Why Emotional Eaters Should Have an Evening Routine
Do you have an evening routine that you follow? Many emotional eaters struggle with overeating in the evening; at the end of a long and busy day, it’s easy to turn to food for some comfort and pleasure. If you struggle with emotional eating, and are looking for a solution to stop that late-night binge, consider incorporating an evening self-care routine.
Self-care is one of the fundamental ways to heal emotional eating. Self-care grounds you and can be a source of familiarity – especially if you follow a daily routine. During times where you are feeling physically, mentally or emotionally drained, your self-care routine can give you consistency and stability. This, in turn, will decrease your desire to turn to food.
Building an evening routine should be an individualized-approach.
Ask yourself these questions to help you determine what your ideal evening self-care routine could look like:
· Are there things I’m not doing that I’d like to be doing to care for myself?
· Am I taking care of my physical, mental and emotional health?
· What are some things I can do at night to relax and rejuvenate?
If these questions reveal that you do need to practice more self-care, make it a priority! If you have a family, communicate with them your need to spend 15, 20, or 30 minutes to take care of yourself every night. Hopefully, they will be supportive and understanding of this request. But if they aren’t, calmly explain that you are setting a healthy boundary for yourself. Self-care is necessary and you deserve to give yourself that love and care.
How to Build Your Evening Routine
There are 2 components to include in your Evening Routine: Self-Reflection and Rejuvenating Activities
1. Self Reflection
Daily self-reflection is a great way to support your body and mind, and an example of this is journaling. Whether you make a gratitude list, rant about your day or write about feelings you’ve been avoiding, journaling is an excellent tool to self-reflect.
Some people like to verbalize emotions through spoken or written words, while others express these emotions through drawing, dancing, singing, or playing music. Other examples of self-reflection include meditation, prayer, or spending some quiet time alone with your thoughts.
2. Rejuvenating Activities
Self-care is about identifying your own needs and taking steps to meet them. This means taking the time to do activities that nurture and rejuvenate you. Self-care is about taking proper care of yourself and treating yourself as kindly as you treat others.
Here are some examples of rejuvenating activities you can incorporate into your evening routine:
· Taking a Hot Shower / Bath
· Burning Candles
· Drinking Herbal Tea
· Diffusing Essential Oils
· Reading
· Stretching / Yoga
Your evening routine should be individualized so do what feels good for you! Remember that you can practice self-care any time throughout your day as well, but if you need to start somewhere, making an evening routine is the perfect opportunity!
Having an evening self-care routine means taking the time to do activities that nurture and rejuvenate you. Taking proper care of yourself in this way can reduce your need to emotionally eat and aid in addressing the underlying emotions causing the emotional eating.
