Into the new year and I couldn’t help but review what I had written last January around this time. My post was all about healing - myself, my clients, my planet – not necessarily in that order.
Def. heal·ing noun, the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again
Upon reflection, it has gone well. My clients have continued to make great strides and work towards their individual goals, with my help, whether it be to start a healthier lifestyle, lose or maintain weight, or make bigger life decisions that they were stuck on.
And starting a walking group was one of the best things I did last year, not only to get people together to move, get outdoors and adopt a healthy habit. It has also had a profound effect on me as I engage with people I have never met before, gotten to know my regulars a bit better and gained insights into other people’s lives and challenges. It has helped me get out of my comfort zone and I have grown because of it.
Stretching in this way has allowed me to take responsibility and control in other aspects of my life, such as in the workplace and in family dynamics, hopefully for the best. And I feel stronger for it.
“The way you help heal the world is you start with your own family.” ― Mother Teresa
Not all healing is of the physical self. Some injuries are not seen, yet they are there, impeding us and stopping us from reaching our full potential.
Once we take the time to identify and name these wounds, they become less damaging. We can examine them dispassionately and with curiosity. How did they get here? What are they stopping me from doing? Being? Having? More importantly, why am I continuing to let them harm or impair me?
I am speaking from my own and my clients’ experience. When we work together on issues that come up in our coaching sessions surrounding food choices, habits and imbalances, we sometimes find that (usually) overweight “emotional eaters” are eating to lessen psychic pain, loneliness, sadness, stress, anger and boredom. In nutrition school we called it, “not what you are eating, but what is eating you”.
Once a client recognizes some of these common triggers for making unhealthy food choices, the bad habits start to get replaced with better options and the weight comes off. And that is where the real healing begins.
If you think you may be this type of overeater, who reacts to uncomfortable emotions by suppressing them with comfort food, you are not alone. Both men and women reach out to food in reaction to relationship struggles or difficulties at work, however it is more common with women. Both sexes though feel an emptiness they are trying to fill, and binging can create a temporary “fullness”.
If you:
1. Suddenly feel very hungry
2. Crave certain foods
3. Binge and don’t feel full
4. Feel guilty afterwards
you may be an emotional eater.
Pay attention to how you feel after eating. Journaling is a great way to gain insight into this.
If you feel you get into cycles of emotional eating you may want to find other ways to cope in the moment, such as:
Taking a walk
Meditating
Reading
Journaling
Other long-term suggestions are to keep healthier food choices in your home and get rid of the junk food. Also, keep a food diary to see what, when and how much you are eating.
If you need help with this, you can always contact me to find out more. Let 2020 be the year you heal yourself.
Comments