In my last blog I talked about emotional eating. It is when we eat to feed our emotions, rather than to feed our hunger. It is something I have battled with all my life. I have overcome many areas but there is still work to be done.
One of the things that can plague us, however, is a guilt trip. The guilt trip that is laid on us is not only related to our eating but to our exercise routine as well. We feel guilty because we overate. We feel guilty because we don’t exercise everyday or we don’t exercise enough. We feel guilty because we overate but we exercise, yet we realize it does no good unless we get our eating under control. I could go on.
The guilt trip is what stops people from succeeding. You would think it would be the opposite. If you feel guilty, that should be an indicator something is wrong so you should change it. Yet guilt is not always a “good” feeling. It can actually stop you in your tracks and paralyze you from making healthy changes.
Instead of guilt, what we should be feeling is a desire to change. If we could switch off the guilt trip and turn on the change dial, we would fair much better. Emotional eating will continue to be a problem if we hang onto the guilt trip. So before we can even tackle the emotional eating, we have to tackle the guilt trip.
Guilt only makes you feel bad about yourself. When you feel bad about yourself, you are experiencing a negative emotion. That is not motivating. You can’t change what has been. You can only change what is ahead.
There comes a time when you just have to accept that you have a weakness or a struggle but then move on. If you don’t move on, you will keep going around the same circles. Fitness is a lifestyle that may not come easily to some people. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Start working on the guilt trip that has been plaguing you for too long. Decide today you will no longer allow that to have a hold on you. You are going to move forward. As you take those steps to move forward, healthier eating and fitness will follow suit.
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