How I Beat Emotional/Binge Eating

Finding yourself stuck in the cycle of stress eating... then binge eating.... then hating yourself? Read on!

If you've been following my posts at all, you'll notice that I have had a few health issues come up within the past few months.

It started with yeast overgrowth (that just sounds gross, but really, it just means I had too much sugar in my body). This involved me cutting out all sugar, as well as anything else that can feed yeast. The symptoms were just plain scary, and I would recommend not going through this yourself!

Stay with me now, this is all relevant!

Then it moved on to adrenal fatigue, where I had to give up my beloved coffee!

When the yeast was just starting to get under control, I found out I was pregnant.

It has been QUITE the crazy fall!

It hit me yesterday, though, as I was holding my son as he was screaming and hurting again (possibly a reaction to a new food we introduced, I am watching him). Usually when I am feeling helpless or frustrated or angry (or really ANY emotion), I run to food and eat until there's no more room to put the food. Yesterday (and for the past month or so), that was not the case. At all.

It made me wonder - what has changed? Just three months ago, I would have been elbows deep in chocolate in the pantry, keeping the door partially shut to hide I was in there.

Yesterday, I cried, prayed, and just rocked my little boy.

So what changed?

The biggest factor that has changed is that I gave up sugar. Completely.

Sugar is in EVERYTHING, ladies. Ketchup, relish, yogurts, cereals, juices, you name it - if it's processed, it probably has sugar.

I have been completely sugar-free for over two months now. And for at least the past month, the emotional eating is gone.

Could it be a coincidence? I guess. Could it also have to do with the caffeine I gave up? Sure. But I truly believe that sugar is DANGEROUS and can cause crazy stuff like intense migraines, weight gain, tooth decay, insane cravings, binge eating episodes, contribute to diabetes, AND even suppress the immune system.

To be honest, I kind of knew all of this before I had my battle with the yeast allergy - but I didn't care. Now that I've had to let it go, I can't even BEGIN to tell you the difference I have now in my relationship with food!

I still eat plenty of fruit, raw honey, and even maple syrup. But there's absolutely no sugar in my diet now - not even cane syrup or brown rice syrup.
And yes, I am 13 weeks pregnant. Yes, of course I want a sugar-filled ice cream sundae drizzled in chocolate goodness - but I refuse to go back there because I know what it did to my body AND I'm leading the example for my little boy to follow and know it's not only okay to avoid sugar, it's BEST to avoid sugar.

SO if you find yourself in this never ending cycle and are frustrated, at your wit's end, and just plain angry at yourself, PLEASE reach out to me so we can chat. Of course, you know I'm no professional or doctor, just someone who's fought the same fight as you for many years. And this works.

Tell yourself that you have a sugar allergy as I do - as a matter of fact, my doctor informed me that most people are intolerant to sugar - they just don't realize it! There have been many studies completed to show that sugar is indeed as addicting as many drugs and the impact is INSANE.

I'm telling you - the first month is rough as your body gets used to life without that "drug". But beyond that, you can bake pretty much ANYTHING using NATURAL sugars (honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc). You can make your own ice cream with your own milk. You CAN adjust! AND if you overcome this addiction, you may find that the emotional eating is a thing of the past. And nothing beats that feeling!! :)

Now if you're thinking it takes a lot of sacrifice, it will hurt to give up all that stuff - you are right. It IS hard. Here's the law of pain vs. pleasure (as I learned from Tony Robbins):

There is pain and there is pleasure. When you experience pleasure and know there is a certain degree of pain that comes with that pleasure. For example, if you indulge in a food you know your stomach will regret later - you are deciding that the pleasure you will feel when you eat that food is bigger than the pain you will feel later. Make sense?

When you get to the point (as I had to, unfortunately), that the pain far outweighs the pleasure, you will know you need to take action. I would recommend you NOT wait for this!!

I hope this helps, ladies!!! As always, reach out to me on facebook if this post helped you at all or if you are looking for accountability in your own journey! :)