Anger, sadness, fear, grief.
Let’s face it, we all deal with each of these emotions from time to time, but it's how we deal with them that gets us into trouble. Since you are reading diet articles, it is a safe assumption that you would like to or need to lose some weight. So it is another safe assumption to say that your reactions to these deadly emotions may be partially to blame for some, if not all, of your excess weight.
So what to do? Well, first, you must accept that it is not only ok, but also perfectly normal to have these emotions. But it is not necessary for you to react to them by eating. You can learn to deal with these emotions in a more constructive manner.
Respect each emotion and try to learn from it and gain valuable insight. Even those emotions that you don't 'like' - and yes, even those you were taught to ignore - such as fear, they each have something to teach us. They all possess valuable information that your body is trying to deliver to your head.
The sole intention of any emotion is that your mind is always trying to keep you safe, but for whatever reason we react to the emotion by eating rather than by learning and growing. Tell yourself that you now are going to learn from the emotion rather than gain weight as a result of it. You have to learn to respond in a healthy manner.
Typical reactions to the deadly emotions are to reach for our vice foods. But keep in mind:
A biscuit does not make anger subside; it only temporarily gives you a sugar buzz that actually may make you even angrier than you were.
A doughnut does not make sadness go away; it only makes your thighs bigger.
A sugar-filled cola doesn’t make you fearless; it only makes you fear getting on the scale.
A Big Mac does not end grief; it only makes you shout “good grief” when your trousers won’t zip up.
But if you adopt “Vice Busting”, you will learn to respond in much more productive and healthful ways:
An hour on the treadmill will help anger subside. It will release endorphins into your system and give you a real rush of euphoria and give you an hour of oxygen flowing, problem solving time to think about the problem and figure out a way to solve the problem.
A phone call to a dear friend, or writing down your thoughts and feelings will help you deal with the sadness in a non-caloric and therapeutic manner. Focusing on a few of the things that are pleasant in your life will help to ease the sadness that one situation may be bringing you. Focus more on the happy things in life and less on the sad and you will welcome more happiness into your life naturally - thoughts are powerful.
A kickboxing or self-defense class will help you handle a physically dangerous situation better and may help ease any fear for your safety. Financial planning and living within your means will help eliminate fears for your future security.
Knowledge will help you not fear the unknown, but all a sugar filled drink will do is compromise your immune system and make you more vulnerable to ill-health.
Grieving is a natural process and an important part of the circle of life. Unhealthy foods are not going to make you miss a deceased loved on any less, get over a failed romance any quicker, and it sure isn’t going to get you on your way to a happier or healthier future. If you continue to eat the unhealthy, fattening, fried and plain gross fast food, you yourself have one foot in the grave - now that is something to grieve about.
Get these deadly emotions under control and watch your weight control itself!