Emotional Eating "Be Fantastic"

Emotional eating is a challenge for everyone to understand and the experts--those trying to be experts keep recycling old advice that has been used for decades. OK, people have been in the fat business for a hundred years since the battle of the bulge was invented. Usually they are thin people who have never had a weight problem or they are x fatties who discovered their own particular solution to get rid of weight or they are nutritionists. None of these experts dealt with emotions--they either were exercise freaks or they were into behavior modification, dieting... A few years ago the idea of emotional eating surfaced and as it gained popularity, every weight management sufi has been applying his/her technique to emotional eating, but all it is is recycled advice. Just like the book I just reviewed Shrink Yourself by Roger Gould MD is full of advice. It reminds me of Ann Lander's advice.

The article Emotional Eating--Be Fantastic by Nutrition Coach Liz Copeland provides a new approach to dealing with thin weight loss trainers--slap them with a "wet fish."

Regarding dealing with emotional eating, she suggests specific steps and I must admit she gets further with them than most before she skips to recycled advice.

She suggests,

"1. Get in touch with what emotion you are actually feeling." This I agree with.

"2. Just rest in the ‘now’ acknowledging the emotion you feel." Ok, I agree,

"3. Tell yourself it is OK to have these negative emotions – even though they may not serve you well they are an accurate description of how you are feeling now. " She's on a roll, I agree. She's gotten further than most others who try to be emotional eating experts. And just suppose the emotion is happiness, then what?.

"4. Let the emotion go." Alright, maybe you can, maybe you can't. What do you do if you can't? I'd suggest a different approach.

"5. Take a deep breath and give yourself a hug. A hug may be physical or emotional, you will know what to do." Now we're getting into a stress management technique which is good to do in general, but has little to do with any specific emotion.

"6. Say “I am fantastic” and believe it. Associate this with something you can do that is fantastic... – I AM FANTASTIC!" Nothing wrong with this but it is basically more recycled advice non specific to emotional eating. Not that recycled advice doesn't work for some as I'm sure standing on your head will work for some too.

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