If you've ever struggled with emotional or binge eating, you know how tough the holidays can be (or really any day for that matter).

You binge your heart out at a holiday party, date night or a night alone on the couch watching Netflix and you wake up the next morning thinking to yourself how can I "fix this".

So you run to the gym, obsessively workout for 2 hours to "work it off"

I'm 100% NOT going to tell you to do ANY of those things because I've been there and not only do they not work, but they perpetuate the "I'm not enough" and obsessive cycle.

Here are my favorite ways to overcome food guilt, the RIGHT way.

1. ADOPT THE MANTRA FOOD IS FUEL

That latest diet trend that's all the rage? Paleo? Whole 30? Juice cleanse? Keto?

It's called a trend for a reason -- and is only going to give you quick fix results that will ultimately perpetuate your emotional eating and trigger your negative eating habits.

Trust me, I spent years rocking the diet trends and thinking they would be the answer to all of my problems when it turns out, the real answer to breaking free of my yo yo dieting cycle of death was to focus on eating REAL FOODS and have a meal plan that included ALL the food groups ('cause this type A gal thrives off of structure and always will)

Why the structure and not intuitive eating?

Honestly? I tried the whole intuitive eating thing and I intuitively ate an entire box of oreos...

While I'm in a place now where I can be more intuitive with my food choices because my body has self regulated after eating well for so long, I truly believe that the best way to transform your life is by adopting a meal plan that lays out the specifics of WHAT kinds of food will FUEL our bodies and the amount of food we need depending on our body type and goals.

Learn more about my food philosophy here...

2. TOSS YOUR TRIGGER FOODS

If you're an emotional/binge eater, chances are there are specific foods that set you off.

Mine are cookies, reeses cups, pizza, nutella and that monster trail mix from Target. If it's in the house, I WILL eat it. And all of it.

I used to think this made me weak, especially after being on the path to recovery for a few years and "doing so well" -- but here's the thing about binge/emotional eating, it's not a clear cut path to recovery.

We can take steps forward and find a healthy relationship with food but those pesky trigger foods are REAL.

Best way to overcome them? TOSS 'EM. Don't keep them around your house.

And if you live with someone, have the conversation with them and ask them if they'd be open to keeping those things out of the house. Your home should be your safe space and that means nothing that could trigger you, period.

3. SHOW YOURSELF SOME COMPASSION

So much about breaking free of the guilt cycle has nothing to do with our actions but everything to do with our MINDSET.

When you find yourself emotionally eating, what are you saying to yourself?

Are you using negative self talk or are you talking to yourself like you're your own best friend? It will feel completely weird at first but speaking to yourself with kindness is SO key in your journey to self love.

It starts with yourself and you have the power to turn that around in an instant -- so be KIND to yourself. Give yourself grace for not being perfect. Do something for yourself that lights you up -- take a warm bubble bath, read an inspiring book, call your mom.

You are defined by so much more than what you're eating, babe.

Still struggling with your relationship with food?

Check out these additional resources:

How to Overcome Emotional Eating

Why I refuse to do the Whole 30

The Power of Superfoods

Cheers to loving ourselves & fueling our bods with amazing food.

Xo Amanda

Hey hey hey, ma lady!!

We're knee deep in our Live Your F*ck YES Life challenge in my corner of the universe and the energy is on FIRE. We're virtually sweating our booties off together every day, rocking out a killer meal plan and cheering each other on and I couldn't feel more PUMPED UP. If you’re one of the gals in our group -- know that I appreciate and freaking love you more than you know! (For more deets on what my monthly health & fitness groups are all about -- click here)

The last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about a topic that’s near and dear to my heart and I thought it was high time I shared this on the bloggity blog because I have a feeling it’s something you struggle with too.

What am I talking about? EMOTIONAL EATING and SABOTAGE.

You start a new program or nutrition plan super strong and motivated, and then by Day 3 you have a stressful day, come home, raid the pantry and eat everything in sight. And then you throw in the towel because “you may as well just start all over again”.

when you've been eating healthy all day and then someone brings donuts to the office and you can't stop the sugar monster.

you let work or family stresses get to you and you eat to numb out.

And then you feel disgusting. You stare at the mirror and you hate that you hate your own reflection, and you are so freaking tired of never been strong enough to really commit to something and rock out the healthy happy LIFESTYLE you want so badly.

Sound familiar?

Or maybe it's another version of the same story.

Just replace food with your job. A relationship. Any area in your life where you want to see a positive shift take place.

First of all, girlfriend, I want you to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

We all struggle with this. With the feeling of letting ourselves down. Of not feeling good enough.

But can I tell you a secret? A shift in perspective that made all the difference for me on my journey?

Beating yourself up for failing at something is a sign that you CARE about yourself.

It means you WANT to succeed. That you care about yourself enough to actually want to make those positive changes in your life take hold.

Which means, while you may not have been able to get there yet, you CAN. And you WILL.

It's just going to take some dedicated work, some accountability (‘cause shit, don’t we alll need that!) and a lot more time than your inner mean girl thinks it should. ‘Cause giiirl, I know you’ve been should-ing all over yourself.

So, how do you start to overcome this and take some positive steps forward?

Here are my top 3 tips to getting started:

Get curious. Awareness is the first step towards positive change. So pay attention to yourself. What are your habits? What are you saying to yourself? When do you tend to emotionally eat?
Show yourself LOVE. Getting aware is such an important step for being able to take action, but it can also be tough to admit these things to yourself. So be KIND to yourself. And remember, YOU have the power to change anything and everything in your life in an instant. And showing yourself grace while you slowly take positive steps forward is KEY to being able to achieve what you want. It’s not easy and there will be days when you catch your mean girl coming to play and THAT’S OKAY. That’s part of the process and something we all deal with ;)
Speaking of that, whenever you catch your mean girl popping up, ask yourself “what would I say to my best friend if they were going through this situation?” Quit letting your inner mean girl take the reins and let your LIGHT shine through, not just to others in your life but to YOU TOO!

You are more powerful than you know. And if you do the work, I promise you, you will start to see the LIGHT inside of you shine in ways you never imagined possible.

I believe in you.

It’s time to start believing in yourself too ;)

Xo Amanda

P.s. Interested in seeing more shizzz like this and jumpstarting your emotional eating healing process and finding FOOD FREEDOM? Click the button below to snag your FREE Busy Babes Guide To Healthy Living & get weekly love bombs to your inbox!

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