books movies, etc in the name of self care (and fun). I think fun is an important element in whatever it is you are doing. If you engage in an activity just for self care, likely you wont keep coming back it. To help us find ways to expand our self-care options, Tribole and Resch provide a list of basic needs, which I found very helpful. Consider activities will help you meet any of these basic needs and viola! You have a self-care opportunity.
Basic Needs:
- get rest
- received sensual pleasure
- expressing feelings
- feel heard, understood and accepted
- get intellectually and creatively stimulated
- receive comfort and warmth
I would add a spiritual connection for those who are so inclined.
….what can you do to provide these needs for yourself?
Food can do so many things for us. Comfort us, numb us, create excitement, connect us to other people or be one place where we can let go – let off some steam. And that is fine, as long as we work at making sure food is only one self-care option among many. So…as we continue in this summer of intuitive eating, deepen your practice of self compassion and expand your selfcare toolbox!
Cheers,
Sydney