I think there’s a misconception out there that we’re supposed to feel happy all the time.
Think happy thoughts. Stay positive. Turn that frown upside down.
There is room in this life for every emotion. It’s healthy and normal to experience negative feelings. Nevertheless, many of us go to great lengths in order to avoid anything that feels uncomfortable.
We choose distraction via food over feeling – time and time again. We think feeling our negative emotions will be so unbearable that we’re willing to risk our health. Push it down. Cover it up. Resist. Distract. Pretend. Binge. Pass the wine.
If you do nothing else but make the decision that you will be willing to feel your feelings instead of eat, you will lose weight.
Let that really sink in.
If you continue to eat, you will continue to bury your feelings and teach yourself that the way to cope with a negative feeling is to eat.
Or – you can put out the welcome mat. Invite the feeling in. Offer it a chair and some tea. Get to know it better.
If you do this over and over – you WILL lose weight.
So why do we choose to eat instead of feel?
Most of us believe that exploring our negative feelings will suck us into a big black hole of despair – and we’ll never get out.
Most of us believe that inviting the negative feelings in, means they will stay with us – forever. Like a perpetual and horrible houseguest.
Most of us believe that feeling the fear or shame or uncertainty, will inspire the most epic binge eating episode we’ve ever experienced.
How do I know?
Because it’s what I thought, until I tried it. It’s what most of my clients think, until they try it – and get amazing results.
Negative emotions are going to happen. They’re part of the human experience.
Negative emotions aren’t the problem. The problem is our resistance to feeling them.
And the more we resist – the more we’ll eat.
Click here to learn how to process your negative emotions. Seriously, if you’re trying to lose weight – you’ll want to check this out. There are no angry mobs or hungry crocodiles on the other end – just a bunch of awesome stuff to help you lose the weight for good.
XO ~Robyn
Robyn Spurr is a Certified Health Coach, Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss.
She helps women learn to manage their emotions without food and reach their healthy, natural weight without all the diet craziness.