Eating feels good intrinsically. I mean that pleasure from eating is not something we learn; we are born with it. We all know how newborns scream when they’re hungry and how after eating, they are relaxed and content.

However, when people think of treating themselves with food, they don’t usually think: Let me have a bowl of soup or some fish. That’s just food.

We strongly associate food treats with sweets, chips, and other guilty pleasures. Despite knowing that those foods are “bad” for us (or because of that), we crave them anyway. Why do we feel we are treating ourselves when we eat the foods we label bad? Would you feel special if your boss offered you a bag of chips as a token of appreciation for your hard work?

And yet, we do it to ourselves all the time: “I felt stressed out and ate XYZ to feel better.” Did you feel better? “Yes, while I was eating, it tasted good. But as soon as I stopped, I felt just as stressed. And sure, I soon felt guilty for giving in to my craving. And when I got on the scale the next morning, I felt really lousy about myself.”

If this sounds familiar, here are three things you can do to stop using food as treats:

1. If you feel stressed out, try to identify what is causing that feeling. This can give you ideas on how to address the stressor and reduce stress in the future.
2. If there is nothing you can do about the stressor, if it’s outside your control, do something you truly appreciate or enjoy. How can you comfort yourself in a way that won’t make you feel guilty afterward? Come up with a list of your favorite activities when you are in a good mood or neutral state to have them ready for when a challenging situation shows up.
3. We all come across experiences that stress us out. The question is, do we let these difficulties dictate our decisions? Acknowledge your struggles and stay focused on your values and your goals.​
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Talk with you next week,

Olga