WHAT'S EATING YOU ! EMOTIONAL EATING

Everyday most of us sit down to three meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.  This pattern of eating which has developed over the centuries is designed to provide us with the fuel necessary to sustain our daily lives.

They say at breakfast you should eat like a king, at lunch like a prince and at dinner like a pauper.

This is so that we can burn off the calories during the day and maintain a constant weight.

However it's not always easy to live our lives in this way, we're not robots and our feelings dictate the way we eat.  When our lives are particularly stressful often it will be that it is food that we turn to for comfort.  The problem with this is that this can result in gradual weight gain which itself causes further stress, so this all ends up in a vicious circle.

The problem is not what we're eating, it is what is eating us.  The difficulty with diets is they look only at the type of food we're eating, not the underlying emotions that are causing us to eat too much of the wrong foods.

Controlling our weight is not about denying yourself the treats you enjoy. It is not about getting you to adopt a diet that frankly you cannot stand. It is about eating what your body requires to sustain your daily physical activity and not what you need to deal with your emotions.

The key is to recognise when we are stressed or in need of additional comfort. It is at this point that we can recognise our eating pattern that needs to change. 

However this is not easy to achieve alone and often we need support to strengthen our resolve. Life coaching is a supportive way of helping someone who is struggling with emotional emotional eating. The relationship is developed over time and as the client opens up and shares their issues and emotions that can trigger the eating. The coach can help the client by offering practical tools, as well as suggestions depending on the individual's needs and lifestyle. Everyone is different there is no ''one fits all'' solution. It is important that the client is open and honest so the coach can understand the patterns of behaviour that result in the client turning to food for comfort. The coach is than able to help the client to identify what it is that triggers the emotional eating and help the client adopt an alternative way of thinking about and dealing with food.