Extreme Snacker
10/29/2021
This post is for you, my fellow super snackers. If you've ever found yourself on the couch with chocolate chips stuck to your pj's, you're my people. To those people out there struggling with extreme snacking, I understand. I have abandonment issues, and when I'm alone in the evenings, I get triggered. I want something, anything, to keep me company and fill me up! I've done "the work," and I understand eating a bag of chocolate chips isn't the right thing to do…blah, blah, blah.
The truth is, if I'm not super diligent with meditation and exercise, I can still end up on the couch with remnants of a feeding frenzy all over my chest. I find myself repeating, "I can't believe I just did that," in between man-size burps. Then I feel ashamed and inadequate and go to bed, knowing my body won't feel good in the morning.
The good news is we can be helped! Short of wiring your mouth shut or padlocking the cupboards, I've learned simple tricks that can help calm the beast and get you past the moment of compulsion. Listen—I'm not saying I'm perfect or these tricks always work 100%. But, I am saying most of the time, they calm me down, and the feeling of desperately needing a bag of popcorn passes.
- If possible, I take a walk. I make myself go outside and get moving in nature.
- I breathe; breathwork brings us back into our bodies and calms the nervous system.
- I do something other than watch TV; that's a big trigger for mindless eating.
- I drink a lot of water, which fills me up and makes me not want to eat
- Brushing my teeth and scraping my tongue helps me at night–who wants to brush their teeth twice before bed?
I'm much better than I used to be and not as good as I want to be. I think that's life in a nutshell. We do our best every day, and every day will get better.