I’m going to say something that might shock you a little bit. Ready? Here goes…

Emotional eating isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I know, that might sound strange coming from someone who is committed to helping women break free of binge and emotional eating.

But just like many things in life, emotional eating is a two-sided coin.

Believe it or not, there are times when feeling your emotions deeply can help you make supportive food choices instead of destructive ones. It can be just as loving of a thing as it is a disruptive thing. If you use it properly, that is!

Let me explain what I mean…

Suppose that you’re worn out and sluggish at the end of the day, but you have an important engagement that night. Can you choose the right foods to revive yourself get you back up for the game? Of course!

Maybe you’re feeling stressed and disconnected, and you’re longing to feel centered again. At this moment, the right meal can bring you back to a place of groundedness and peace.

In both of these scenarios, you’re considering how you want to feel, you’re making a decision from a place of centeredness and power, and you’re choosing a meal based on the emotional state you wish to create.

Then, there’s the flip-side…

Suppose that you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or angry. And all you want to stop that sting of negative emotions. (And right NOW, thank you very much!)

Maybe you’re feeling a void in your life, a need that isn’t being met. Or you’re stuck in an emotional state that you just want to escape.

In either case, what happens next?

You grab the first available food in an attempt to numb your pain and feel normal again.

A bag of chips or a candy bar seems like a quick-fix when emotional triggers get the better of you.

That’s the kind of autopilot response that most people associate with “emotional eating.”But the truth is that when it comes to emotional eating, the mirror really DOES have two sides.

When it comes to food and emotions, it’s all about awareness.

It’s about recognizing when stress, fear, or other heightened emotions are making you seek a quick fix in the form of food.

It’s also about knowing when you sincerely do need to eat in order to achieve the emotional state that you desire.

How do you know when an emotion is triggering you to unconsciously reach for food…OR a feeling is simply prompting you to choose the meal that you need in the moment?

Let’s talk about that right now!

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Have you ever experienced massive stress, anxiety, or worry and wished that a helicopter would show up to airlift you away from the scene?

Trust me, we’ve all been there. Emotional triggers can be pretty scary. And it can be too easy to try and brush them under the rug in hopes of making them disappear.

Unfortunately, that often results in turning to food to make it all go away.  

But this is the moment to stop, take a step back, and a deep breath. It’s the time to let your emotions flow through you, return to your center, and making a conscious choice about what you really need.

This means practicing the art of being with your emotions when they arise. Listening to what they’re trying to tell you. And then making an empowering choice, food-based or not.

How do you get through those emotional onslaughts without falling for the quick food fix?

Let me show you how to make it happen in three simple steps!

Step 1: Be with your emotions. Suppose that you get blindsided by an suprise emotional trigger. Your feeling all the (negative) feels, and you desperate for a way out at any cost.

What do you do when the sting of emotion threatens to take your power?

Instead of immediately turning to ice cream or candy, try this first: just feel that trigger.

Let it flow through you without judgment as much as you can. Be as objective and present as possible, and just notice what is happening within you. Practice deep breathing throughout the process, and let yourself become centered again.

Which brings us to Step 2!

Step #2: Becoming centered in the chaos. When I’m sitting with a fully-charged emotion, I have an affirmation that never fails to get me to a place of peace…

“I am strong enough to be with this”

It allows me to sit with any trigger, let it do its thing, and eventually let it go. And the whole process from start to finish can be literally over in minutes, if you allow it to be.

The truth is that feelings aren’t bad even if they’re undesirable. They’re simply messengers. And if you try to dodge and escape your feelings, you deny yourself the opportunity to hear those messages. That’s why it’s crucial to actually let your feelings be felt.

Author Debbie Ford calls emotional denial the “beach ball effect.” And here’s what she means…

Have you ever been swimming and attempted to hold a beach ball underwater? The harder you try to force it down, the faster it pops right back up.

That’s what happens when you try to deny an emotion. Eventually, it pushes its way up. And usually with the same amount of force that it took to keep them down.

If you allow your emotions to emerge, you might have a momentary onslaught of pain. But when the dust clears, you’ll be left with the priceless gift of the messages your emotions have to bring and the heavy feeling of the pain will lift.

So acknowledge how you’re feeling. Let it express itself fully, then be on its way. And wait to make a food choice until you’re back at your center again.

Step #3: Love yourself. Once you’re feeling like your grounded self again, you’re ready to make a choice from your heart and not your head. It’s time to decide what you need at this moment, whether it’s a grounding meal…or something else!

I suggest starting with this simple question…

“What do I need right now?”

Perhaps it is food. Your body could be asking for a meal that honors and supports it, which is a perfectly beautiful thing.

Then again, maybe you just need a little quality time for yourself. Perhaps you just need to read a book, take a walk, or get a change of scenery.

Or you might just need a few moments to simply BE.

But the bottom line is to feel your emotions without resistance. Bring yourself to the present moment again. And make a conscious choice about what your body really needs in the moment, be it food or not.

Kind of makes emotional eating seem a little less scary after all, doesn’t it?

Of course, even with this reframe, emotional eating can still be a sticky subject.

If you’ve been in the path of unsupportive emotional eating for any length of time, there’s one thing I want you to know: you don’t have to have all of your emotional “issues” resolved before you declare yourself free.

You can break that link in the brain that attaches heightened emotions to food, no matter where you are at with your feelings. You can give yourself that extra love that you need so that momentary emotions don’t lead to unsupportive food choices.

If you’re looking for support in all of this, we are here for you!

Click the image below where I’ve got a special gift for you! We call them, “Craving Cards”, and they’re one of our most popular tools!

If you ever feel night time cravings, sugar cravings, the urge to just say “screw it I’m going to start my diet over tomorrow”, or like you need a little body confidence pick me up… 

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With our Craving Cards and Demo Series… 

You’ll learn how to stop cravings in their tracks, feel confident, and get back your power, fast! 

Love,
Brittany

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