Fear

Fear

Posted: 12 Jul 2011 03:39 AM PDT

It always amazes me how much fear can surround eating.  Weight management has the power to completely undo some amazingly successful people.

I don't really know if the fear ever completely goes away.  What I do know is that people feel more confident in their abilities to cope with stress eating if they practice strategies to handle stressful situations other than eating.

I know people feel more confident about walking away from a holiday buffet if they are very clear about the priority weight management is playing in their lives.

I think fear strikes us most when we don't think we have any viable options.  --like if you feel at the mercy of any whim that sends you running to the fridge.  Like when you feel you can't say "not right now" to the compulsion to dig into the ice cream carton with a spoon and eat until you notice you feel sick.

Fear can make us reactive -- much like stress can make us reactive.  And when we're reactive, we don't think clearly -- we just try to get out of the situation we find ourselves but we aren't thinking about where we may end up.

Food is nothing to fear.  You make choices about how you behave everyday.  Food isn't the exception.  It may be more challenging sometimes but it isn't impossible.  Do the work, make the commitment to yourself, and stick to it.  Take better care of yourself today!