“Honey, do you want dessert?”
“No, I am not hungry anymore”
What?
What does that have to do with anything?
I was quite perplexed when my boyfriend answered this to a very simple question. A question I have answered ‘YES’ to my entire life. Sometimes even thought it was a silly question. Who doesn’t want dessert?
My boyfriend, apparently, because “he was not hungry anymore”.
OK…
That’s a new one.
I used to be a big fan of Cartmann’s famous “I’m not fat, I’m big boned!” quote. I thought I was living healthily, exercising some and eating quite healthy, but I was not getting any smaller. Naturally, it couldn’t be my fault, so I must be big boned!
Sound familiar?
Well, it was about time that I GOT REAL about my situation. The pure and simple reason I was not getting smaller was because I was eating too much and not exercising enough.
When I saw the portions he was eating compared to the portions I was eating, I understood. Even at a family dinner (my family, that is), I observed a clear difference in how we ate and how he ate.
Not only were his portions smaller, but he also chewed every bite quite thoroughly. In my family, the food hardly hits the table before we start swallowing it down. No time for conversation. In his family, though, they all sit together and calmly hold a conversation. They therefore, eat very slowly and mindfully.
Mmh, interesting I thought.
So what have I learnt so far?
- Eating only when hungry
- Chewing your food
- Eat slowly and mindfully
I tried them all and it works great. I started losing weight and having no digestive issues anymore. As you can imagine, if the food is just swallowed down with no to little chewing and the body is rushed through a meal, it must be hard for the body to properly digest the food without some discomfort.
The best thing, though, that he has thought me is that food is just food.
Food is just there to nourish your body. Its purpose is not to calm you down or give you comfort. It’s not a friend or an emotion or stress-releaser. Its purpose is merely for you to survive!
If you are an emotional eater, then you know what I am talking about! If you know an emotional eater, then please share this article with them.
I still use food as emotional comfort, but a lot less than I used to. I am still trying to figure it out.
Please leave a comment below and let me know if you are an emotional eater and what your thoughts are. I would love to know! Or email me!