Excess Weight....or Emotional Baggage?

     Lifestyles are a manifestation of what people are feeling inside. What they feel inside manifests on the outside. Take a moment to notice your eating habits. On a scale from 1 to 10, how empowering are your eating habits for you?

How useful is your eating pattern in terms of your weight? What we eat directly impacts our health. Our food contributes to energy level, heart health and even our very cellular structure. You are what you eat. Overweight people burn fewer calories than they take in. This is the bottom line. However, the causes of overeating are far from simple or obvious. Overweight people eat more than they need, especially of things that are not good for them.

Now, what Ive just said isnt rocket science and most people know this already. So what is the point that I am actually making here? On the whole, people are overweight because of unresolved emotional issues; its as simple as that.
Let me tell you a story about a lady I know well. She had a pattern. When she was in her teen years, and throughout college she kept a little bit of weight on, she was by no means fat, but her feelings about herself were far from positive. She often felt ugly and unwanted, and she was bullied throughout her high school years. After finishing college, she decided that enough was enough, and she lost all the excess weight. She looked fabulous, and had embarked on a new career as well.

She came across someone she had met whilst in college, but low and behold, he responded entirely differently to the new lady he saw in front of her, a courtship and marriage soon followed. Her marriage, unfortunately, didnt last long, as she had married him for the wrong reasons. Through the divorce she began putting on some weight again. The pattern repeated, she moved on to a new start, lost the weight...and another relationship followed. When this one ended, the comfort eating began again. She put on more weight than before and had never felt so low in her life. She decided that she needed help. She came to meet a life coach who supported her in her journey.

She came to understand that she was comfort eating. She realised that she would reach for ice cream every time the emotional pain got triggered. It could be from something as simple as watching a romantic comedy on TV. It reminded her of what she didnt have...and the eating would block the pain. In a short time, she began to break these patterns. She is now happy, at a healthy weight, and creating whole new life for herself. In the coaching process, she realized what was going on, and was able to break this cycle for good.

Have you ever had moments when you have eaten a lot, and didnt know why? Perhaps there have been times when you have eaten a whole box of cookies, or half a pint of ice cream and didnt even realise you had done it. Do you eat in front of the TV a lot? Especially when its not meal times? This is emotional eating. Many people, who reach for food in this way, do it as a source of comfort. Food is the ultimate nurturer in this situation; it tastes good, doesnt talk back, and fills up the emptiness inside.

People often comfort eat to numb the pain; this can be pain from a divorce, feeling inadequate in themselves, unhealed issues from their childhood, or depression about something not working. Sound familiar? If you now know that you are comfort eating, the reality is that diets will NOT WORK for you. You have to make a choice, and yes, this can be a difficult choice to make...but choosing to HEAL the issues that are causing the weight problems is the way to freedom from excess weight for good.

When people take the bold and courageous step to heal themselves, they go through some challenging moments as well. There are issues to be faced, and pain to be experienced...but this is only for a brief while. With someone guiding you and helping you through to find the healing, you will find it and set yourself free. Once the underlying issues have been addressed, you will find that you will break the pattern of comfort eating for good.

You will eat with greater awareness, and nurture yourself; you will also find other ways of nurturing yourself and fulfilling your need. The first step is ACKNOWLEGEMENT. Once you have understood this, you will be able to find the help that is appropriate for you. Good luck on your journey, start living your life anew today.

1. Prev:How Not to Gain Weight During Your Summer Vacations
2. Next:Why Die to Diet?