It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighboorhood (Ha ha, remember that show?! CrEEpy!)

Day Nine was another success!! Still going strong...except, and I was debating on whether or not to post this part cuz it's a little embarrassing, but I had a dream about eating mashed potatoes last night? Haha! There was like a bar of a buncha different kinds. Funny thing is...I totally could taste them in my dream. Dream eating...I like it! All the fun without the guilt :)

Day Ten: Stop Eating Your Emotions! (I feel like I've talked about this before...)

“Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself. When
you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger,
and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself. The
practice is always to go back to oneself.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Since I've talked a butt load about my own personal cravings, I will avoid going into that today. This lesson outlines a lot of tips on how to determine if you're eating out of hunger or out of emotion, so I'll just re-cap on those :) 

These are in thanks to author of Shrink Yourself Dr. Roger Gould:

The Eight Signs of Emotional Eating

*#1: Your hunger is sudden.*
Physical hunger comes about gradually. Emotional or “phantom” hunger happens quickly, usually as a
response to a particular food item.

*#2: You crave specific foods.*
Are you hungry, but only candy or chips will fill you up? This isn’t true hunger. If you were really hungry,
a simple fruit meal would easily get the job done.

*#3: You feel an urgent need to eat that specific food.*
It is not unheard of for people struggling with emotional eating to drive miles away in order to get a
particular food. There are even horror stories of people eating out of the trashcan or sneaking candy
from their children.
On the other hand, physical hunger is not urgent or choosy and will patiently wait for any food.

*#4: Your hunger has some connection to an upsetting emotion.*
Physical hunger has no connection to your emotional
state. It is only connected to your biological need to
eat. Emotional eating is just that…emotional.

*#5: Your eating is unconscious.*
Have you ever polished off an entire pint of ice cream
wondering how you got to this point and where all the
food went? Emotional eating is often done quickly and
with little awareness of what is being eaten.
Eating for physical hunger usually involves mindfulness
of the food and the level of satiation while eating.

*#6: You don’t stop eating once you are full.*
You still crave the taste of the food and pleasure that taste brings. You might not even notice that you
are full until you’ve already eaten well beyond your limit.
Physical hunger is based on your need for sustenance and is often satisfied when you are comfortably
full, not stuffed.

*#7: You can’t stop thinking about a particular food or flavor.*
There are no physical signs of actual hunger. There is only the thought of a particular food and a desire
to taste it.

*#8: You feel guilty after you have eaten.*
Physical hunger represents your biological need for food. There is no reason to feel guilty after eating
based on true hunger.
Feeling guilty means you know you are not eating out of a need for food, but out of a need for
comfort.

If any of these statements resonate with you, you are struggling with emotional eating.
 
If not, then you are just hungry...so go eat!