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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Feb14

Days that are meant to celebrate love can be a big source of stress. Stress is at the root of all food addictions so the Big Love day can be quite a challenge for anyone with a binge eating problem (and no date).

The heart creates certain kinds of emotions. The mind creates other kinds of emotions. Most people don’t go off the deep end with food when they are feeling good about things.

It’s when the heart energy gives way to the mind energy that we feel out of control. When a food addict  feels out of control, the response is compulsive eating, or binge eating.

Some tasks that are no big deal for one person can be hell for another. That goes for certain days or holidays, relationships, and experiences. Stress affects everyone in different ways.

While stress can’t be avoided altogether, it is unproductive to place ourselves in harm’s way by entering into stressful activities and relationships that doom us to failure.

Therefore, we must think carefully about how we want to live our lives if we are to be free of the pain and heartache food addiction can cause.

When we thoughtfully consider how best our lives can be lived and resolve to find a way to live in this way, stress will give way to a comfort that food can never equal.

When balance is restored and the heart is once again in control, food will not be an issue any longer. For a person with a food addiction, finding that balance is critical in overcoming the need to eat compulsively whenever we are stressed.

5 Ways to Tell if You Have a Problem With Food Addiction

Feb2

Food addictions are more than just emotional eating or overeating. There are very specific behaviours associated with a food addiction. Here are five ways to tell if your eating pattern signals a food addiction.

  1. Your mind goes to food at the first sign of stress.
  2. You have an uncontrollable urge to eat when you feel uncomfortable, regardless of the situation.
  3. You eat forbidden foods out of sight of others, i.e. the bathroom or the car.
  4. You feel ashamed when you buy a candy bar, chips, or ice cream, often making excuses to the cashier during the purchase.
  5. You continue to eat as if you are starving, even after you feel full and continuing to eat is making you feel uncomfortable.

When you are addicted to something, you feel as though you cannot live without it, as if you will cease to exist if you cannot get what you need immediately.

Food addictions are no different from other types of addictions. First you feel out of control (stress) and then you act out of control (stuffing down your feelings with food).

Regaining control is the only way to pull out of the situation. Sometimes that happens in a matter of minutes. At other times, it may take hours or even days. When my sister died, I ate for several days non-stop.

Everyone is different but two things remain constant. Emotional trauma is always at the root of a food addiction, and stress is always the trigger.

There are many warning signs when it comes to food addictions but if you have these five, chances are you’re in deep. It may be time to ask for help.

Food Addicts: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Jan16

I recently made the decision to take a retail job close to home. It was a big change from the corporate and executive positions I have held in the past.

This was a huge decision but I made the choice because I wanted to continue working on establishing an online business. In the big picture of my new life, this entry level position accomplishes what a corporate position cannot even offer.

As a food addict, I didn’t want to think of the stress I was heading into. How could I survive? I could see myself binging and stressing as I dealt with new tasks that require manual dexterity. My life would be very different.

And then something miraculous happened to put things in perspective.  I found myself right in the moment, focusing on what was important at that time, including when I had to eat. I did my work in the moment. I ate when I was supposed to, on time.

Whatever I was doing at the moment had 100% of my attention without the double-edged sword of multi-tasking hanging over my head. And the world didn’t stop.

My managers don’t bully me. My co-workers smile and speak kindly. They help me learn and they respect me. At the end of the day, I have accomplished something by my own standards as well as those of others.

The first night I ate for four hours straight while listening to “poor you’s” from former networking buddies who offered to do whatever they could to help me get back to where I was.

But when I thought about it–no.  I passed that turnoff for a reason, and I’m moving on. I don’t want to go back to a place where I was always hungry, starving for something and substituting food for what I really wanted.

I believe it was Sir Winston Churchill who once said that it is not always enough to do your best, that sometimes one must do what is required. When you step up to the plate, you can also step away from the plate.

Food has a role in my survival but only to provide me with the energy I need to live a productive and healthy life. For the past several days since I started this job, I have only craved food when I went too long without eating.

I find myself adamantly refusing to eat junk food or snack food during that small, off-the-clock lunch window. Out loud I say, “I need real food; I want real food.”

With huge changes occuring in my life, my stress level is lower than it has been in decades. The food addictions bother me less than when I encountered what now seem to be the least little frustrations.

Does that mean I’ll never binge again, that I will banish my food addiction forever? I doubt it, but for the moment, who cares? Forget one day at a time. I’ll take one moment at a time. That I can handle.

Maybe overcoming the emotional eating urges and the food addictions is all about living and in the moment and doing what is required. Can it be possibly that simple?

I don’t know. Don’t sweat the small stuff and let’s find out.