Throughout this health-seeking journey I keep learning new things about myself and how I have related to food my whole life. Last weekend I learned something about myself that I think may be life changing.
People over eat for all different kinds of reasons. Some due to stress, or boredom, or because they have a hard time controlling the powers of their cravings. Then there are some people that overeat simply because they figure out a reason to see every meal as something special to celebrate. I've never really had these examples as my eating triggers. But this past weekend I had a realization about myself and my eating triggers. I realized that in my past, I have overeaten and eaten the wrong things... because for some reason I see it as my responsibility to eat up food so that it is not wasted.
It was Sunday afternoon and I went to the fridge to make lunch for the family. I had planned to have a TSFL shake during lunch that day... but then I saw the stuffing and potatoes and cranberry that was still waiting to be eaten. It was looking right at me; waving it's imaginary hands and silently chanting "over here, over here." I had my hand on the stuffing container when I said to myself, "Why are you doing this? Why?"
I have spent the past year making good food choices and while I had a few bites of the traditional feast items on Thanksgiving... that day had passed and the holiday was officially over.
"Why?" What a good question. My first response was to think, "well, I can't let all this food go to waste." But, the truth is there are 3 other people in our family that can eat it so "why" was I seeing it as my job to act like a human garbage disposal and clean out the fridge. Well, I was raised to not waste food... which is an important value and something that we are trying to teach our kids too. That principal in itself is not bad at all, but when that means that I see it was my responsibility to not only clean my plate but also clean out the entire fridge/pantry we have an issue.
This revelation has brought me a unique sense of freedom. Freedom from the emotional feeling that "I have to eat" everything in the fridge. Freedom from the emotional feeling that I'm doing something bad by tossing out old leftovers. Freedom from the emotional feeling like its more important to eat whatever is there rather than putting my health first. Freedom to tell myself "It is not your job to eat... it is your job to make healthy choices about what you eat!"
What are your eating triggers?
Identifying your triggers and coming up with a plan to change your response to those triggers can be life-altering. In this article by Dr. A, Identifying Eating Triggers - Dr. Wayne Andersen, you can read about a variety of triggers & ways that you can develop new habits when you see yourself being triggered by food.
I want to encourage you to not only identify your eating triggers, but also come up with a plan for the next time you are faced with your trigger. The opportunity to shift directions and create a new healthy eating habit is within your control. Believe in yourself - I believe in you!
Have a fantastic weekend!
-Kelly
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