Bear Hug or Bear Claw: The Choice is Yours

“It is the one thing found at the intersection of race, culture, identity, status, education, religion, and economics — food. The truth is: It’s never about the food. It’s always about the story behind the food.”

Do you believe in the power of affirmations? In self-fulfilling prophecies? In “speaking it into existence?” If your answer is yes, then keep reading. Imagine for just a moment, what would happen if you stopped saying, “I am an emotional eater,” and started saying, “I am a nutritional eater.” I am a nutritional eater. I am a nutritional eater. I am a nutritional eater. If you repeated this statement to yourself daily, wrote it daily, and affirmed it before everything you ate, do you think you would start to believe it? Do you think your eating habits would change? Stop now and ponder this: Belief is the root of all action. Every thought you have, every word you utter, every action you take is based on your beliefs. Change what you believe – in this case, your beliefs about food – and your habits and behavior will change.

If you read Your Food ABCs last week, then you know the only problem food solves is hunger. And yet too many of us find ourselves constantly eating for the wrong reasons – Frustration. Confusion. Anxiousness. Anger. Satisfaction. Disappointment. Fatigue. Relief. Annoyance. Sadness. Tiredness. Relaxation. Fear. Stress. Apprehension. Comfort. Grief. Reward. Exhaustion. Pleasure. Fun. Nervousness. Embarrassment. Peer Pressure. Guilt. Boredom. Anticipation. Depression. Shame. Jealousy. Envy. Status. Impatience. Fright. Pain. Fatigue. Gratitude. Respect. Loneliness. Inadequacy. Overwhelm. Regret. Curiosity. Panic. Entertainment – just to name a few. These emotions often show up as twinges in your stomach that you mistake for hunger. Those twinges are a signal that something is going on, but that “something” is not hunger. It is something else, which means you should do something else, other than eat. You feel me?

Here’s what really happens when you eat in response to emotion. Both your nutritional and emotional needs go unaddressed, unanswered, and unmet. The real and root problems go unsolved, not just in the moment, but often for decades, even generations. And it shows up in our mind, body, and spirit as dis-ease. The cycle of continually going to food – more specifically, processed foods – in response to emotion-filled situations feeds and fuels the fires of addiction and other obesity-related illnesses. We have all heard this, thousands of times, “insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.” You can start to stop the insanity of emotional overeating by eating whole and nutritious food when you are hungry, and when you are feeling “some other kind of way”, remember these 13 Things Food Can Never Do For You:

1. Tell you a side-splitting, laugh-till-you-cry, pee-in-your-pants joke.

2. Kiss you on the forehead, nape of your neck, elbow, or anyplace else.

3. Apologize for being thoughtless.

4. Offer advice that you have absolutely no interest in hearing.

5. Lend you $500 and forget about it.

6. Borrow $500 and pay it back.

7. Give you $500 just because.

8. Sit with you all night in the emergency room of a hospital.

9. Send you belated birthday cards, every year.

10. Provide an alibi.

11. Be a character witness.

12. Break out in a giant, cheese-eating grin at the mere sight of you.

13. Wrap you in the biggest, tightest, warmest bear hug ever.

Think about these 13 things as you make the shift from being an unconscious, emotional overeater to becoming a mindful and aware nutritional eater, and as you shift from trying to have a relationship with food to learning how to manage it in a healthier way.