Ate Too Much This Holiday Season?

[Guest guest]

I love this blog post by Patch! She wrote it after

Thanksgiving but it's just as meaningful this week.

http://elizabethpatch.com/2011/11/ate-like-a-pig-feel-like-a-whale.html

Ate Like a Pig. Feel Like a Whale.

By elizabeth patch,

on November 25th, 2011

I ate like a pig.

Now I feel like a whale.

Or maybe a hippo,

or an elephant or a blubbery walrus.

I am a disgusting, worthless big fat ugly cow…

A “food hangover” is a very real

physical feeling:

Your belly is bloated and your clothes feel

uncomfortably tight around the waist.

Maybe you are also gassy, or have nausea or cramps.

You might have other body sensations

such as headaches or joint pain.

You feel dull and sluggish and just plain irritable!

It doesn’t matter whether you

simply ate too fast,

or you have trouble digesting certain foods,

or if you are suffering the consequences

of a binge-eating episode.

Your entire body feels like sh*t.

“Here, baby, have some hot peppermint tea”

is really what you need to hear right now.

Instead, you start right in with the name-calling and

I-hate-myself talk!

On top of all the uncomfortable,

maybe even painful, physical feelings,

now you are swimming in a sea of guilt and remorse and

self-loathing…

As yucky as your body may be temporarily feeling ,

your negative name-calling just adds fuel to that miserable

fire.

But, thankfully, actions speak louder than words!

Take action to feel better in the moment:

1. Stop using emotionally-charged negative

language to describe yourself!

2. Do something to relieve the physical

feelings of discomfort.

• Try some digestive medicine or herbs.

• Drink soothing warm liquids or take a walk.

• Switch into more comfortable clothes or take a nap.

Take action to prevent feeling like this in the

future:

1. Stop using emotionally-charged negative

language to describe yourself!

2. Look at the facts and literally take

notes about cause and effect. Study the notes and

remember!

• When I eat this _______, I feel this _________.

• This situation ________ (or this person!) triggered this

______.

• Eating like this ____________ makes my body feel like this

__________________.

• Next time this happens, I could do this ___________________

instead.

Shame and blame will never make you feel better!

Be gentle with yourself.

Allow your body to recover and rest.

Live and learn.

The pattern of over-eating,

followed by guilt and remorse, can be a very difficult cycle

to break.

If you think you may be suffering from binge eating disorder

(or any type of emotional or

disordered eating )

please seek professional treatment and support!

PS: Cows, pigs, whales, hippos, elephants and other large animals

are not defective, misshapen or disgusting.

Each one of these animals has the perfect size, shape and form for

it’s place in nature.

And so do you!