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Do You Want to Feel Special and Loved this Valentine’s Day?

– Posted in: adjusting expectations compassion embracing emotions emotional eating forgiveness gratitude holiday eating holiday overeating holiday overindulging hope hopelessness hurts Inner Nurturing loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments overeating, dieting, weight loss self connection self-acceptance self-compassion self-defeating thinking self-love self-worth stress and overeating stress eating sugar addiction sugar cravings Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate the great romantic love in your life, if you have one. Truthfully, every day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate those you love. I’d like to encourage you to consider celebrating self-love today as well. Because, truly, that’s where it all begins. How can you be kind to

How Effective is Your Self-Talk?

– Posted in: depression despair embracing emotions emotional eating mindfulness reducing stress self connection self-acceptance self-compassion self-defeating thinking self-love self-worth stress and overeating unrealistic expectations

Have you ever thought about how powerful your self-talk is and how quickly it can alter your mood? Truthfully, how often does a thought or series of thoughts ruin a perfectly good day for you? How often do you grab something to eat to calm or soothe yourself because of overwhelming, anxious, depressive or shaming

Can Mindfulness Curb Overeating?

– Posted in: compassion depression embracing emotions emotional eating hope hurts identifying emotions and needs Inner Nurturing loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments Making lifestyle changes mindful eating mindfulness overeating, dieting, weight loss overwhelm reducing stress resolving emotional eating self-compassion self-defeating thinking self-doubt self-love stress and overeating stress eating weight loss

Mindfulness, according to Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Mindfulness for Beginners, is “awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Mindfulness can be traced to Buddhist origins and the practice commonly referred to as “mindful eating” is an offshoot, involving slowing down and paying attention

Are You Eating Over Unmet Expectations?

– Posted in: adjusting expectations depression emotional eating greiving hopelessness identifying emotions and needs Late night eating loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments Making lifestyle changes overeating, dieting, weight loss personalizing procrastination resolving emotional eating self connection self-worth stress and overeating stress eating unrealistic expectations weight loss

Jackie baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies after spending Saturday afternoon with her close friend Carol. The time spent with Carol did not feel nourishing.  The two dishes of ice cream and the plate of hot, freshly baked cookies did. Just baking the cookies felt more nurturing than spending time with Carol. Jackie was

Can Emotional Overeating Affect Your Sex Drive?

– Posted in: loneliness and overeating Making lifestyle changes motivation to change habits overeating and libido overeating and sex drive overeating, dieting, weight loss oxytocin resolving emotional eating self-love Sex and overeating stress and overeating weight loss

We humans are pleasure seekers. In fact, in order to ensure our survival, there are mechanisms embedded in our genes that “wire” us to seek pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy. Unfortunately, since nature’s plan for guiding us towards survival and reproduction is a system dependent on what feels good, the door is wide open

Self-Doubt and Overeating: What’s the Connection?

– Posted in: adjusting expectations compassion depression embracing emotions emotional eating hopelessness identifying emotions and needs overeating, dieting, weight loss overwhelm perfectionism procrastination reducing stress resolving emotional eating self connection self-acceptance self-compassion self-defeating thinking self-doubt self-love self-worth stress and overeating stress eating unrealistic expectations

Everyone struggles with self-doubt occasionally. It's not only normal to experience self-doubt, it's actually healthy and a sign that you're open minded and questioning your choices, abilities and behaviors. A little self-doubt is humbling, keeping our self-confidence in check and reminding us that we're still mortals who make mistakes and have short-comings. The key is not

Is Your Eating an Act of Rebellion?

– Posted in: compassion depression despair disappointment embracing emotions emotional eating forgiveness grief grieving hurts identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments old pain overeating, dieting, weight loss painful childhood memories perfectionism rebellion reducing stress resentments resolving emotional eating self connection self-acceptance self-compassion self-love self-worth stress eating trauma Uncategorized unmourned losses weight loss worthiness wounds from childhood

Shirley, a 37-year-old wife and mother, looks forward to her nightly binges.They are the only time she feels totally free and in control of her life. She resents the fact that her husband doesn’t earn more money and that she has to work full-time while raising their three-year old. She’d like to have another child before time runs out, but can’t

Are you eating over losses and disappointments?

– Posted in: depression despair embracing emotions emotional eating grief grieving identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating losses and disappointments old pain overeating, dieting, weight loss painful childhood memories resentments resolving emotional eating self-love stress eating unmourned losses weight loss worthiness wounds from childhood

Most of us don't like to spend much time thinking about our losses and disappointments or painful childhood experiences.Yet, without much effort, they are brought to the forefront of our minds when something in our environment triggers thoughts of them. We see a happy couple and think "Oh, yeah, I had a loving relationship with

Emotional Eater’s Don’t Just Eat when They’re Sad or Depressed

– Posted in: compassion embracing emotions emotional eating identifying emotions and needs loneliness and overeating overeating, dieting, weight loss purpose of emotions resolving emotional eating self connection self-acceptance self-love

At a seminar I gave recently on emotional eating, Cyndie, an attractive, well-dressed woman in her late forties came up to me and shared: "Even though I'm obviously overweight, I don't think that I'm an emotional eater because I don't eat at all when I'm sad or depressed. In fact, I can't eat at those

Gain Self-Care Skills, Lose the Weight

– Posted in: dieting embracing emotions emotional eating exercising hope identifying emotions and needs Uncategorized

It makes me crazy when I hear supposed weight loss experts preach that the road to weight loss begins and ends with calorie counting, daily weigh-ins and intense workout regimens. This kind of advice couldn't be farther from the truth and, in fact, it encourages us not to listen to the wisdom of our bodies. You were