I ate a lot, and now I feel strong!
You may have discovered that sometimes food helps you feel more important or confident.
When you eat a huge amount of food, you may get a feeling of accomplishment or even a sense of conquering the meal.
Look carefully at what food and eating does for you. Maybe at times, you don’t even notice the taste of food at all. Instead, loving to eat simply gives you a sense of power in your life.
Maybe you’ve gotten into the habit of reaching for food when you feel insecure. Or you eat to pump up your courage before meeting with your boss or doing a challenging presentation.
Many people admit that during times when they feel stressed or anxious, they eat to feel strong.
It’s easy to let food fill all the emotional holes in your life so you don’t have to face them. If you’re feeling uneasy or you want to boost your self-esteem, food will usually provide an easy solution.
Learn to recognize times when you’re tempted to eat to feel strong. Instead of justifying overeating by saying “I love to eat,” tackle the real issue and try to figure out how to become stronger emotionally—without reaching for food.
Today’s assignment (my answers are in blue)
1. Think about situations or places in life where you feel like you do have power as well as ones where you don’t. Make a list of each of these.
Power- at restaurants, where my relationships are strong
Lack of power – my work, trying to sell books, or get paid for my writing
2. Write down several ideas for how you can actually feel powerful without using food to meet this need.
Build my self-esteem and confidence, especially in social settings such as parties or business networking meetings.
3. Do something today that makes you feel strong and powerful as a person. Describe it below.
Physical activities help me feel strong. Last winter, I remember shoveling snow for about an hour. Afterwards I was tired, but felt very strong. I also feel strong when I sing or play the piano.
Excerpted from Day 38 in the book, 100 Days of Weight Loss