Overcoming Emotional Eating

I had a huge victory this week. One of the biggest struggles in making healthy lifestyle changes has been taming the emotional eater within. I have made a lot of progress in two years. But there are times when the beast raises its ugly head.

On Thursday, I made my first attempt at passing the personal trainer certification exam. I didn't pass. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I know that it is an extremely difficult exam to pass the first time. But I studied hard and was really hoping it would pay off.

When I walked out of the testing center with results in hand, my first thought was of my old comfort. Food. Especially sweet food. Cookie dough, ice cream, cookies. I managed to stop those thoughts by reminding myself how sick I would feel. An overabundance of sugar would not only give me a stomach ache, but would leave me feeling lethargic and potentially trigger a migraine.

I looked at the clock. 10:00am. I could still get a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. I somehow reigned in that thought too. I knew I had bagel thins at home, so I finally decided to just go home. I knew the idea of eating wouldn't leave me until I had a snack. I made one of my favorite healthy sandwiches. A farm fresh egg and spinach on a whole wheat bagel thin with a little bit of real butter (because we use real food in our house). It was delicious and satisfying, both physically and emotionally.

This was a huge accomplishment after a disappointing morning. A huge victory for this recovering emo eater.

I have had lots of victories in the past two years of choosing a healthier lifestyle. This is definitely one I want to savor.