Sweetness
I’ve been thinking about this no sugar thing at lot this time around. I don’t think I want to live in a restrictive NO SUGAR box for the rest of my life. In fact, I don’t really like restrictive eating at all. I feel like unless you have a true allergy or intolerance to something, restrictive eating really can lead to disordered eating. I don’t want to feel disordered or restricted. I want to find some balance though and fuel myself better. For the first time I’m trying hard to listen to my body’s cues as to WHY I want sugar/simple carbs at certain times, and I’m REALLY finding some clues! I think probably I should have done this work long ago, with my nutritionist or someone qualified to help with emotional eating. I’m not a binge eater, nor do I have an eating disorder, but I do think I emotionally eat, BIG TIME.
I only started picking up on it because I noticed at pattern on my work days. Mid-morning on Monday I ALWAYS want something sweet. I start craving something like a donut, scone, etc.. That period of time on Monday is really hard for me. I start missing my little family like crazy, and I’m deep in getting my work done at the office. So something trips up in my brain.
Another huge trigger for me is when little guy won’t go to sleep. ESPECIALLY when he refuses to nap. I’ve already learned to take some breaths and walk away when I get kicked in the face while putting him down for a nap, but I’ve lately been taking notice that I immediately go to the kitchen looking for some sort of something to help with my feelings.
Obviously I’m just now really noticing these patterns and I’m of working on them. I’m still refining how I deal with them but for now I’ve been doing this:
1. Take a big breath/wait 5 minutes
2. Take a short or long walk. If I’m at work I can’t just up and leave for 30 minutes (unless it’s lunch) but our office is 500 steps if I do a full loop and that’s doable.
3. Ask myself if I truly am hungry. If so, eat something.
I think this is not the kind of work that happens overnight, and maybe at some point I probably need to rope in a qualified professional, but I think I’m making progress. Also, I had a cupcake yesterday and it felt RIGHT. It was a special occasion, the cupcakes looked and tasted amazing. It felt like a real treat and not something naughty that I was doing locked away in an office to stuff away emotions. That’s the kind of balance I’m looking for.
Leave a Comment