5 Simple Tips to Overcome Compulsive/Emotional Eating and Eliminate the Self-Sabotage that Ensues

I came home Sunday afternoon starving!…

As soon as I walked in the door, sitting on my counter was a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I didn't want to “give in” to the immediate temptation because I had decided just 20 minutes prior to arriving home that I was going to start my day with a fresh pressed juice or smoothie to get back on track.

This past weekend was a bit hectic between work and social gatherings, and so my “diet” (I like to call it a Live-it) had been severely derailed. I had been eating a ton of sweets (mainly Edel’s legendary Banana Bread Foster, and delicious homemade Ezekiel bread pudding prepared by a very talented chef) and a lot of refined, processed white carbs (pasta upon pasta upon pasta). Because I had been eating so much of that stuff, naturally I was eating so little of all the other stuff- fruits and veggies!

Now, two things happen when you eat a lot of simple, white carbs (pastas, breads, cookies, cakes, chips):

1. You end up crowding out all of the other good, healthy stuff- the leafy greens; cruciferous veggies; anti-oxidant berries; sweet succulent apples; grounding, warming root veggies (sweet potato, squashes); the fibrous and protein packed whole grains (quinoa, kasha, millet, amaranth), the omega fatty, heart and brain healthy, super-foods (avocado, walnuts, wild caught salmon).

2. You crave more of the carbs and a lot of sugar too, because white carbs turn into sugar very quickly in the body, spiking blood sugar levels and then dropping them drastically, leaving you hungry again quickly and wanting more sugar. What you put into your body, your body- and taste buds- will crave.


So, this is what happened. I was starving, I hadn’t been eating nutritiously, so my body was craving the same stuff that I had been giving it; and I gave in. I ate not one cookie, but three. Then a handful (or two) of chocolate covered pretzels. Ahh… That instant gratification, that feeling of euphoria as the sugar instantaneously released seratonin, and then… Immediate disappointment in myself because I failed to stick to my commitment.

Can you relate to this? I’m sure you can. We’ll all been there. We say we’re going to do one thing, then somehow end up doing the complete opposite, and then we feel really bad about it...

But how long do you let yourself feel really bad about it?

Just as quickly as those feelings of instant gratification had fleeted to be replaced by the disappointment, so did that same self-inflicted disappointment. I was able to snap out of my self-sabotage rather quickly.

What has awarded me the power to do so is many years of practicing self-love (which is still- and always will be- a work in progress). I took a deep breath, allowing me to escape all of the negative self-talk in my mind and became present again (as opposed to the previous unconscious inhalation of sugar). I drank a huge glass of water and just Let It Go.

Here are 5 Simple Tips you can use to Overcome Compulsive/Emotional Eating, and Eliminate the Self-Sabotage that Ensues:

1. Sit down: HOW we eat is just as important as WHAT we eat. I find that if I am eating standing up, I am not pacing myself; I am shoveling and I am not relaxed. The most important part of eating is creating that relaxing space for yourself to thoroughly, slowly, and mindfully enjoy your food. When you add this how element to what you eat, your body is going to be able to digest properly, you will get fuller faster, and you will be less likely to crave seconds, as well as sweets afterward. You will have given your stomach ample time to send the signal to your brain that you are satisfied and no longer hungry.

2. Drink water: I didn’t have any water that day when I woke up (which is never like me, but it happens), and by the time I got home in the afternoon I was twice as hungry. If I had drank a glass of water before I put any food into my mouth, I guarantee I would not have been so inclined to grab the first thing I saw- the sweets. Water fills the belly. Most times when we think we are hungry, we are really very thirsty. Drinking water on an empty stomach allows your body to assimilate the hydration, stabilize blood sugar levels, and control appetite; consequently motivating you to make nutritious food choices.

Extra tip: It helps to have healthy food on hand, so if you do happen to be starving and reaching to grab the first thing you see, at least it will be one of these top 10 heathy staples.

3. Take a deep breath: Mind-body connection. Deep inhale in, deep exhale out. Repeat. Get present. Bring attention back into your body. I was out all morning running around, and all I needed when I got in the door was just to sit down, have a glass of water, and take a moment to relax and gather my thoughts. Had I done that instead of grabbing the sweets, I would have been more present in my body to make a healthier food choice.

4. Let it go: Don't let your mind linger too long with self-defeating thoughts. Speak to yourself the way you'd speak to a cherished person in your life, or the way you'd want a loved one to speak to you. Allow yourself to Let. It. Go. Tip #3 helps with being able to do that.

5. Remember the 80/20: Once you've mindfully and gracefully "let it go," recommit to the 80/20. Eighty percent of the time you stick to your “Live it”- engaging in health-enhancing behaviors and eating foods that energize you, make you feel good and look good. Then the other 20% is for the flexibility of life. There’s no reason why you should be holding yourself back from indulging in sweets and beer, or feeling bad if you've missed the gym. That 20% is built in for you to be OK with stuff like that, because you know that the other 80% you're doing great for yourself.

Rigidity won’t take you very far. It will only keep you stuck and in your own way. Be gentle on yourself. Life is meant to be lived and thoroughly enjoyed. Let yourself savor each step.

Can you relate? How does this resonate with you?

Which one of these tips can you begin to incorporate into your life today?

I'd love to hear from you.

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