What's eating you? What's causing you to over indulge? Are you stressed, anxious or excited, or sad? Deadlines got you amped up or the hustle and bustle of preparing for holiday's or possibly you are missing loved ones, broke up, starting anew job or possibly lost one, could it be moving, downsizing or relocating, health scare, lifestyle change can be terrifying. No mattter what it is, you must get to the root cause over eating. The why, the what. It could be underlying health issues, reaction to medicine, it could your way of dealing with emotions indirectly instead addressing them. Believe me, I have been there.
For me over indulgence is because I am a foodie, you now that's really not an excuse. I lack self decipline when it comes to food. My mistake is restrict myself then when I see it I binge eat or over do it...excited. Then comes the punishment, stomach pains, the sugar, the sodium increases blood pressure, the carbs and fat blows you up another size or two. Houston, we got problems,. we are in need of portion control here. So, I did get portion control bowls and made up my mind to use them not just look at them...little cute colors, I just love them. I hate eating out of so many toddler bowls but it's a major bonus in my health and quality of lifestyle.
SO, let's start here, now that Thanskgiving aka The BIG Feast is over, have you weighed yourself ? Have you noticed your sugar/glucose level, BP level, slugish ,sleeping well, feeling fatigue? You may have over eaten. So I say you have time to get back on track until Christmas rolls around. If you are inidated with task from preparing for Christmas, delegate tasks from store runner to shop online with instacart, amazon online and have someone else to decorate, get another to make meal list, and suggest every0ne to pitch in by bringing a dish. This will lessen your load of being tirelessly in the kicthen cooking/creating meals. This should reduce some stress. Stress will do one of two things, cause you to eat more or eat less. I have been on both sides. Emotional eating is primarily an underlying problem, it could be comforting, comfort foods like heavy pasta with heavy sauces, pizza with at least 3 tops and you better have added extra cheese,not to mention ice cream, egg nog season ,YES, don't forget the mastering of gravies this season, breads, and spreads, OH , ALMOST FORGOT CHARCUTERIE BOARD with plethora of cheeses/chocolate ,,, OK, fruits we wil include you too. Let's face holiday's are meant to feast and enjoy alot of it..I get it don't encourage. Holiday's are annual, memories are forever, let's be present and be accountable but no pressure, right.
I say enjoy yourself ,know your consequences and self discipline by focusing on your limits. Now, right after holiday's comes, superbowl and Valetine's day more excuses to over indulge. However, March, Spring will be here. So, I eat while you prepare for the Spring. Let's do this...stress, reduce it . Find out your triggers and set boundaries. It could anything, write down how you feel both happy and sad. What can you control that's how you overcome it,,,if not toss it , you have no control. Alot of time we pile stuff on our plate, called emotions is how I like to label it. YOU EAT hurt, pain, betrayal, disappointment, excitement, fear ,anger, failure, boredom, distractions, anticipation,rejection, imperfections. hAD A BAD DAY, YOU ARE GOING TO TEAR UP A CHEESESTEAK, GO TO SOMEBADY'S HAPPY HOUR, OR RUN UP A CHARGE CARD FOR SOME RETAIL THERAPY.!!! It's not one size fit all either. But here's how I faced my battle with food aka FOODIE,,, and presently challenged with maintaing my battle with food over indulgence. I had to admit it first. Food was controlling me...I can and will take everything out on food , I either stop or I over indulge, the in between is where I struggle.
So my tips, I discovered while in grief therapy,helped me to realize my lack of discipline with food. Then one of my daughters pointed it out while out dinning. She observed how fast I inhaled my food and excitement once I witnessed the huge cookies coming to our table,,,hot off the press too. So I do keep a food journal, I do acknowledge my emotions for the day along with my inner thoughts, good and bad, I do critize myself alot so I need to show myself some compassion but I do need to stay focused and not be easily distracted which leads to me feeling unproductive. Which then guilt starts to eat away at me. I make my to do simple very minimal due to long list of to do's over whelm me and I am not going to do any of it. I have gotten better with time management, slept alot today thus is why I am up blogging.. I commited to blog today,so if it meant stayng up to get it done then do it.
Which brings me to next task, get good rest, sleep deprivation or insomnia isn't in your best interest. I have been practing getting to bed early. ttTo do this I must eat dinner earlier because you shouldn't eat and go to sleep especially to prevent heartburns, digestive issues and bad dreams. So to prepare for a good night includes unplugging, read for an hour, journal and give gratitude. Sometimes I discuss the good and bad of the day with my husband. I skin prep by cleanser, exfoliate, moisturizer and night serum. Glass of H20 or hot tea with lemon and cinnamon TO REDUCE SUGAR INTAKE. Pick out comfly pj's , make sure room is dark and cool, no TV, listen soft instrumental gospel or jazz music, water sounds or white noise music. Wake up, don't jump up, don't touch your phone either, it's stressful 1st thing the morning, allow your body to catch up, relax for a minute, stretch, get glass of H20, give a shout out to God allowing you to see another day, cleanse face, moisturize, shower, and include SPF. Pray, meditate, read scripture. Try this... eat fruits, veggies then carbs, in that order, best for digestive system. Try to stay on track with eating 9am, noon and then dinner by 5 or 6 because you have to give system 3 to 4 hours to digest prior to going to bed. If you need to snack try apples, oranges, celery, or carrot sticks, if you stop buying junk food then your pantry would be rid or aleast reduce, out of sight out of mind. Try to be visual , write it in your journal or on calendar, let's see how long you can maintain limiting intake of junk food. Reward yourself with retail therapy or dinnig out , manicure,/pedi or spa day. Reduce your time on social media too rather read a book or scripture, learn some new words to increase your vocabulary to help stimulate your mind and relaxing it, aromatherapy is a great self care time and incorporate exercise, it aids in your mood, clarity to reduce brain fog, nothing strenous, it could be stretching, this is very beneficial, standing on one leg then alternate, squats, rotating arms and ankles, standing on tippy toes, getting up and sitting down in chair, up and down movement and don't forget the neck and massaging your temples. Just prayer time with God always work, talkimg to Him about everything great stress reliever. Praises go up and Blessings come down. Best known fact is go with fat free, sugar fee, sodium free, dairy free and gluten free, It's hard not impossible. Try to go meatless on afew meals substitute with like, cabbage and potatoes, mac n chees, tuna or chicken salad, PBJ sandwich, reduce frying to bake or broil or air fry, limit your bread in take too, Limit intake of process food, get creative with cooking healthy meals, even during holiday's.
So use your portion control bowls or incorporate small portions on your plate or bowl during the holiday's too increase. STOP, the life you save maybe your own. increase H20 intake, create a food journal and or calendar to make it visual, seeing is believing, you'll be able to at least see the why and what behind the way you eat and reverse it from there, Remember to limit your to do list, you can delegate some of those task, Self care starts with SELF,if you are struggling reach out, ask fot help, incorporate an accountability partner, reward yourself. Get a visit to Dr.'s office to see if it could be health related or reaction to medicine possibly get other options, I share this with . I had been eatings lots of salad but didn't read the back of the dresaing and didn't stop to think of the highly concentration of sodium it contained until my knees started to swell really bad. Clean out that pantry of sodium filled soups, dressing , and condiments. I am a lover of condiments and realized they were increasing my weight along with sodium, sugar and carbs intake, I now get all of the FREE condiments or learning toeat without any. Sugar free, sodium free , dairy free, gluten free and fat free or at least reduced, Don't be too hard on yourself but the sooner we conquer and defeat the over eating habit the sooner we are on way to a healthier lifestyle. Let's decrease the chances to avoid being prescribed medicine for hypertension, diabetes, heart medicine, cholesterol which later results to early onset of alzheimer's and dementia. Try some holistic ways to healing as well. Proactive sounds way better than prescriptions!! And just in case you need some spiritual reinforcement, cause binge eating is real, here's few scripture..Deutoronmy 21:20 Galatians 5:22-23 Psalm 78:18 Proverbs 25:16 Ezekiel 16:49 Phillipians 3:19 Bon apetite🍽️🍽️🍽️
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