So often we beat ourselves up for the food we eat and then live in shame for the weight we gain. It’s a cycle that never stops unless we put our foot down and do something about it.

I’ve spent years hating my body. This is a fact. I could pick out a million things wrong with it, and that left me miserable most of the time. I was either starting yet another crash diet or breaking that diet by bingeing or falling back on emotional eating. The real problem though, was that I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. Can you relate?

Did you have big plans to lose weight during those first few months of quarantine? When all the personal trainers and yoga instructors were flooding our feeds with free workouts and quarantine smoothies. This one’s for you.

So here we are halfway through 2020…

One thing I notice all emotional eaters have in common is that when we turn to food, we then get mad at ourselves for to turning to food.

It’s funny the things we accept as “good” versus “bad.” Particularly when it comes to what we allow ourselves to feel. It seems acceptable for us to feel happy and show it, but we can’t show anger. If we do, we might get labeled and feel judged. Anger is so often considered a “bad” emotion – one to be quashed.

I never realized it until I started my healing journey, but eating was the only tool I had to cope with intense feelings and emotions. I would eat when I was sad, angry, scared, bored, and even happy.

Every month I run a membership group. Last month’s theme was body image. I knew this was an important topic, but did not realize how many deep emotions it would bring up for all of us.

I still grieve that I lost over 25 years of enjoying my life. I lost dinners, going out with friends, parties, dating, and just living life without obsessing about my body.

What if I pass down my emotional eating to my children?