Weight gain isn't just about what you eat, its about what you feel

Its not what we eat… its why we eat.

Did you know that when we have an emotion we don’t want to feel, if we eat food it can make this feeling temporarily go away?   Two things happen when we feel lonely, trapped, overwhelmed, ashamed, resentful or bored.

1.  We feel these uncomfortable feelings in our solar plexus area which is right beside our stomach.  When we overeat the stomach expands and puts pressure on this area – temporarily blocking these feelings.

2.  When hoover our food up (eat a lot of food fast) we get a chemical “high” which makes us feel better.

Unfortunately this chemical high doesn’t last long so we need to eat more to keep the uncomfortable feeling away.   The good news is that there are lots of amazing techniques for uncovering those difficult to be with feelings and changing them into a motivating force in your life.

One of those techniques comes from Paul McKenna’s book “I can make you Thin” and it's called The 5 Questions.  Im going to quote from his book:
"I am sitting in a café and a bus stops outside.  The engine keeps running and it’s loud. I feel annoyed.  I ask the five questions:
1.  What is the trigger?   The emotion is a response to the noise.
2. What is the belief or judgement?  I believe the noise is unpleasant.
3. What is my need?  I have a need for a level of quietness to concentrate on my writing.
4.  What is the positive intention behind this emotion?  The positive intention of the annoyance is to re-establish the level of quietness I desire.
5.  What is the first practical action I can take?  I can move to another café – or I could ask the bus driver to turn off his engine."

Through the five questions you can unfold what the emotion is trying to tell you and find some solutions that bring you back to a place of equilibrium again.
 
To learn how to work with your feelings so that they don't control your eating - why not come to my Weight Loss Course on the 6th May?    Click here.

---