TUESDAY: FEELING GOOD

Emotional Eating: The Final Question

We've been examining emotional eating for almost a month now. At this point you should be seeing some behavioral shifts — you're checking to see if you're truly hungry before eating, and you're finding nonfood outlets to express your emotions. You're making serious progress, and I'm proud of you!
There's one final aspect of emotional eating you need to address — what to do when you can't resolve an issue or a situation at the exact moment when it is triggering you to behave self-destructively. Certain obstacles can sometimes seem insurmountable, and the next time you encounter one, I want you to ask yourself the following question:

How can I turn this problem into an opportunity?
Instead of allowing this event or emotion to cause permanent damage to your self-esteem, try looking at it in a different light. If you've recently gone through a breakup, for example, realize that the end of one relationship simply means that you are free to find someone better for you. Allow yourself to feel sad, but try to stay positive and find meaning in the pain rather than numbing it with food and indulging in other destructive habits. You will grow from it in amazing ways, I promise.

JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY
Stick With It

Having the means to cope with emotional eating is a huge step toward ending this form of self-sabotage. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but you can use the insights and self-knowledge you've gained through these exercises to make real changes. You will be amazed at how simple it can be to break out of the negativity and self-doubt. The more you focus on understanding the situations and emotions that trigger this destructive habit, the easier it will be to eliminate emotional eating from your life. www.jillianmichaels.com