BetsyT Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 So, I'm on Day 14, which is great, BUT... My main goal for my Whole30 was to work on my relationship with food. Often I eat to cope with my emotions-- feeling anxious, sad, bored, etc. Normally, I'd use sugar. This would most often occur late at night, especially when I couldn't sleep. You can imagine I would feel pretty crappy in the morning. Still finding this to be a problem-- but the late-night emotionally driven eating is fruit and nuts, or some other "clean" food. I am frustrated because I want to change this…yet am struggling with it. I know I am not supposed to eat right before bed, and that I'm not supposed to use fruit to replace sugars I otherwise would have eaten. But "not-supposed-to" isn't cutting it, I guess. Also, I am not experiencing any Whole30 magic, and I can't help but think it is mostly resulting from this bad habit I can't seem to kick. As for the falling asleep faster, sleeping better…well, my struggles with not being able to fall asleep is a topic in and of itself… Anyone have suggestions-- or just encouragement? Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoJo09 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Is it possible to just not have the fruit and nuts in the house (assuming dried fruits?)? They're not essential, and you could easily do without them. (This from someone who ate a packet of nuts this afternoon because work was stressful!) Have you tried distraction methods? Ie. "Man, I'm so lonely, I'm going to eat that bag of nuts in the cupboard. But first, I'm going to sit down for at least 10 minutes and do this 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle of clouds." It actually works. And I'm sure you're on this already, but Natural Calm to help with the sleep. Magic schmagic - can you think of nothing that is better in the two weeks you've been eating Whole 30? That's the magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peebles Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Hi Betsy, have you heard of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique / "Tapping")? I recently found out about it and want to give it a try, even though it does sound a little esoteric. But hey, it's easy and free, can't hurt, right? I wish you all the best! <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted June 4, 2014 Moderators Share Posted June 4, 2014 I struggled with the same thing my first go round, so I adopted further parameters for myself over time that have curbed this entirely. First, I banished all fruit and nuts unless they are a minor ingredient in a larger recipe. Then I quit eating hand-to-mouth foods. This curbed all snacking--and that mindless impulse to just shove something in my face when what I needed to do was sit with my discomfort and process my emotions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaskylu3 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 So, I'm on Day 14, which is great, BUT... My main goal for my Whole30 was to work on my relationship with food. Often I eat to cope with my emotions-- feeling anxious, sad, bored, etc. Normally, I'd use sugar. This would most often occur late at night, especially when I couldn't sleep. You can imagine I would feel pretty crappy in the morning. Still finding this to be a problem-- but the late-night emotionally driven eating is fruit and nuts, or some other "clean" food. I am frustrated because I want to change this…yet am struggling with it. I know I am not supposed to eat right before bed, and that I'm not supposed to use fruit to replace sugars I otherwise would have eaten. But "not-supposed-to" isn't cutting it, I guess. Also, I am not experiencing any Whole30 magic, and I can't help but think it is mostly resulting from this bad habit I can't seem to kick. As for the falling asleep faster, sleeping better…well, my struggles with not being able to fall asleep is a topic in and of itself… Anyone have suggestions-- or just encouragement? Help! I have to say...your relationship with food sounds a lot like mine. I am currently on day 24, and have been so tired that I havent woken up to eat chocolate since the first week. I never gave in, but I did snack a little on watermellon at night. I am an emotional eater also, and it is always sugar or bread with honey and butter....etc. I find that food now consumes my mind almost all day, it never did. I think about what I would rather eat and am never really satisfied, because I want pizza and a snapple. I have noticed results and I get happy and proud....but then emotional again thinking about what I am missing. I dont like fast food, I am not upset about that....but a nice summer pasta dish or some pizza and a piece of chocolate once in a while is all I want. HOWEVER, I am all or nothing so I cant have a piece of chocolate....I need the whole bar, or better yet 2 to 3. All I can say is to just hang on and keep pushing through. I am hoping this will change my thought pattern also, but I am wondering if a little therapy wouldnt help me. This is obviously behavioral at this point. I feel your pain, its like I know the benefits but my brain wont let me just switch and be happy with the switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina R Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Are you eating enough? If your breakfast is too small it can set you up to snack later in the day. Have you tried increasing you meal size for meal 1 and 2? Do you eat fruit or starchy veggies at meal 1 or 2? That might awaken your sugar dragon also. I also have trouble sleeping and the only thing that sometimes works is nighty night tea with valerian root. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WholeStanley Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 o Betsy I know this problem all to well, and was one of the reasons I wanted to do the Whole30 too! Things that helped for me: - View 'no eating after dinner' as one of the strict rules of the Whole30 rather than just something thats discouraged. I tried to see it as the same as the 'no sugar rule'. I'm a real stickler for rules so this really helped me, all the rules were tough to keep to but this meant breaking it had a much bigger impact (e.g a restart) - Close the kitchen after dinner: no more cooking, no more time in that room what so ever. Think of it like a restaurant that has served its last meal and closed up for the night. - During my Whole30 I often went to bed early just so I didnt have time to keep eating but if you find sleeping tough at least try and brush your teeth to reduce temptations. I hope some of these might help, but i think the most important thing is not to beat yourself up about getting this right - its a bloody hard habit to break and 30 days is nothing after what has been for me nearly 4 years of late night emotional eating. Take pride in your small victories and know that you are at least only putting healthy food into your body. In terms of problems sleeping - do you have any screen time before bed? (laptop, phone, tv, ipad?) banning these from my bedroom made a huuuuge difference to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 You've received some great advice above. I second the distraction technique. Last night I had a "kill all the things" moment. I was angry, upset, hurt, and overwhelmed. Honestly it took everything I had not to go diving into a pint of chocolate coconut ice cream, or chips (thankfully I don't have either in the house). I landed up calling up a friend to chat to just make me feel better. We talked about everything non-related to foods. It helped. I went to bed soon after with a calmed mind and something to look forward to - a mani/pedi appointment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetsyT Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 First of all, thank you so much for your responses. Honest, sincere, caring. I really felt supported when I woke up the morning after writing the first post and had already heard from several of you. A reassuring sense that I'm not alone in this after all. As for the sleeping, I am going to try the Natural Calm (hadn't before) and the tea. I'll try anything... As for the eating, it is a challenge. And I appreciate the empathy as well as the suggestions (born of experience, making them that much more valuable). It truly is a psychological battle for me, but the sugar dragon sure doesn't help. The practical things-- starting with keeping nuts out of the house and limiting the fruit I consume during the day or have readily on hand (and I'm talking fresh, not dried-- dried I know not to have sitting around). Distraction sounds possible, but truly changing this habit is about learning to sit with whatever emotion I am experiencing rather than seeking something (usually food) to pacify myself. Not quite sure what that looks like just yet. All in all, yes, there are positive changes happening for me. And given my particular bent towards being overly hard on myself, I will try to celebrate the small victories. I have had significant emotional upheaval in my life over the past year (in a word: divorce), with a rather unexpected and sharp jolt of it in the past week. Yet I'm still in this. And doing it for myself. And heck, even sharing this is a step forward, because there is a large dose of shame wrapped up in my struggles with emotional eating. And the more I tell people in my life about my primary reason for taking on the whole30, the more that shame dissipates. So there's hope in that. Nonetheless, it IS going to take a lot more than the 14 days I have left. Thanks for the support, everyone. One foot in front of the other, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelPhotoWriter Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 And heck, even sharing this is a step forward, because there is a large dose of shame wrapped up in my struggles with emotional eating. And the more I tell people in my life about my primary reason for taking on the whole30, the more that shame dissipates. GREAT FOR YOU!! ("Good" isn't good enough) Yes, incredible power in sharing the truth (into an audience that is supportive). Such an energy-suck to be "pretending" anything or holding secrets in life.... Keep up the awesome efforts!! One foot in front of the other, one hour at a time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.