Are you struggling with massive urges to eat eat eat while you’re in self isolation, lockdown or quarantine?
You are not alone!!
The world is emotional eating right now.
This crisis is frightening. And it’s totally normal to feel helpless, hopeless and afraid.
It’s only natural to turn to food for comfort.
So…. I had a few ideas on what to do, and hope they help:
Step 1: Forgive yourself. ☺️
Your fears are justified. You are allowed to feel scared/ angry/ helpless/ lonely/ confused. You’re allowed to have strong urges to over-eat as a result (and even act on them too). Forgive yourself quickly.
Step 2: Deal with the headworms! 👀
What are your worst fears about this crisis?
What would you do if your fears came true?
Come up with a plan.
Take the necessary steps to have that plan ready to roll if need be.
Do you need to call a loved one or speak to the landlord / bank / school / attorney / insurance company? Do whatever you need to to have that plan ready to rock if it comes to it. Plan for the worst. Hope for the best.
(If you’re not sure what your plan should be, then brainstorm with someone who will respect your fears and help you deal with them. Don’t let anyone tell you, “Don’t be silly – it won’t come to that”. Let’s hope it doesn’t, but in the meantime the fear of it is keeping you up at night, and sending you into binge territory, so why not deal with it head on, right?)
Once you have a worst-case-scenario-plan-of-action then put it down and bring yourself back to the present moment.
You’ll feel much calmer, trust me 🙂
Step 3: Determinedly seek out joy.
The fastest route to joy is gratitude ❤️
Even if the world fell down around you tomorrow, what could you be truly, deeply grateful for?
Who do you love?
Who have you loved?
What wonderful moments have you experienced in your life?
Feel it. Let it fill you up with love and joy.
Step 4: Stick to a routine!
Now more than ever routine and structure will anchor you in sanity. Plan out your day and stick to it like glue. Even if everyone else is lounging around in their jim jams and scrolling endlessly on facebook….if you’d planned to be at your desk by 8am then get up, shower, eat, and get to work. (And remember to plan for some time to lounge around in your jim jams too!!)
Step 5: Eat nourishing, healthful, filling meals.
Make sure you eat well. If you want to feel less anxious then give your brain one less thing to feel less anxious about (restriction only ever ends in trouble!) Give thanks for the food in your belly. We’ve suddenly had a taste of what the world could be like if food wasn’t guaranteed to be on the shelves. Eat well and feel so lucky to be nourished by that food.
Step 6: Crush your weight gain fears!!
Maybe you will gain weight, maybe you won’t … who knows.
What we do know that when we’re all let out of our apartments we’ll have much bigger fish to fry than a few extra pounds around our tum. We’ll have a world to get back on track, and you’ll be called to be strong, step up and re-build. You’ll need every bit of resilience, energy and determination that you can muster. So shift your focus from that possible weight gain, to the person you’ll need to be, in order to help build the world after coronavirus. The world needs you to be strong now.
Step 7: Reach out to others in need.
Chances are there’s someone who’s struggling and needs the kind of help that only YOU can offer. Spread love, joy, warmth, comfort to all those around you.
Binge hug.
Binge connect.
Binge laugh.
Binge help.
Binge love everyone you can!!
We can’t control coronavirus – but we can always control how much love we give 😍.
Infect everyone around you with calm, kindness, compassion, hope, warmth and love.
Give in excess.
Love in excess.
And there’ll be no need to eat in excess.
Sending BIG LOVE to you all during this crazy time.
We got this.
xxx
Helen Bennett 