After a long, stressful day, Kathy grabbed a pint of chocolate cherry ice cream from the freezer, and then sank into her couch.
As she ate the ice cream straight from the carton, she kept thinking, “Maybe this is the bite that will do it.”
Of course, it never worked. She just felt worse.
If you’re eating as a way to feel nurtured or calmed, you’ll usually experience some level of those feelings right away. But continuing to eat won’t bring any more satisfaction or make you feel better and better.
In fact, at some point, you’ll probably start to feel frustrated and disappointed with your behavior instead of being healed by the food.
When you understand how eating more won’t continue to improve your emotional state, you can actually train yourself to feel better after eating only a small amount of nurturing food.
As you know, the first two bites of any food have the most impact on your taste buds. But they’re also the only ones that have any emotional power!
Once you finish those first bites, you’ll have received whatever benefits the food can do for you. Eating more of it simply won’t bring you additional satisfaction or make you feel any better.
Today’s assignment (my answers are in blue)
1. Intentionally eat something that will help you feel better. Eliminate any thoughts of guilt or remorse as you eat this food. Write down what you ate and why you chose it.
I’m thinking back to a few weeks ago when I bought a huge cookie from the Great Harvest Bakery here in Denver. I was feeling isolated, and wishing for a connection to my home as a child, and I missed my mom who passed away some years ago.
2. After two bites, stop! Remind yourself that your needs have been met and eating more of the food won’t increase your healing level. Then give away or toss whatever food is left. Describe what you did with this part of the food.
I actually threw half of the cookie into the trash. Then I almost pulled it back out! But I knew it wouldn’t fix me, and my feelings.
3. Write about how you felt doing this exercise. Also, notice what level of satisfaction you experienced as you ate the first two bites of the food.
The first two bites felt good, but not great. I realized these cookies aren’t all that special. I certainly don’t feel healed when I eat the entire cookie. The answer is not just to avoid the cookies, but to look for ways to nurture myself and take care of my lonely feelings without asking cookies to do it for me.
Excerpted from Day 16 in the book, 100 Days of Weight Loss