http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/diet-nutrition/weight-manage ment/the-toughest-part-of-weight-loss.aspx

The Toughest Part of Weight Loss

Is it getting to the gym? Changing your diet? It just might be recognizing the issues that send you running to the refrigerator.

  Diet and exercise—sure, they can help you lose weight. But most people need to consider a third component to keep unwanted pounds from coming back: emotional eating. While we’ve all reached for the carton of ice cream or box of chocolate cookies when we’re blue, we don’t always know what emotional undercurrents are driving the urge to stand in front of the fridge, make poor food choices, or eat when we’re not hungry. “From the time we’re little, we’re placated with food. If we’re upset about something that happened at school, we get a treat. If we trip and fall, we get a treat. We get into the mode of eating more food than we need to placate ourselves emotionally,” says Tracy Olgeaty Gensler, MS, RD, a nutritionist for The Best Life Diet. “Many times, people will say, ‘I feel empty inside and can’t explain it.’” What’s Eating You? Overeating may be a sign that something is missing in your life. When you discover what that is, you can start to make the changes that will help you lose weight and make positive, long-lasting improvements in your life. Here are some ideas for getting to that place. Spell out happiness. Write down everything you consider part of a fulfilled life, such as family, good health, spirituality, watching sports, a job you love, and financial security. Think about your childhood, the early days of your marriage, and present day as you draw up your list of things that you consider important to happiness and fulfillment. In The Best Life Diet, author Bob Greene calls this exercise the Circle of Life. Don’t try to write down everything in one sitting. Take time to reflect and really give the list some thought, says Olgeaty Gensler. Look at the equation. When you’re all done, place a plus or minus sign next to everything on your list. A plus sign means you’re generally satisfied with this item, while a minus sign means you’re dissatisfied or it’s missing from your life. For example, you may be satisfied with your marriage but unhappy with the amount of sleep you get or with how little time you have for friends. Focus on the minuses. Pay close attention to these areas—they are places in your life where something important is missing, according to Olgeaty Gensler. “These are areas where you may be looking to fulfill yourself emotionally with food,” she says. Identifying the minuses helps you get to the bottom of your emotional eating and allows you to be freer to focus on finding nonfood solutions. Reap the benefits. Writing this list also helps you get organized and gives you permission to put yourself first for a change. It’s easy to come up with excuses for why we don’t have time for ourselves, and it’s more difficult to confront the things that are missing from our busy lives. But the payoff is huge. “When you put yourself first, you become a better person, a better spouse, a better parent. You feel more energy and less deprived. You can be so much more productive when you take care of your needs,” says Olgeaty Gensler

great article - thanks for sharing it :o)

‘I feel empty inside and can’t explain it.’  I don't know how many times in my life I've said these same words.  Now after having WLS and not being able to eat there are times when not only do I feel like I've lost my best friend but I feel even more empty.  I'm not able to eat the quantities of food I had pre WLS nor have I wanted to stuff myself but that empty feeling is still there.  Mind you it's not there as often as before or perhaps because I have much more energy than in days past that I'm busier and don't have time to feel empty but it's still there.  I did make an appt with my Dr's physchologist for a post visit and I will discuss this issue with her at that time.  Thank you Jamie for putting this article out there to read.  I so need to put myself first. 

Working on emotional piece is imperative to happiness and success be well! I have said this before maybe it wil help u (as www.geneenroth.com her books may!)

''It's Not about Food: Change Your Mind; Change Your Life; End Your Obsession with Food and Weight'' By: Carol Emery Normandi, Laurelee Roark $9.72 ISBN: 0399525025

 

 

''Life Is Hard, Food Is Easy : The 5-Step Plan to Overcome Emotional Eating and Lose Weight on Any Diet'' By: Linda Spangle $9.72 ISBN: 0895260573  Sometimes we consume our lives with food, thinking about what we can and can not have, when we can eat or should eat, how much, how often, how it should be cooked, when to buy it, how much, etc that we occupy so much time and do not even realize that we have no time left to feel (the point) in an addiction, it takes over us so we can forget us and what we are scared/fearful of feeling/being.