Why are you eating that?

By Bernadette A. Moyer

Why are you eating “that” are you hungry, bored or filling a void? Is it what you are eating or is it what is eating at you? How many of us are emotional eaters? We eat when we are happy we eat when we are sad and we eat when we are empty inside? Unlike other “addictions” like cigarettes and alcohol where you can just get rid of them we need to eat to survive.  

Every single day it feels like there are a million and one choices. What to have for breakfast and for lunch and for dinner, what about our snacks?  There are just so many choices!

Eating healthy may not always be eating fun stuff. I don’t know of any diets that include cakes, cookies and candy on a regular basis unless they are modified and low in sugars. We have all heard it before “you are what you eat!” But how much of our eating has to do with what is eating at us? How much of it harkens back to emotional eating and trying to literally fill a void?

Some people don’t eat when they are depressed. And others consume even more when they are depressed. We all have diets that work for us and others that aren’t good for our genetic makeup.

Personally I do well with a high protein low carb diet if I want to lose weight. And ultimately that means moving away from everything I grew up eating and loving from my Italian heritage.  Pasta, pizza and bread don’t make the cut if I am serious about losing weight. I can feel it almost immediately with a full belly when I consume those kinds of carbs. And I can feel the transformation when I eat a high protein and low carbohydrate diet.

How many times is food tied to our social events? Almost always or so it seems …right? My husband can’t enjoy the movie house experience unless he has the popcorn that he feels goes along with it. Foods represent holidays and changing of the season, food is love and food is life. But the truth is there are many foods that just are not good for us, period.

We all know there is no magic bullet and that it is an ongoing challenge to maintain a healthy diet and a healthy weight. But I would be willing to bet for many that are significantly overweight it has a lot more to do with what is going on emotionally and the voids they have inside. I would also be willing to bet that when our hearts and souls and our heads are in a good place our diet almost always follows suit.

Like most things being fit and eating right is what we do for ourselves. The question I have asked myself with my New Year and my resolutions is, “why are you eating that?” And if I can’t come up with a good reason then it never passes my lips. For the first week of this New Year I lost 10 pounds just by reducing my carb intake, now comes the real challenge if I want to see significant results. I have a goal and I have a date and most of all, my head, my heart and my soul are all aligned and in a good place.

So for the next leg of my journey it won’t be about what is eating at me but rather about what I am eating and how the food I consume adds to my overall sense of wellness!

Happy food, happy diet and happy transformation for 2015!

Bernadette on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bernadetteamoyer