Exorcise Those Demons
What kind of emotional demons are lurking in your closet (or refrigerator)? Not sure? Well, it's time to find out and exorcise them once and for all. To succeed where you have failed, sometimes you have to take three steps back to take that first step forward. In terms of reaching your goal weight, "stepping back" means reviewing past and current self-defeating behaviors to identify where you got stuck, discouraged, or overwhelmed.
Here are several of the most common causes of overeating. I want you to write down in your diary or journal all the excuses that are familiar to you.
1. EMOTION
Do you overeat as a coping mechanism, to numb suffering, allay fears, combat loneliness, and so on?
2. REWARD
Do you eat to reward yourself whenever you've done a good job on something?
3. SEEKING ACCEPTANCE
Do you overeat because you're seeking social acceptance? Do you eat fattening foods at parties in order not to offend the host? If you're out with friends, do you feel the need to have a drink just to fit in?
Those are just a few of the common causes of emotional overeating. What other situations have derailed your success?