Most of us were conditioned from a young age to associate food with emotions. Whether it was offered as a reward, to help us feel better when we got hurt, or as something to feel guilty about wasting or enjoying too much, you are not alone if grew up with food as a crutch.

Emotional eating affects most of us. Whether it’s something we do when we’re bored, in the car, is triggered by stress, or helps us feel better when we’re down – we are using nutrition for something other than its intended purpose.

When the substance we use to numb or tolerate difficult feelings falls into the “bad” category – like drugs or alcohol – there is an understanding that it is not good for us. But food is a necessary part of life! Without it we will die. And in that space, the urgency to understand our compulsions around it are often subdued.

It’s not until the effects of emotional eating start to show up in the body that we start to pay attention. When left until this stage, it’s common to experience shame, which unfortunately, often leads to isolation and stops people from seeking help.

No! The problem with most weight loss plans is that they focus on the symptoms, not the root cause. Counting calories, diet fads and yo-yo dieting don’t deal with the problems that go you to where you are now.

Recovering from emotional eating is about compassionately uncovering the underlying issues and healing them. The work we’ll do together is largely psychological and therapeutic. Once we bring that problem out into the light, it can be healed, and then the control is placed back in your hands.

Instead of addressing symptoms like weight loss, we talk about the root cause. The truth is, you have all the answers. My job is to ask the right questions. With extensive time spent in practice, I’ve helped thousands of people recover from emotional eating. My clients and I work together to:

• Learn how to take control of your emotions, food and health
• Learn where your beliefs around eating came from and how to change them
• Understand your triggers, instead of reacting to them
• Understand your unique eating patterns and how to change them
• Fully accept who you are and what got you here, and not wishing it away
• Trust and allow an expert to help you
• Understand how emotions come in waves, and to learn to ride them and not drown in them
• Learn to eat the foods that give your body energy, without following a cookie cutter plan meant for someone else
• Develop your “WHY” for truly changing your eating and your health

We have several options for working together. You can learn more about that by clicking here.