Emotional Eating: Go Wild!

Now before you get carried away, I don’t mean go wild eating.

Well you can do that with the right kind of foods but I don’t know what your current food inventory is, so I’m not going to advise raiding the fridge without limitation...

What I mean by going wild is... do something different, wild and exciting.

Something unusual that you’ve never done before, something you’ve always wanted to try.

I should add the usual legal disclaimer – I don’t want you trying anything illegal (move to another state if you have to) and it shouldn’t be something that would hurt other people. But you definitely ARE allowed to surprise them, make them raise their eyebrows or make that strange noise that they do when trying to whistle while breathing in.

You also have my permission to make them laugh so hard that their coffee comes out their nose (I do it all the time) as long as they are laughing with you, not at you.

And you definitely need to be doing something that, to you, feels at least slightly daring. Depending on your comfort level and your innate chutzpah it will vary – it could be:

* talking back to the school principal (not recommended if you are actually AT school)

* taking faulty goods back to a shop and insisting on your money back

* taking satisfactory goods back to a shop and insisting on your money back

* telling the teenager how lovable he is

* giving the teenager a hug (not in public, you’re trying to be daring, not cruel)
telling the Harley guy you’d like a ride on his bike.

And what does this have to do with weight loss?

So much of the time we stay within our comfort zone. Especially with food and exercise. And doing something outside the comfort zone will show you that you can be daring and survive.

I know this is an important lesson for you to learn because all of my clients are hard-working diligent people who will always put themselves out for others. And they get tied up in MUST and OUGHT and SHOULD so they never have any fun.

When eating becomes a list of musts and oughts and shoulds they’ll stick to the rules for a while but then rebel with the most calorific food known to mankind.

But by finding another way to do something wild, you won’t have to use the food. You’re a grown up now, YOU decide which rules you are going to break and you may find that nobody minds much. It’s your rule book, not theirs. And the sky will not fall in if you break your own rules.

And you may find that you can break other rules – eating good food is something you want to do once you don’t have to do it. Here are some tips to get you started on living a wild life:

1. Write down all your shoulds, oughts and musts.

2. Take a look at your list and decide which of these ‘rules’ you are going to ignore.

3. Whether you skip the PTA meeting, walk barefoot in the park or do something outrageously inappropriate for the decade you are in, don’t feel guilty, feel free.

4. Take a deep breath and enjoy this freedom.

5. Remember this feeling next time a ‘should’ weighs you down.

And next time you eat, resolve to enjoy every morsel of food for every minute you are eating. And when you are full, stop!

Happy eating!

(c) 2009 Liz Copeland

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