Are you struggling with emotional eating even though you know you need to eat healthier (+ are working your tail off) to lose the weight with your PCOS?

My fork came to an abrupt stop mid flight. So abrupt, I might add, my heaping helping of oooey gooey chocolate cake came tumbling down into my lap. What the heck was I doing to myself? This course I was spiraling down on all started when at 14, I weighed 190 pounds. I would dread 7th hour in High School when I would have to change in the open locker room for P.E. class. The glances my way and the snickers behind my back never went unnoticed. That was the first time I went on a diet. I lost 50 pounds. Then my best friend’s dad was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver and I didn’t make the softball team.

My comfort? I would go home from school and mindlessly eat my way through all sorts of not-so-healthy-food as I either forgot all my problems in front of the TV or the computer. By the time graduation rolled around, I was back up to just shy of 200 pounds. I was miserable. I had acne, hair growing in all sorts of weird places, and my periods were pretty crazy. My mom took me to see a doctor and I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. I was given a prescription for birth control pills and instructed to lose weight to make my problems disappear. I officially began my decade long roller coaster of yo-yo dieting with plenty of emotional eating thrown in there.

Does this experience of Katy sound familiar to you, Cyster?

Katy finally knew she needed help.

She knew how important it was to eat healthy and would try very hard to stick on the straight and narrow. But then, a trigger would pop up in her life and she would find herself eating half a chocolate cake before she even realized what she was doing.

But, how do you kick emotional eating in the butt for good?

It’s a process, Cyster, but if you are ready to regain control over your emotional eating so you can make some giant strides to BEATING PCOS once and for all, here’s where we can start.

Between the hard symptoms of PCOS like the food cravings, weight gain, painful periods, etc, you can overcome it.

Let’s start by figuring out if you are an emotional eater.

Do you find yourself reaching for food when you are sad, depressed, stressed, happy, nervous, or tired?

Do you find yourself seeking refuge from events in your life with food?

Have you ever kept eating even though you knew you were not hungry?

Have you ever found yourself “numbing out” while you eat a meal where your attention is not on your meal and you eat rather fast?

Have you ever felt guilty about eating a meal?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may be an emotional eater.

So what do you do about it?

3 Steps to Combat Emotional Eating

Identify your Emotions

First, identify what emotions tend to cause you to eat when you are not physically hungry. Do you find yourself reaching for food because you are stressed, bored, tired, sad, or excited?

Write your emotional triggers down. I highly recommend drawing a little chart on your piece of paper. In one column right down each emotional trigger in its own square. You may have more than one or even all of the above.

Create your Alternate Reality

Next, I want you to write down at least 2 alternatives in the column by each emotion that does not involve food. What can you do the next time you feel overwhelmed instead of reaching for food? Complete that for all the emotions.

You have just come up with your plan. You should have a nice little chart to refer back to.

The next time you are faced with the desire to reach for food based on an emotion, pull out your plan on what activity you can do instead of eating that will help you process your emotion.

Plan for the Relapse

What if you are in the heat of the moment and not sure what to do?

Adopt the 10 minute rule.

If you find yourself thinking you are hungry apart from regular mealtimes, walk away for 10 minutes.

During that time, stay away from the temptation and really figure out if you truly are hungry or if you are just trying to process your emotions.

Drink some water during this time. Sometimes if your body is sending hunger cues, it may actually be dehydrated.

After you have had some time to think about it, if you are truly hungry, then EAT!

I don’t want you starving yourself! I’m not a fun sucker (despite what my sister thinks!)

It’s important to listen to your gut to determine when you are truly physically hungry or your body is trying to process an emotion.

Ready for my #1 Strategy for Combating my Emotional Eating?

My #1 strategy to combat my emotional eating is with activity to distract me.

I find myself eating the most when I am stressed or overwhelmed. Any kind of physical activity helps calm me down so I can deal with my emotions without eating more food.

I didn’t know what else to do, so when I was creating my chart to give me ideas to deal with my different emotions, I found myself creating quickie workouts.

I now share these here on my blog in the form of monthly printable workout calendars {it’s all FREE!}

Would you like a copy of these workouts I do that don’t require me to sweat and can be done in about 5 minutes?

Grab the password to the printable calendars I put out each month + I’ll send you my PCOS Exercise Cheat Sheet too! Click here to grab your password!

I want you to LOVE your body, Cyster!

It’s time to have compassion on your body and show it some LOVE by feeding and moving it healthfully.

That is the best gift you can possibly give your body!

Your body deserves the best from you.

Let’s do this together!

{Here’s that link for the password to my quickie workouts: click here!}

xoxo

Amber