In our small town in Iowa, we live next to a row of duplex condominiums. While walking our dogs past these homes, my husband and I have met several of our neighbors, including Amber, a single mom raising a teenage daughter.
A couple summers ago, we noticed Amber had trimmed some of her trees but left the branches and leaves in a random pile next to the curb. [Read more…]
No more sabotage!
Just when you thought your diet was going great, things start to go wrong. Instead of giving you flowers on your birthday, your spouse hands you a large box of chocolates.
Then, in the middle of your favorite TV program, your kids rip open a bag of potato chips, plunk them down on the coffee table in front of you and ask, “Want some?” [Read more…]
What’s in my way?
Are you an “all or nothing” person? Even if you don’t think it’s affecting you, perfectionism can block you from reaching your goals.
Most perfectionists tend to follow the same theme—do it right or don’t do it at all. But since they never reach the point where they can do it “right,” perfectionists never start. [Read more…]
What’s in my way?
We’ve all said it: I know what to do, I just don’t do it!
Just like the dog in the photo, we do the opposite of what we intend to do. Regardless of how long we’ve worked on managing our weight, we still have times when things get in our way. [Read more…]
Nurturing without foodIn last week’s lesson, you were supposed to ask the question, “What do I need?” over and over until you had a list of your needs.But figuring out what we need is not easy. I struggled with making my list and wondered if I should leave some things off because I can’t do anything about them right now. [Read more…]
What do I need?
In the context of emotional eating, the word “need” describes a want or a desire.
Maybe you yearn for things that would make your life better, such as more time or money or even more people to do things with. [Read more…]
Expressing, Not StuffingWhen Valerie went back to school, her husband agreed to take care of their home one evening a week. He knew he was supposed to feed the kids and get them ready for bed.
But week after week, he left the dirty dishes sitting on the table and the children’s clothes strewn all over the floor. Valerie constantly tried to get him to change his behavior by saying she wanted him to be more responsible around the house. [Read more…]
What Do I Feel?Remember how easily your emotions came when you were a child? You rolled around on the floor when you laughed and you never worried about whether you looked silly.
When you fell and skinned your knee, you wailed loudly and cried hot tears. You screamed in anger when your brother threw your favorite doll in the mud.
Rebuild Self-Esteem
On the day when Liz wore her new suit to work, she was determined to look great. She spent extra time on her hair and makeup, and even searched out a nice pair of stockings.
The suit was beautiful—dark navy with a subtle pinstripe. The double-breasted jacket and slim, calf-length skirt fit nicely.
When she walked down the hall toward her office, Liz waited for someone to notice how wonderful she looked. It didn’t take long. [Read more…]
What’s going on?
In this chapter, you’ll learn about how I discovered the two types of emotional eating needs: Head hunger and Heart hunger.
Here’s an excerpt from the chapter.
Many years ago, I worked in a challenging job as a hospital health educator. During that time, nearly every afternoon I would get an intense craving for a cookie. [Read more…]