Awareness practices help us connect with the deepest parts of ourselves, to reveal our inner wisdom’s guidance. Taking a few minutes daily to connect with yourself will help you stay on track and in sync with the values most important to you.
Revolution Issue Awareness Practice #1
Here’s a practice to help you become more aware of why you are eating.
When you find yourself with a craving or the urge to eat outside of normal meal or snack times, stop for a moment and ask yourself these two quick questions:
- What am I hoping or expecting to feel while eating this?
- What other ways can I get more of this feeling in my life?
With regular practice, there will be fewer instances in which you need to eat to create these feelings.
For example, when I’m stressed and craving chocolate, I ask myself what I will feel as that first bit of chocolate hits my taste buds. Sometimes my answer is that I will feel safe and calm, like all is OK in my world. Other times, I’m seeking a break from work or some rest, which I’m looking for chocolate to give me.
In what other – maybe better – ways can I get that feeling of safety and calmness, or a rest or work break? Eating won’t solve these needs, so to stop the urge to eat, we must figure out what we really need.
When you focus on getting what you really need, it works far better than the temporary fix of eating! You may find that as you explore these questions, your eating urge lessens or goes away.
Even if the present urge doesn’t lessen or go away, over time you may experience fewer eating urges in the first place. However, remember, there’s no judgment or guilt. If you still feel like eating, go ahead and enjoy yourself!
Submitted by Lisa Newman, Publisher
Lisa Newman
Publisher
Lisa Newman serves women in mid-life who want to get beyond emotional eating. She approaches healing from the bottom up in order to affect real and lasting change while developing each woman’s inner wisdom as to what is uniquely right for them. She is also the Publisher of the website Women Eat, bringing together the best voices in the fields of psychology, nutrition, fitness, and personal growth to answer the question, “If diets don’t work, what does?”
She is a certified Psychology of Eating Coach with over 30 years of experience in peer counseling, coaching, speaking, and teaching. You can find out more at the Beyond Emotional Eating Virtual Group and on the WomenEat About page.
