Switchpoints and Emotional Eating Part 2

After many thoughtful showers, several books from the 613 section of the library, a fair share of tears, and a trial run on Monday, I'm feeling in a good place.  One book that particularly struck a chord with me was "Conquer Your Food Addiction" by this lady. 

She explained that food addicts have learned to self-medicate every negative situation with food.  As Bob Harper would say, they "eat their feelings instead of feel their feelings."  So food becomes the conditioned response to most stimuli.  Thus, in this process that I am engaging in I need to create new responses to emotions and respond only to hunger with food.  Some call this intuitive eating.


For the next 18 days, I will:

- eat only when hungry
- if I am hungry, but my dominant emotion is not positive, address the emotion until I feel happy or content.
- make each meal last 20 minutes*
- complete some exercise at the YMCA Monday through Saturday

*This is part of a pattern called mindful eating, in which the eater tastes, savors, enjoys the food instead of washing it down mindlessly and then wanting more because it hasn't registered with their brain or taste buds that they actually ate enough already.

Why 18 days? Because I just watched the Biggest Loser episode last night in which the contestants had 18 days at home in which they were supposed to lose 5% of their body weight.  I'm going to weigh myself at the gym this morning to decide if I want that vigorous of a goal, but I want to use that time period anyway.  Plus, 18 days is so random! And I'm usually pretty OCD about good, even, round numbers.  Like, I would never start a diet on Friday, I would wait until Monday.  But if I'm going to reexamine old habits and form new ones, why not here, too?  I'm starting on a Wednesday an eating plan that will last 18 days. :) Ready, go!