Comfort Eating

cjw6

Ok, so I know what's going on here, but how do you guys deal with it?

I'd been doing really well lately with lots of motivation to eat well and exercise- had started C25K, playing tennis, cooking decent healthy meals etc. and was feeling really good on it.
Anyway on sunday, my poor little kitten (who really was 'my baby') was hit by a car and sadly died later that morning. It was all very horrible and traumatic and of course I miss my little puss loads. It might sound ludicrous to non-pet-owners/non-animal-lovers but it is really a bereavement in terms of emotional impact.

Since then motivation has disappeared. I have definitely been comfort eating crap food and lots of carbs, not cooking, not charting my food intake and absolutely NO motivation to exercise.
How do I get myself back on track? And how do I break the habit of comfort eating when I am sad/tired/down/stressed in general? I know it is part of the reason I am overweight and is possibly a learned behaviour from childhood- but how to change things?

cfer843625

Im sorry to hear about your kitten. I know it can be heart wrenching. All I know to tell you is just get up and do it!! I got thru the same emotional eating but for different reasons. After a couple days I just get mad at myself and make myself do better... Good luck!
:flowerforyou:

registers

During a traumatic event, a lot of our responses get shut down, some people don't eat, some people eat a lot. some don't do anything, when we need to, some do everything when they don't need to. The key here is finding regularity(i sound like a laxative commercial). What you should do is, make a schedule of when you will eat, and what you're going to eat. When you will go to bed, and when you will wake up. When you will exercise. Once you're done, DO IT and stick to it.

Oh and of course, make your schedule with healthy food, not junk :-), if you feel like snacking, it's okay, just try to keep it down. The thing to do is get better, "improve" from yesterday, not do a 180.

costewar

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. It's really complicated when something unplanned like this happens. What you're doing right now though is good, because you're seeking comfort/advice, which means that you're ready to change this habit.

To my knowledge, I can't recall when I've been in this type of situation in my adulthood, but if I were in this type of situation, I would want to find other ways to comfort myself with my favorite healthy hobbies that I do not associate with food, whether it be walking outside, playing tennis, window shopping, etc.

Also, out of sight out of mind. For example, instead of leaving the cookies on the counter, put them in the cabinet in the hardest to reach place. And vice versa, when something's in sight, it's more likely that you will act upon it, put your tennis shoes right by the front door or leave your gym bag in the car.

Hope you feel better soon!