Food for Thought

I have always known I was somewhat of an emotional eater in addition to a I'm sitting on the couch and want to munch eater. But either way, it wasn't hunger that was controlling my eating. I recently started reading the book "It Starts with Food" aka Whole 30 I am not done with the book yet, but I will say so far I have had more aha moments than I can count. There was a part in the book about certain foods and emotions being connected. This is how I interpreted what they said in the book; if you think happy when you eat Doritos your brain will associate with that feeling and the next time you need that happy you will crave those Doritos. The good news is that can be changed, the brain has to basically be rewired.

Chelsea keeping me company reading 

So there I was sitting on the couch and thought well if I can get happy feelings from Doritos I can definitely get happy feelings from the bowl of blueberries I was currently munching away on. So I closed my eyes and as I ate the blueberries I let myself truly enjoy every single taste and thought about happy things while eating them. I have continued to do this with blueberries and other healthy foods. On the flip side I have also tried, when I think about cookies, chips, and things that are not so healthy to think of how I felt last time. I try to remember every yucky feeling and how miserable I felt after and sometimes days after. Maybe now when my brain thinks about those foods it will think yuck no thanks that is no longer happy food. I have no idea if this is going to work.Will this new method of thinking hold me back when I am feeling particularly down from grabbing a chocolate bar or a bag of chips? Only time will tell, but I figure it's worth a shot.

Cindy