Saying NO to the Pity Party

In a recent counseling session with one of my clients, we were talking about her late night eating habits. This is her worst time of day for eating as it is for many who struggle with food and weight issues. It's like something takes over after dinner once the television is set to your favourite show and you're finally all comfy on the couch. In her case it was the Chip Monster. That's right, she'd dive right into the big bag of chips and as if something else had taken over her body and eaten right to the bottom of the bag, before you know it all the chips were gone. She felt terrible afterwards berating herself for losing control yet again.

I asked her what she thinks may have triggered the chip binge and she said that she was bored and lonely. She was feeling sorry for herself for not having anything better to do or someone special to be with. And so, she threw herself a pity party.

When you find yourself throwing yourself a pity party and breaking out all the junk food, or diving into your favourite high sugar, high fat, high calorie treats to help prove to yourself what a loser you are, I ask you to STOP yourself in your tracks. STOP and take a long hard look at yourself and what you're doing. How is eating going to solve your problems? Instead, ask yourself what the real problem is. If you're bored, then find something fun and interesting to do to distract yourself from thoughts of food. Better yet, find something to do that is hands-on so that you can't eat and do your activity at the same time. What kinds of things can you think of that you can do? Make a list. I'd love to hear from you. Send me your ideas to info@roslynfranken.com with the subject line "Positive activities to distract me from eating".