Triggers...

There have been many times in my life that I have asked myself, "why am I fat?"
Was it because I loved food so much? YES! Was is because I wasn't brought up with healthy food or exercise? YES! Was it because food loved me back? YES! Was it because food was always there for me? YES! Was it because food didn't judge me? YES!  Was it because I was stuffing down issues that had nothing to do with food? YES! Did I eat because I was happy? YES! Did I eat because I was sad? YES! Did I eat because I was furious? YES!

Do you get the picture?

We all have reasons for eating. Those of us who struggle or struggled with obesity have reasons for taking it to the extreme. All of these reasons are different but all cause or caused the same result.
It was important for me to deal with the things that caused me to over eat because I DO NOT want to go back. I ate for all those reasons mentioned above but mostly because I was miserable. It made me feel good at the start but overall it made me feel like crap.
It's funny because it's like a catch 22...I ate because I was miserable but being overweight made me miserable.

Now, after all I learned, I have a healthy relationship with food. At the start of all this it was really hard to re-train my brain (and myself) to eat for the right reasons...because I was hungry. The emotional eating had to stop or it would eventually kill me. Sure, I still have cravings for chocolate and pizza and other not-so-good-for-you foods. I have found healthier versions of these foods that satisfy my cravings and don't make me feel guilty for eating them and I don't feel that I have sabotaged myself. 

If you are on a  weight loss journey yourself and have a hard time with emotional eating, have a conversation with yourself (not out loud, you don't want people to think you're crazy). Ask yourself "why am I eating the entire bag of chips?" Check your mood before making a rushed decision to eat a box of cookies. You may find yourself making a different decision after you answer those questions.

Happy Eating!