Emotional eating is probably not unknown to many women. I suffer from it myself. Eating emotion and drinking emotion. I'm not proud of it, but that's the way it is. When I'm going through a difficult time, I need more tasty things (read:chocolate) and a glass of wine every now and then than healthy food. But how do you deal with this in your upbringing? I ran into that not long ago.
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I recently discovered how emotional eating and parenting are related to each other. Just after dinner I pointed out to Lotte that she had received a text message. I'd already seen the app (by accident), and I didn't want her to see it right before going to sleep, so I told her she'd received an app.
Tense, I handed her the phone and immediately saw that she was turning red. The app came from her boyfriend who broke up with her. You can think of all kinds of things about breaking up by phone, but that doesn't matter now. I especially thought it was very sad because I know how crazy she was about that boy. The tears were in my eyes even before they rolled down her cheeks. Jasses, what a strange thing love is.
The grief was intense and I pulled her into my lap to talk about it. But of course talking alone does not solve the sadness at that moment. Besides the fact that I wonder if you should want to solve that grief right away, I am and will still be a mother. And her pain was my pain at the time.
While Lotte withdrew and took a shower, I hurried to the supermarket. Chocolate! Chocolate, tea and a nice movie. I couldn't think of anything else but that. Together on the couch under a blanket, get rid of the sadness with a chocolate shot. Hanging against each other and whining about a pathetic movie. You're good at that, aren't you?
No sooner said than done. We cocooned together, enjoyed the emotional food and the movie and while talking. By the time she went to bed, the greatest sadness of that moment had eased and she was still able to sleep well.
It wasn't until I put her to bed that I thought about the fact that I probably did it all wrong. I have not only carried out my urge to eat emotionally for myself, but also offered it to my daughter as a solution. Probably not a solution-from-the-booklet if you want to teach your child to deal with emotions.
I don't want to make my child an emotion eater (of course), let's put that first. Yet it was my first nature to arrange it this way. Sometimes you can't resist the need to spoil your child a little too much, can you? When I think about it, I also understand that this is not the solution for grief and I want to pass that on to Lotte for the future. Although food can of course make you happy, but rather the healthy version of food.
How would you handle that? Do you recognize that emotional eating also or not at all?
The more I think about it, the weirder I feel about myself for doing it that way. Because I am convinced, for example, that food really makes you happy. Only then not the emotional food, but healthy food. Because healthy eating reduces stress, protects you against diseases and makes you feel better about yourself. Some foods contain substances that send a signal to your brain that makes you feel happier. Or more alert. Or calmer. And happiness is an important good! That is why this is central to HEMA health insurance.
The typical thing is that healthy eating is also partly associated with the time of year. Maybe you recognize that too. By the time the weather starts to get nice, for example, I can eat and live a healthy life a lot easier. I have less need for unhealthy comfort food and also less bothered by emotional eating.
One of my guilty pleasures is this healthy pancake recipe. Very tasty, but also full of healthy ingredients instead of unhealthy ones. The reason I don't grab this at such a 'needy' moment is that it's not easy enough. I have to prepare it again instead of the emotional food that's up for grabs. But maybe you have other tips for me?
Anyway, do you have some comfort food, or a favorite recipe that partly fits into the list of emotional eating, but that is also not too unhealthy? Share your healthy favorite recipe on the Hema site so that all women can benefit from it and you can win great prizes too!
