Do you eat your dinner and then immediately want somethings else?
You want something sweet, just one small bit of chocolate you tell yourself. You enjoy that for the moment but then you find yourself on the lounge unsatisfied. Back to the pantry you go. What else is there? Maybe it is some fruit you are thinking. Or maybe just one scoop of ice cream? You don’t even know what you feel like, but you want something, anything. You opt for peanut butter on toast, that must be it and then after that you won’t eat anything else tonight.
But, you guessed it. It is the same routine played out each night. The peanut butter on toast does not satisfy you either.
The problem is none of those foods are going to satisfy you. It is never enough and you keep going back for more and more. Right until sleep time or until you make yourself sick feeling disgusted at yourself.
Things that contribute to this type of behaviour include, boredom, stress, anxiety and habit. However it goes down much deeper than that.
Food is sweet, it soothes us, it makes us feel food, it is pleasurable. It allows us to push away the uncomfortable feelings going on emotionally within us. Food fills a void.
However this moment of pleasure from the food, the moment you can forget about all your troubles, only lasts for a few minutes or maybe only seconds. This is why you keep hunting for more food.
The longing you are really looking for, is inner satisfaction. There is something inside that is empty and food is not going to fill it up, ever. Food is never going to satiate you, not in the way you need or crave.
We all have times where no matter what we eat we don’t feel satisfied. I know I do, the food just does not fill me. But days like that are now few. That’s what I want for you too, to be able to pass the pantry and not care what is in it.
What I have learnt is that if you do what you love each day and fill your day with tasks you enjoy, consistently, the food urges go away. When you can see your life as being sweet you do not seek out the sweet foods.
Inner peace is being content with where you are at. It is knowing that life may not be perfect, you may have troubles, but it is okay, it doesn’t need to be understood. It is what it is. The more you try force life the more control you lose. You’ll go mad.
I know it is hard to work out how to fix the problem. You are probably confused still. Ask yourself what is it that you love doing and start by doing more of that. If you do not know what you like doing, try different things, that yoga class you have always wanted to try, go book in for that. That course on photography you have been reading up on, go do that. The people who we spend our time also influence our feelings. Who do you like being around? Who do you admire? Think about those people and organise to see them. Other people’s attitudes do rub off on us, so choose your crowd wisely.
You will never change if you do not take the action. You can read as much as you like online on how to stop emotional eating, how to be happier and the rest. But that won’t change anything.
I always say something is better than nothing. Take that one step. Focus on how you can make your life better rather than trying to control the food. Once you let go of the food, it will no longer control you.
Go out there today and make your life work for you.
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