Raw Food & Fitness-Day 40

Can raw food solve your emotional eating issues?

The weather here in Vancouver Washington was pretty miserable today. It rained, it snowed and it was dark and gray. Our youngest child, Wesley, had a fussy morning. The weather and a fussy baby set the tone for Kirsten's day.

In her words the day was, "gross" and "disgusting." Kirsten felt "yucky and depressed." All she wanted to do was eat something to cover it all up. The problem was, none of the low-fat raw vegan food we eat sounded good. The only thing that sounded good was full fat, white flour vegan chocolate chip cookies. Well, not really the cookies per se, just the dough.(Hey that is raw isn't it?)

Kirsten knew cookie dough would cover up the emotional strife she was experiencing. She also new it would end up making her feel even worse.(Eating to cover up emotions always does. That is why emotional eating is a vicious circle-you eat to cover up emotions, you feel worse, you eat to cover that, and on and on-you never win. You just feel worse.)

Back to my original question:

Can raw food solve your emotional eating issues?

The really short answer is: No! There isn't a diet on the planet that can do that. Realizing that eating to cover emotional pain won't make it go away, won't solve or resolve the the real problem, really waking up to this, allows you to forgo the food and deal with the real issues.

What a low-fat raw vegan diet does for you, is offers you nothing with which you can cover your emotions. When you are committed to a low-fat raw diet, as Kirsten is, you are forced to face the pain because no matter how many apples or bananas you eat the emotions are still there.

What did Kirsten do?

Kirsten used 2 powerful techniques for dealing with the "yuck."

1 She used talk therapy-check out the video below.

2 She sat with her feelings. Recognizing their impermanence. Yucky feeling come and go just like yummy feelings. When you are feeling "gross" sit, notice all your thoughts. Notice how this and that thought come and go and realize, just as every other thought you have ever had, the thoughts that are "making" you feel "gross", will go away too.

Be Vegan, Be Vibrant!

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