What am I offsetting by eating?

Transformation Tuesday. Everyone's transformation is different, this is mine.

I wish I understood and acknowledged early on that food didn't fix things when I was upset, happy, stressed, frustrated, sad, or bored. I got 10-20 seconds of instant pleasure, a blink of reprieve from whatever was bothering me but it never fixed anything.

I know this, you know this. We all know it right? Food doesn't fix anything. So how can you fix it? It's really not that easy. Especially when at a young age our parents rewarded us with food. We celebrate every holiday or event with food. Food is comforting. It's there. It's quick and convenient. But there is a difference between celebrating with food and soothing your feelings with it.

What you really need to ask yourself is what are you offsetting by eating? If it's an emotion, what can you do besides eat? You have so many other options to do, other than eat. Find one. I call them comfort strategies. And know that it's not a one size fits all. If food is quick and easy to get too make sure your comfort strategy is too. And don't make it something you don't want to do. If you're needing comfort, find something that's pleasant and comforting to do.

Eating your feelings not only makes it harder for you to lose weight down the road but creates a negative impact with food. Because you're not just dealing with emotional eating, but also overeating. That's 2 bad habits. Not one. Most people don't realize that. Work on both.

To create a better relationship with food, really give yourself grace & understand why you are. Don't feel bad or guiltily that food was your first choice. It's been programmed too. But in that moment embrace whatever emotion you're having so you can move past it and your emotions won’t have a hold on you. You've connected feelings and food, slowly disconnect them. Once you do, give it time and honor and acknowledge how you're feeling. Change is hard, this will be hard. But it'll be worthwhile once you move past comforting yourself with calories.

Everyday is a new chance to learn and love yourself and become mentally and physically stronger. Remember the hard days are the most valuable!