Are weight loss and emotional eating connected??

Yes and no.

Yes, because most of us are emotionally eating (eating because it’s nighttime or 3pm, we are stressed, tired, bored etc.) and this is contributing to excess weight.

No, because you can be an emotional eater and not have to lose more than 5 lbs – but that’s still what you tend to focus on instead of looking beyond food to deal with your uncomfortable emotions that you are using food to soothe.

Most women don’t say I have to deal with my emotional eating, most often we say, I need (or want) to lose weight…myself included. And then we proceed to find a diet, quick fix or workout program.

Look at this message I just got.

Tanya, I want to lose 40 lbs, I’m down 8 so far because I’ve been working out and trying to eat healthy.  I tend to snack a lot at night and it’s not healthy choices.

Sara* knows she wants to lose weight. She knows what she should be eating, BUT nighttime hits and the diet and/or meal plan goes out the window because it’s not about the food.

It’s about the fact that Sara doesn’t know what else to do with herself in the evening and the emotions she didn’t deal with because she doesn’t have the skills, leads her to eating.

Or Barb, “Tanya I eat like a healthy person all week long, and then the weekend hits and something happens – I eat everything I denied myself all week to eat.  Why can’t I get a handle on this?  I really want to get this weight off, why do I keep sabotaging myself?”

Or Shelly* (she does not need to lose weight) who I had a conversation with this morning, “My husband doesn’t know about the stash of sweets I keep hidden. I eat them in secret because they bring me comfort and then within 30 minutes feelings of shame, guilt arise plus now I feel sick because I ate so many of them. Why am I hiding this from him and why do I keep doing this?”

BECAUSE we were not taught the skills of how to properly process our emotions, but we have been taught how to distract ourselves with food, and diets and meals plans and quick fixes.

I fell for the trap too.

I did not even know how to deal with emotional eating or that it was the problem, so I focused on my weight. 

And I hear that from all of my women clients, they come to me to lose weight, even if it’s only 5 lbs because that’s what we’ve been taught to focus on.

If you are eating for any other reason than when you are truly hungry and want help, JOIN THE WAITLIST NOW, click here and I'll fill you in on the next steps. 

If you want to do something, JOIN THE WAITLIST NOW, click here

I'm craving connection in a safe and secure place and maybe you are too. I was a 10 out of 10 when it came to emotional eating and my focus was on losing weight and not dealing with the root causes.

As many of you know, I wrote Cookie Dough in the Dark.  It took me a long time to share my story publicly. I had to work through the shame I felt around my binges, overeating and addiction to sugar (food).

I know it can be super scary to step outside the comfort zone of using food. I also know that emotional eating has nothing to do with food but rather developing skills to deal with our emotions that we were never taught.

It’s not our fault. We were never taught the skills to deal with our emotions.

But we can now.

That’s why, if you are ready for an adventure, I invite you to be a founding member in a safe place to chat with me and like-minded women. Click here to join the WAITLIST

I want to create a group that will help you with the overwhelm of stress, boredom and emotional eating.

There is tremendous benefit having like-minded women come together to support each other while being guided to cut out the noise of where to start and what to do.

Right now, you are getting comfort from food and it is causing you to feel guilt and shame around your overeating and perhaps you have weight to lose and you are feeling overwhelmed about what to do.

I've been there as many of you know and I am excited to form this group and hear your input!!!

Imagine a place where food is just food and doesn't control you or make you feel bad.

If you want food to just be food and not be your go to when you are feeling stressed, bored, tired, frustrated, lonely then click here and I'll fill you in on the next steps.

So excited to have you as a founding member in my new group - this is the starting phase and I value your input and excited to see where this goes.

Healthy hugs,

Tanya

Founder of Vibrant Living and The Willis Method

P.S. My laptop battery died therefore abrupt ending to video!

I’m a wife and mum, personal trainer, fitness/pilates instructor, Behaviour Change Specialist, Nutrition Coach, Pain-Free Movement Specialist, author of Cookie Dough in the Dark, creator of Vibrant Living Membership - your ONE STOP shop for movement + nutrition + mindset and PEEL THE ONION - Your End Emotional Eating membership..... among many other things!!  I’ve had many issues dealing with the scale going up and down, a muffin top that wouldn’t disappear, emotional eating binges that did not involve carrots and struggling with insecurity! Through all of this I just wanted to feel normal. I wanted to be happy like everyone else!

In my teens and 20’s I wanted the quick fixes, the magic pills, the fairy dust – whatever I could get my hands on to make me a lean, happy and sexy machine. Yup, found out it doesn’t exist. I wanted to cry!! I was so frustrated. I felt like I was going around and around until I was completely exhausted and back at the starting point. And when I talk with other women they feel that way too. So, I delved further into holistic health – the emotional, mental and physical – wrote a book, and have been in this field for many years helping 1000’s of women.

I discovered that by being smarter, not working harder, I could get the results I wanted and also for my clients. It started with some really small shifts that I will share with you over time. With this new knowledge, I felt ALIVE, VIBRANT and COMFORTABLE in my own skin. And my clients felt this way too!

My mission is to continue to help women step into the body they WANT. To feel confident & sexy, in control of their food choices and have their clothes fit just as they should while having the energy to live a VIBRANT life.

Ready to elevate your health? As a certified Behaviour Change & Nutrition Coach, I'd be happy to chat with you. Contact me at [email protected].

Healthy Hugs,

Tanya