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Todays show is for my fellow emotional eaters! I’m sharing 6 Steps To Eliminate Emotional Eating.

I believe the emotional eater actually has an advantage in the game of creating a fit, strong, healthy body.

We can’t get complacent. We must outsmart our food weakness’s. We need to learn from our mistakes.

In my early 20’s my Go2 break up strategy was to devour an entire packet of crunchy nut cornflakes. It happened fairly frequently!

Here’s how I now do it:

Step 1: Get Clear On Your WHY.

Ethical vegan friends you have an advantage here too. For a start so much of the crap-o-la you might devour in an emotional eating frenzy is off limits because it contains animal products.

However beyond that? So far as all the extensive, abundant vegan junk food deliciousness now available for the demolishing?

In the same way that your choice to be an ethical vegan is aligned with your personal values and identity beliefs the WHY you don’t want to emotional eat is also going to be much more potent if it’s aligned with your values and beliefs. 

Perhaps like me, you see being a fit, strong, happy, healthy vegan as a powerful form of unspoken advocacy for the lifestyle.

Possibly you’re determined to build a healthy relationship with your body. A relationship where you and your body are a team.

Where food is about abundance and what you’re giving your body rather than about a cycle of restriction then binging. Maybe this healthy relationship is one you’re committed to modelling for your child?

Step 2: Build The Pain (of not taking action) and The Pleasure (of taking action).

If, in 3 years time your default response when you’re stressed, tired, bored, sad or confronting any uncomfortable emotion or situation is to try and block it out and escape with food how will life look?

Short term, when assessing a “Do I, don’t I?” food decision ask: “How will I feel after I’ve eaten it?” 

Generally, whatever you were trying to avoid or escape will still be there after an emotional eating frenzy. In additional you’re likely going to feel guilty and weak and undisciplined. Like you’ve let yourself down.

So far as pleasure, consider how it might feel to no longer waste time and energy thinking about food ALL THE TIME!

To simply power through your days getting pleasure from the meals you eat without obsessing over them.

To never feel fearful that your jeans might suddenly not fit. To find shopping for clothes enjoyable rather than hateful.

To feel in control of your food choices.

Step 3: Find Your Refined Crap-o-la Switches (that you LOVE).

This is my favourite bit! It’s essential because it means you’re focusing on what you can still enjoy and not on restriction. Prioritise quality fuel over empty valueless calories. 

I love kale or bussel crisps. Juicy hunks of watermelon and mango. Spicy baked edamame or chickpeas. Within reason, roasted nuts though they are a definite trigger food – more on that soon.

The negative double edged sword is empty, valueless calories will leave you unsatisfied due to the lack of fibre and nutritions while also fuelling the craving cycle. You either crave what you eat or you crave micronutrients that your body is missing. I guarantee my body is never missing the micronutrients in mum’s vegan Anzac biscuits though I do crave them when I’m home for the holidays and there’s a tin of them sitting right there on the kitchen bench!

The positive double edged sword is quality fuel is satisfying due to the higher fibre and micronutrient content and also tends to be of a lower caloric density so you can freely indulge in a generous serve.

In short: The toughest most UN-fun way to eat is via super restrictive quantities of high caloric density food.

Step 4: Be Ruthless With What You Let Into The House. 

Once you admit, “If it’s in the house it’ll get eaten” you’re going to make it A LOT easier on yourself.

Consider, do you really have the unlimited daily discipline to waste it on something like this that is completely within your control? 

That’s why I tend to keep my “Refined Crap-o-la Switches (that I LOVE)” one ingredient rather than all those amazing vegan treats like dates stuffed with nut butter and coated in dark chocolate or bliss balls or sweet potato brownies.

Those things need to be made in batches and I need ONLY single serving sizes of such temptations at home. Of course you can hide them in the freezer however really, how hidden are they? I’m pretty capable of hunting them down at any time of day or night! I used to keep my roasted nuts in the letterbox, then I’d find myself venturing down 3 floors from my apartment and out to the letter box to retrieve them late at night. Now my nuts live at work!

Step 4: Be Ruthless With What You Let Into The House. Share on X

It’s worth asking anyone you share your home with to help you here. If they are enabling your emotional eating by bringing your favourite treats into the house openly share just how important your WHY is to you. Let them know that you’re committed to eliminating emotional eating and that it makes it really tough for you when that food is in the house.

Ask if it’s possible for them to purchase foods that they still enjoy that are less tempting to you? Or maybe they don’t need to be eating certain foods either. Of course that’s their choice – zero judgement – however it really is a huge advantage when you and the person / people you live with are on the same page in this regard.

Step 5: Be Comfortable With Prioritising Your Health Over Etiquette. 

This is the easiest step for me and the hardest for many people. If you’re lovely and considerate of other peoples feelings yet recognise it’s time to stop prioritising their feelings over your health and happiness, please know it only gets easier.

We teach people how to treat us. If you “give in” to the treat you are offered they’ll keep offering. If you politely decline and explain why, they’ll eventually stop offering. If they don’t, well this is another instance where it’s so very important that you got crystal clear on your Why back in step 1.

It’s there for you to fall back on in those uncomfortable situations.

If like me, you see being a fit, strong, happy, healthy vegan as a powerful form of unspoken advocacy for the lifestyle and if you adopted this lifestyle because you don’t want to contribute to the unnecessary suffering of other beings then it’s 100% your choice what you choose to put in your body.

The suffering of a relative who took the time to bake that incredible dessert you’re declining deserves a heartfelt, sincere and respectful response however it by no means is comparable to the suffering of the animals that died for the eggs, butter and cream in that dessert.

Step 6: Be Quick To Course Correct.

So the emotional eating happened. Congrats you’re normal. You tried to eat your problems and it didn’t work. Or perhaps you just let yourself get over hungry and then some little thing happened, a disappointment that usually you’d easily push through. But you were hungry or tired or with someone else who wanted to indulge big time.

The difference between people who create and sustain a healthy relationship with their body and those who are not yet there is not that some of us never slip up. We all do.

The key is to learn from the slip up. To strategise a different approach for the next time you find yourself in a similar circumstance. Because it will happen again and most importantly, get back on track as quickly as you can. That’s at the very next meal.

This is the time to avoid giving yourself grief and guilt. That’s a waste of energy. Instead ask yourself: What could I have done better? 

Plant the seed: How will I better handle this next time? 

I love that question. It both means you’re accepting responsibility and also lets you take back control in a situation where perhaps you felt a little out of control.

To get actionable today, I’m tempted to suggest if you struggle with emotional eating to pick the step that most resonates with you to make a start with. However I really do believe they’re all necessary. I think one of the things that holds us back in any sustainable lifestyle change is looking for the ONE thing. The flip to switch.

More often it’s (annoyingly!) a series of little steps that constantly evolve over time to build on each other and exert a powerful compounding effect.

So how about instead you pick the step that most resonates to start with. Knowing that you’ll build on it. To recap those 6 Steps To Eliminate Emotional Eating are:

Step 1: Get Clear On Your WHY.

Step 2: Build The Pain (of not taking action) and The Pleasure (of taking action).

Step 3: Find Your Refined Crap-o-la Switches (that you LOVE).

Step 4: Be Ruthless With What You Let Into The House. 

Step 5: Be Comfortable With Prioritising Your Health Over Etiquette. 

Step 6: Be Quick To Course Correct.

Here’s to abundant, nutritious, vegan deliciousness and creating and keeping a fit, #plantstrong, healthy body!

That’s it for today in Healthification. Thank you so very must for trusting me with your time and attention today. It means a lot.

The Healthification podcast is proudly bought to you by my FREE ‘Easy Vegan’ plan. It took me 25 years to transition from a meat eater to a happy, healthy Vegan! You can do it in just 3 days with my simplified ‘easy vegan’ plan!  Get the fit, strong, and healthy plant based body you deserve… while avoiding ALL the mistakes I made along the way!

Till next time, remember Creating a body and life you love is Freedom. (If this ex-carb queen, non genetically gifted, naturally uncoordinated vegan chick can do it – so can YOU!!!)

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