Before I broke free from emotional eating, my relationship with my body was a mess. I confused true physical hunger with emotional hunger and blood sugar issues. I ate unconsciously and then wondered why I never felt satiated. The moment I felt a twinge of stress, I'd run the refrigerator. 

There are many reasons we eat. Some are healthy, and some are not so healthy. The healthy reason to eat is to refuel and nourish our bodies based on actual physical hunger. The unhealthy reasons we eat do not stem from physical hunger. These are the hungers that throw us off... until we become conscious of them, that is. This is because we can't fix what we don't see. Once we are aware, we can choose differently. 

There are nine primary false hungers. These are: 

• Stress
• Obligation
• Boredom
• Tiredness
• Specializing
• Habit
• Distraction
• Fun
• Blood sugar dips

Which one's trip you up? For me, it was the entire list. I ate any chance I got for any reason. I lived to eat. After reaching my heaviest weight and hearing Dr. Phil say, "Don't live to eat. Eat to live.", I knew I had to wake up. The minute you are tired of the rollercoaster is the perfect time to get off. It is possible to learn how to eat to live and to live well. 

As a personal trainer and health consultant, I had the opportunity to observe trial and error in my clients. I also observed trial and successes too. Those were my favorites. 

One success that I loved to watch were the little shifts that people made that led to more significant, longer-lasting results. 

Think about it this way. If I eat a 300 calorie snack out of habit, boredom, or because my energy dips every day at about 3pm, then after one week, I've eaten 2100 EXTRA calories that my body can't use and didn't need. Wow.

So by making this one simple change of choosing a different habit that elevates my afternoon energy, I will have removed 8,400 excess calories from my diet in one month. I also did this without having to starve myself! 

Remember, I wasn't even physically hungry at that time, to begin with. I was mentally hungry. It was a habit due to boredom, and since my energy dips in the afternoon, it makes sense I'd try to eat to combat those things. 

Let me introduce you to a better way!

Once I became aware of my unconscious eating, I decided to do afternoon yoga to pick myself up. I also examined what I was eating for lunch. Dips in blood sugar mean I'm not eating foods that leave me satiated. I upped my protein intake at lunch and eliminated the drop in energy. 

I also bought some orange and peppermint essential oils. I put those in a diffusor and took a few moments to breathe in the vibrant scents that refresh me, body, mind, and Spirit. 

Not only that, this new routine is ten times more soul-satisfying than the excess weight from unconscious snacking ever could be. 

Remember, emotional eating is an overemphasis on food being our savior. The truth is food can only do so much. The truth is a truly fulfilling life comes from a well-nourished heart. 

​What is one slight shift that you can make this week?