Soak in relationships and set a goal to get to know someone more deeply at that gathering instead of focusing on the food.
Can you remember a time when you got home from a stressful day and went straight to the fridge like a zombie, not even realizing it, just getting whatever you could put in your mouth? How about an argument with a family member that ends up with you finishing off a pint of ice cream? Or spending the day so busy and NOT so present and therefore not paying attention to your hunger cues until you’re feeling so famished and weak and low on blood sugar that you finally binge on whatever you can get your hands on?
These are some common emotional triggers that create cravings. However, we also have stimulus-response buttons that can make us binge on food, for example:
- Does popcorn “make” the movie experience for you?
- Are birthday parties about the cake?
- Are holidays about getting together and eating?
- What if you didn’t have any candy for Halloween? That would be crazy! 😉
Food is a ritual and these rituals are all over in our life. If you’re finding that ritualized overeating has become a problem for you, try to focus on filling yourself up with connection during these times. What if you focused and honed in on the personal connections you made at family gatherings?
“Drink up” through all your other senses, besides tasting. Fill your tank with experiences and be PRESENT during these holidays instead of making food the focus. Of course you may enjoy some food too! But I’ve found that when I make a conscious effort of making something else besides food the prime reason I’m here – and really hone in and allow myself to enjoy those other things, I eat a lot less at social gatherings. It sounds super cheesy to say, but “I fill up on love” instead of the cake… and maybe have a little cake, but a whole lot less than when I don’t purposefully set a goal of fully participating in LIFE at social gatherings.
What do you think? Would this work for you? On some level?