Non-food Ways to Stay Emotionally Afloat

I’ve been thinking about what roles food plays in my emotional well-being.

I have used food to provide:
Comfort
Fun
Pleasure
Distraction

Those are all things that I need in my life, but food is NOT an appropriate outlet for those needs. (Reminder to self: food is fuel for my physical needs.) If I am to overcome emotional eating, I need to seek to have my emotional needs met by something other than food. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with.

I can find COMFORT through:
The Lord (praying to Him, being grateful for all He’s provided for me to enjoy as I go for walks).
Writing.
Talking with a family member or close friend.
Hanging out with my dog.

I can have FUN without food by:
Focusing my attention at social gatherings on people – interacting with them, learning more about them, listening to their funny stories, laughing with them.
Observing the children at family gatherings (watching as they make a mess while eating, listening in on their innocent conversations) and by playing with them too.
Playing more games with my kids and hubby.
Doing crafts with the girls.
Playing with the dog. Teaching her new tricks. Going on hikes/outings with her during the day when the kids are at school.
Being sure to have a date each week with my sweetie.
Having game nights and inviting other couples.
Working on projects that are just for fun – my chalkboard, the tree mural and birdhouses.
Writing goofy stuff.

I can find PLEASURE by
Walking with the dog.
Listening to Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Sting and the tracks on my PlayFour playlist on my i-pod.
Spreading a blanket on the grass and lying in the sun!
Buying wonderful smelling body lotion.
Wearing clothing that makes me feel WONDERFUL! (And not putting off buying the clothes in the hopes of losing more weight.)
Getting a pedicure and then maintaining it with kicky nail colors.
Taking a long, quiet soak in the Jacuzzi.
Doing yoga at the Rec. center on Thursday mornings.
Visiting local art galleries and savoring the emotional response the pieces generate.

I can counter-act boredom and find DISTRACTION without eating by:
Going for a walk.
Blogging or writing in a journal.
Tackling a job that needs doing (like sorting and putting away the winter hats and gloves before winter is here again).
Taking some outdoor photos to use as desktop wallpaper or for blog posting.
Working on making a music/photo DVD.
Updating my books at goodreads.com.
Adding songs / deleting dumb ones on my i-pod. Downloading ones that I’ve been wanting.
Reading a book (but NOT munching). Instead, I can read outside or at the library, or even drive to a bookstore/cocoa shop and read there.
Cutting up old jeans for future sewing projects.
Playing the piano.
Trying to write poetry.
Practicing new songs on my penny whistle or recorder.
Using one of the girls’ digital recorders and cackling like a witch, then posting it on my blog.
Whistling and recording a few classics to post.
Looking for publishing opportunities on-line.
Calling a girlfriend.
Trying to sketch something.
Selecting a quote to have Angie do in vinyl.