Manage Emotional Eating: Flee or Fight

Everyone has the potential to be an emotional eater because everyone experiences stress in their lives, and everyone has to eat in good times and bad and everything in between.  Babies are stressed when they are hungry or thirsty, tired or wet.  Little children are stressed when they are asked to be still when their bodies just want to move.  Teenagers of today are stressed by technology coming at them, etc. etc. 

When the body experiences stress--a perceived threat, like anxiety or pressure of expectations or worry over job security, health, family, etc., the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline and cortisol.  These stress hormones helped our ancient ancestors to survive.  Their stress was fear for their lives--mortal danger.  They responded by fleeing the perceived threat or fighting it.  The very last resort was to freeze in place.  After the fleeing or fighting, their bodies were depleted of calories.  They needed calories to survive.  So they replaced those calories they burned. 

My dog, Pippa, doesn't like fireworks.  The loud noise, the repetition tell her to escape the perceived threat, i.e. flee.  Fourth of July is the prime time for dogs to get lost because of this very reason.  Because we keep Pippa inside and safe, and although she still can hear the booms of fireworks, she is frozen in place with her stress.  Her body responds to this by shaking it off.  She trembles.  This is helping her release the nasty cortisol and adrenaline that is building up in her body.  This shaking is helping.

As for human beings, our bodies still respond to stress the way our ancestors' bodies did even though we are not living in fear for our lives.  Our body doesn't know this, so it ramps up the cortisol and adrenaline in preparation for a flight or a fight.  This is a physical problem because excess cortisol and adrenaline suppress the immune system and lead to disease to say nothing of emotional eating.  Ninety percent of doctor's visits are stress related.  While our problems are different than our ancestors, our physical response in the body is the same.   Our desire to replace calories is the same as well. 

For this reason, I suggest that we practice a modern day version of fleeing (taking a walk) or fighting (vigorous exercise).  By responding to emotional situations with a physical response, we can dump that nasty cortisol and adrenaline.  We can "shake it off" so to speak.  This doesn't mean our problems disappear.  This means that the way we deal with them shifts.  A simple five minute walk (fleeing) away from a problem at work or home might be just what's needed to get some relief.  By doing something as simple as this, we transform negative into positive.  A life skill to be sure.

If walking away or moving vigorously or even shaking is not an option, then meditative breathing is the way to go.  By breathing in deeply through the nose and out through the nose or mouth, we signal to the body that we are NOT ramping up, but we are slowing DOWN.  We are telling our body to relax.  We are training our mind to let go.  We are creating a physical response.

Living fully means that we will have a vast array of experiences.  We care about our health, our families, our jobs, our communities, our hobbies, etc.  We feel a broad spectrum of emotions.  They don't even have to make sense.  Emotions are legitimate because they exist.  It is precisely these emotions that can create stress for our hearts, minds and bodies.  In the technology age, we live so much in our heads, but that is not helping.  We benefit by working with the body to create more balance, stress relief and calm. 

Set Yourself Up to Succeed: Skinny Kitchen Makeover

Who doesn't like clean kitchen counters, free from snail mail, power cords, backpacks, etc.?  It is a breath of fresh air for me to walk into my kitchen and see that dirty dishes have made their way to the dishwasher, the refrigerator is full of healthy, ready to eat options, and that the pantry is organized.  Two opposing but complementary forces are at work here.  First, I have to get the junky food out of my house.  If it is not possible to remove all of the junky food that other family members desire, then at the very least, I have to relocate "red light" foods to harder to reach places.  Second, I have to do some meal planning and grocery shopping so that I can welcome the good foods into the house.  And finally, I have to keep this routine going:  removing trigger foods and gathering healthier options.   

Whew!  That can feel like a lot of work.  I call it the skinny kitchen makeover.  It can happen in the cupboard, refrigerator, freezer or pantry.  Wherever there is food stored, it makes sense to keep it organized.  If you see the healthier option prepped and ready to go--you might be more likely to choose it.  If the unhealthy option isn't even there, it will be that much harder to get to it. 

This all makes logical sense, but this work is not happening unless the mindset is set up for success.  We benefit from losing just as much weight in our mind as we do in our body.  Now is the time to return to basics and reconnect with what works.  Measuring, weighing, counting and tracking works.  It creates mindful eating.  Seeking out any of the 200 zero-point foods and building meals around them works.  It is filling and satisfying.  It keeps the daily point count down.  Removing distractions that keep meals calmer works.  Electronics, a rushed schedule, eating at the counter while standing up do not create satiety.  If you aren't feeling satisfied, you may keep eating even if your stomach is really full.  Leaving the kitchen when meals are finished and works.  If you hang out too long where the food is kept, you might start eating again or might start snacking just because someone else is.  (I have never bought a house with a kitchen and family room together because of this very reason.)

Your physical space matters.  It is either helpful or hurtful in your healthy lifestyle.  Take a moment to observe your kitchen with a critical eye.  Do you have a food scale or measuring cups/spoons always available?  Do you know the point values of everything there?  You might consider scanning everything you have and writing the value on the package with a big black sharpie.  That way, you will always know what you are choosing.  Do you have staples ready and waiting for you in case of emergency?   A good dinner might be stored in your freezer or easily pulled together with some basics in cans.

It is a lifelong pursuit to take good care of yourself.  What you eat and what you choose not to eat is significant to your health and longevity.  This is something you can control.  Set yourself up to succeed.  You are worth it.

The Universe Says Yes

I was attending a QiGong teacher training this past weekend, and one of the teachers was talking about presenting classes and finding new students and starting a qigong business.  She said, "just imagine--the universe says yes."  I loved that idea, because it is so much more helpful to focus on things going well and turning out as opposed to fearing resistance and failure. 

Yet, how often are we trapped in negative, unhelpful thoughts that seem to become reality?  I know I am guilty of this.  Just this week, I went to my OrangeTheory Fitness workout, and the trainer said that is was "strength" day.  That means we are running hills on the treadmill.  I don't like running hills, and I dislike strength day a lot.  I heard a fearful voice in my head say--I can't do this.  Then I realized immediately that my body was eavesdropping on my mind.  I knocked it off right then and there.  I turned it around and just ran the hills.  The universe says yes.

This week, the weather turned just a bit in Minnesota.  Jackets are coming out, and the temps are dipping a little. The leaves are turning on some trees, and it feels like a change is coming.  In times of transition, it can be helpful to look back and see where we were, to learn from experience--as we look forward to see where we are going.  Looking back over the summer, we can consider what the universe said yes to?  A vacation, more fun times, longer days, more light--the universe said yes to all of those things.  Now, let's also consider what might have gotten in the way? 

Now, let's plan on the universe saying yes to what we'd really like to have.  We too change with the seasons.  We are organic material.  We feel differently.  We eat differently.  We sleep differently.  We are not the same this fall as we were all summer.  That keeps life interesting.  With that in mind--what will we expect and plan--for the universe to say yes to? 

The power of your mind to control your body and your life cannot be underestimated.  Shedding fattening thoughts is just as much a part of the journey of a healthy, long life as shedding pounds and decreasing in inches. 

Expect this journey to go well. 
Expect this journey to change from moment to moment. 
Expect this journey to take you places where you will meet demons and earth angels. 
Expect this journey to be worthwhile and worthy of you. 

Expect the universe to say yes.