All Blog Postings by Mary
Emotional Eater
By Mary Francis · Originally published: April 14, 2023
Archive notice: This is a historical post from Mary’s years of blogging. Some older posts may mention products, courses or shop items that are no longer available, as Mary now focuses her time and energy on supporting widows inside her private Facebook community. The guidance and stories remain here as a free resource for widows.
For current ways to connect with Mary’s work, you can:
Are you an emotional eater that struggles when something goes wrong?
Sabotage thinking is what makes a widow go for seconds even when they aren’t hungry. Every time you eat when you’re not hungry, eat too much or grab a snack, think about what occurred immediately before the food went into your mouth.
Maybe it was an emotional trigger – a special song or a thoughtless comment made by a family member or friend.
It could have been a situation based trigger – such as you being the only single person at a table of couples.
Whatever they are, triggers send us to food for comfort. Try to pinpoint the triggering thoughts that send you down the wrong path. Identify the factors that push you to eat when it’s not meal time or cause you to reach for a sweet. These are your saboteurs and responding to them is a skill that you can use for a lifetime.
- Turn every day activities into a form of exercise, Example: Park on the other side of a Mall’s main doors and do the extra steps to get there.
- Aim to do your personal best, not what others think you should do.
- Get rid of temptations in your pantry and refrigerator, and restock with healthy foods.
- Practice mindful eating by eating off a small plate, without distractions and savoring every bite.
- Keep a food journal of what you eat and how you are feeling as you put it in your mouth. Take note of how you are feeling – are you lonely, bored, angry or depressed?
- Carry a water bottle with you and take a drink first, before you pick up that snack.
- Eat breakfast every day. This is one of the hardest habits I had to embrace. I just never ate breakfast and in my sixties I find it hard to do it consistently. I found oatmeal and cereals helped as they were quick and easy to prepare.
- Lastly, get up and do something if you are emotional stressed. Walk around your house, do the laundry, work on a puzzle, call a friend or clean out a closet. Replace emotional eating with movement and you will be both mentally and physically happier.
Mary Francis, The Sisterhood of Widows
#thesisterhoodofwidows, #widow, #grief, #griefsupport
