Recently I watched a movie and decided to add this piece.
The movie was called “Surprise Me!”
It’s your usual Chick Flick romance story but the counselling sessions caught my attention and I thought it was important to capture this information and create a bonus section along with the phases.
Stress creates many problems and issues in our life – mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, health wise, etc. and I think it is important to mention that.
At times during my struggles, I had no appetite and couldn’t eat – during these phases of my life, I put my body in a bad position. Starvation mode – when your body goes through those stages, every time you eat, it doesn’t process the food properly and stores it for later, creating unwanted weight gain.
It would have been beneficial to take note of those times and at least drink a smoothie, a meal replacement drink, force something into me somehow for the benefit of my health and wellbeing.
At other times, I would overeat, and not necessarily the right kind of food – quick food – shit food – and too much of it – again causing unwanted weight gain.
I was hurting and it was too much work to think about taking care of me physically in a healthy way – but aren’t you important enough to take care of.
If it was your best friend going through this, you would definitely try to help them take care of themselves by eating healthier, etc.
I recommend you watch this movie just to gain a bit different perspective on this, however, I am going to mention some of the points from the movie below:
- It’s not a food problem, it’s a feelings problem.
- Your inner you needs to be heard and acknowledged – that’s what will calm you.
- Your cravings – is it really hunger or is it caused from unacknowledged feelings.
- It’s about feeling your feelings.
- Doesn’t matter how shameful, insecure, immature, or stupid some of the feelings may be – they are yours and you need to have them, acknowledge them.
- Nurture your inner you, just not with food.
- Think of every craving as a beep – your own personal alarm system to recognize that you are processing something, acknowledging something.
- Analyze your feelings around food – why are you hungry, is it emotional or hunger – we need to stop before we eat to see why we are wanting it. It is a choice.
- Do we feed it or do we feel it?
- Stop and think – go backwards – why are you eating that bag of chips - are you uncomfortable in a situation, is it friend or family related, are you dreading something, did someone say something to you, are you bored – is the reason you are eating because of something other than hunger?
- You still need to eat and regularly, but healthy and during proper time frames – breakfast, lunch, supper, snacks.
- It’s just as important to think about when we are not eating as we do when we are eating.
- Every moment when you are not eating, is a moment when you are fully engaged, you don’t need anything to be added to it, you are comfortable and even if you are not, you are handling it, you are dealing with it – dealing with life upfront (unless you are putting yourself in starvation mode, which we discussed earlier and you can and should deal with that)
- You don’t need to eat the whole bag of chips – have a few – everything in balance – that is called self-control.
- Does fixating on something or someone for whatever reason, prevent you from … (you fill in the blank)
- All possibilities start with a choice.
- Zero Calorie binge – scream, yell, say your emotions, speak what you are feeling out loud – all of that zero calories – nothing went in
- All day, all night – catch the feeling before you bite!!
- Face your truth, make decisions, take control - with dignity and strength and yes you are in pain, but you are now managing it and equipped.
- Celebrate your successes.
NOTE: Water always finds the easiest way around blockages, that’s how we need to move through our lives, go the way of the water – act like water, let life happen, follow the flow.
There are many reasons why we have the eating habits we do.
When we are going through stuff, one thing we really lack responsibility for, lack energy for, lack the desire for is taking care of ourselves.
This is when we need to do this the most.
We need to acknowledge we are going through something and we need to remember Self Care.
Self-Care Wheel & Medicine Wheel Resources - People Under Construction
If you don’t take care of yourself during this time, your body, mind, spirit, emotions will take a hit and you will create problems further down the line – later in life – like I did.
Learn from my mistakes - if I can help you make better choices while you are on your journey and not have to spend a few years struggling with health issues and repercussions, then I am happy and my journey was worth it.
And…make sure you are getting enough rest & sleep. I know it is hard with many things going through your mind and on your heart. When we do not get sufficient sleep we become more emotional and don’t necessarily make the best decisions.
If you are experiencing health issues due to lack of self-care and you have sought out medical advice, please take some time to read through the link provided below.
Under this tab, there are many findings that may provide some helpful information.
Hope you have enjoyed this little tidbit!
