Stress is such a tough opponent and it gets tougher as we get older, especially for those of us who already have a problem with food addiction or emotional eating in general.
Stress can not only make us eat uncontrollably. It can change our metabolism in such a way that it’s even harder to lose the weight.
Here is a video I found on YouTube that has some great information about metabolism and stress. I hope you enjoy it.
According to a report published the end of March by The Scripps Research Institute in Florida, junk food contains the same molecular mechanisms that cause drug addiction.
The three-year study confirmed for the first time that junk food contains addictive properties, something that food addicts and compulsive overeaters have been saying for decades. And now we have our proof.
With all the junk food junkies out there and obesity numbers growing daily, it’s almost comforting to know that there is a legitimate reason for compulsive overeating and food addictions.
The research, which was performed on rats, showed a direct link between obesity and a progressively deteriorating chemical balance in the reward center of the brain.
Real answers, at last. Click here to read the entire press release.
When food addictions take over your life, you can become very hard on yourself even to the point of self-hate. This only makes the food addiction worse.
We all do things that we regret. We can’t do anything about the past but if food addiction and emotional eating have become patterns in your life, there is something you can do about them now.
Before we can move from one state of being into another, we must be able to forgive ourselves for whatever we have done, or think we have done. Only when we do this can we move forward.
Children live in the moment, so they forgive easily. It’s harder for adults to live in the moment because there is always some past mistake or future possibility that we seem to want to focus on, taking us away from the moments in which we have the most power.
Food addictions and the agonizing emotional trauma that is always lurking underneath can keep us in a place that is sad, shameful, or just plain uncomfortable, for a long time.
When we have these feelings, we don’t like ourselves. When we don’t like ourselves, there is the tendency for the food addict to self-medicate or even self-destruct with food.
Self-hate, anger or even impatience with yourself can keep your heart closed, and if there is any time your heart needs to be open, it’s when you’re feeling bad about yourself.
So today’s tip is simple: Forgive yourself for not being perfect, for making some mistakes. That will allow you to let the past go and experience each moment fully without judgment and without regret.
Forgiveness clears out the negative feelings and lets you begin anew each day. Live each day fully, with your attention in the moment, and without persecuting yourself for something you cannot change.
Keep your heart open so that love can flow freely in both directions. The three most powerful words in the English language are said to be “I forgive you”.
Practice saying them daily in the mirror, and watch your eating patterns and your life change for the better.
I’m not going to talk about the days, just the result of the stress . That’s how we size things up anyway, isn’t it? It’s the outcome that matters.
I don’t know what it is that makes a person feel so much rage against themselves that they engage in self-destructive behaviors. There’s a point when the incident that caused the stress begins to blend with the person who is feeling it.
I think it is at that point where the line gets blurred and we temporarily become what the situation has made us feel. Suddenly, the emotional tension becomes too much and we snap like a rubber band that is stretched beyond its limit.
Betrayal is a terrible feeling. The feeling of being victimized, especially by someone we trust, is so overwhelming that we bury it deep inside. We try to pretend that it never happened while our families and friends urge us to just get over it and move on.
But the truth is that most people don’t just get over it, because it isn’t something you just get over. Then one day the stress builds and the feeling reminds you of the incident that started it all. And you snap.
So what does all this mean to a food addict? Well, I can tell you what it means to me. I don’t drink and I am an ex-smoker. I never did drugs of any kind. My addiction is a food addiction.
I don’t know how a drug addict feels. I never will and I don’t want to. The battle with foods is hard enough to win. Sometimes I win and sometimes I don’t.
This week at the job I work, there was a constant, unrelenting low-level stress. I am a person who needs a break once in a while.
On the first of the two most stressful days last week, I took home a box of chocolates which I consumed in less than two hours. No judgments, please. I’m sharing.
The second fall-off-the-wagon-at-top-speed incident was the following day. I took home a package of black Twizzlers. Two hours later they were gone.
Two days in a row of steady, constant low-level stress turned into unmanageable high-level stress and my food addiction took over. I wanted to sleep but I couldn’t. I wanted to exercise but my hours were too long and I was too exhausted.
I needed a break but there was none to be had, so the trigger clicked and I couldn’t get out of the way in time. Within 24 hours, I was back at the store but my shift was only four hours and I had gotten some rest and a sense of accomplishment from my non-store work.
My interest in food or should I say in eating compulsively was gone and I could breathe again. Mental and emotional anxiety were replaced with inner calm.
Unlike other addictions, a food addiction can come and go in a matter of hours with only the unpleasant side effects that usually occur as a result of overeating.
It takes a lot to put me in that unsafe place where food is my only suit of armor. I don’t offer excuses but I do know that I have to get back on track fast and break the cycle as quickly as possible.
I guess I have some work to do.