I think I need to slow down and take things one step at a time.
I ended up getting hungry around 10pm last night and eating a lot of random things…trail mix, my brother’s leftover burrito, something else I can’t remember. I felt like crap physically and emotionally about it and this morning I woke up and realized I need to tackle one problem at a time.
I am overwhelmed at trying to “fix” my eating issues. I think it is obvious what my problems are:
1. I snack after dinner – a lot
2. I mindlessly eat when I get home (or to Ben’s) after work, errands, whatever
3. I eat for reasons other than hunger – bored, stressed, “time to eat”, etc
When taken all together it’s VERY difficult to fix all these things, so I am going to fix one at a time.
For the next 30 days I will focus on not eating after dinner. If I slip on the other issues it’s okay, I’ll devote 30 days to them soon enough.
Taking this one step at a time will be a lot more manageable. I wish I could just say, “I am going to eat intuitively all the time and stop eating when I’m not hungry.” But, I am not ready to do that and each slip up is devastating to my self esteem and stress level right now. Stress can easily lead me to fall back into old habits, which only makes things worse. Shrooms Online offers a variety of products that might help me manage stress and find some balance.
Breakfast– I wasn’t very hungry this morning after eating & eating & eating last night, but that cycle stops here with a healthy breakfast. I am doing the Wednesday Raw Challenge (from Jenna) so I grabbed a Larabar and a bunch of fruit. This was perfect for today since I wasn’t very hungry, but on a normal day I would be empty without some whole grain carbs!
Tea Party– My Nina got me this tea set for my bridal shower. How cute is this???
I love it 🙂 Can I start using this stuff now, or do I have to wait until I’m married? 
oooo not eating after dinner, good luck 🙂 I eat dinner so late that I dont have time. lol…..I LOVE THE POKA DOTS!
Don’t lose sight of all your great accomplishments because of bad eating decisions. You are more than what you eat!
wow i LOVE that tea set, it is so cute! i am guilty of mindless snacking after dinner as well, sometimes it helps to chew a stick of gum.. but most the time my only saving grace is to go to sleep or be faaaar from the kitchen! you have the determination to focus on not snacking after dinner, so you will do well. good luck lady 🙂
When you first posted the principles of Intuitive Eating some weeks ago, you have no idea how much you inspired me. Since that day, I’ve been having my longest ever streak of positive eating by following those principles–so thank you so, so much. I truly hope you can conquer your habits too, one by one.
I think I agree with Lacey that setting short term goals feels easier. On my first day, I just tried to conquer THAT day. And the next day, I tried to get through that day, and so on. It was a lot less stressful to just concentrate on the here-and-now.
Although I haven’t had any real slip-ups yet, I don’t plan on beating myself up when I do. That said, I DO feel the urge to stress-eat sometimes, and it’s still difficult to cope. But I think I’m getting better.
Also, I’ve found it really effective to really REALLY hide away my snacks. Like I put them into a big cardboard box (NOT a see-through one) and put the box beneath/behind other things. That way, it’s too troublesome for me to have to dig up my snacks when the urge strikes.
Just take it a step at a time, and be kind to yourself when you make mistakes. 🙂
That is a great approach. Just do what you can do. There’s no need to transform totally all at once if you’re aren’t ready for that. You have to find what works for you personally. We all respond to things differently and what works for some, doesn’t work for others. You know yourself better than anyone. And eating is for a lifetime – no need to rush it, especially if you are getting overwhelmed. You’re moving in the right direction. You might be going slower – but you’re still moving ahead. 🙂
I like the approach you are going to take with regard to your eating habits 🙂 I completely concur that it is very difficult to tackle many things at once and it is better to break things down. I try to do the same thing!
That tea set is super cute!! Love it! Great gift!
Have a great evening! Good luck with the challenge!
I think your “one step at a time” approach is a great one. I’m also hoping to get to the point of eating intuitively, but I have my own small steps to take to get to this place. I also find after dinner to be my hardest time of day, so I’m sympathetic. I’ll be rooting you on as you do you challenge! 🙂
30 days is a really long time, i guess my main suggestion would be to shoot for 5 solid days of your goal behavior, then reward yourself, then 5 more days… in sets like that it’s so much easier to track. and stick with. and once you feel confident about one behavior (might be sooner than 30 days for example) you can start to target another behavior. let me know what you think!!
thank you for sharing what you are thinking with eating so much. over the last week i have given my eating issues a lot of thought as well and I see where I need to work on things…snacking between lunch and dinner, especially when dinner is cooking!