You’ve had a bad day and you reach for some chips. Your partner canceled again, you reach for ice cream. You had a fender-bender, broke a nail, got a parking ticket … the list can go on and on for reasons to eat that have nothing to do with hunger. Not physical hunger anyway. When we eat to cope with our emotions, we are hurting ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually, and this hurt, if not addressed can cost us our joy, our health, even our life. This loss of life, figuratively or literally, can be thought of as “suicide by food.” Instead of choosing to cope with our feelings with food and in the process retreating from life, choose another way to deal with life, a way that affirms your existence, restores joy and  makes life worth living.

Dr. Sheila Forman is a Psychologist, Mindful Eating Instructor, and founder of TAME Your Appetite: The Art of Mindful Eating. She is an expert in helping people cope with their emotions without eating and using a non-diet approach to lose weight and make peace with food. She is also the author of several self-help books, including Do You Use Food to Cope? A Comprehensive 15-Week Program for Overcoming Emotional Overeating, and The Best Diet Begins in Your Mind - Eliminating the Eight Obstacles to Permanent Weight Loss.

7 Skills to Master for a Happier and More Fulfilling Life:

1.      Learn mindful eating. Mindful eating allows you to trust your body to direct you to the right foods and amounts rather than taking direction from some diet book or expert. You will find that you are the expert and your body knows best. Eating mindfully is very liberating and will free you up to pursue other endeavors. 

2.      Get moving. You don’t need to run a marathon or compete in a triathlon, but do  something. Adding exercise, or more specifically an active lifestyle, will enhance your life by reducing stress, managing cravings and filling up your time productively. 

3.      Eliminate stress by learning to meditate. A few minutes a day of mindfulness-based meditation will calm your body, mind and spirit. 

4.      Get busy. No more sitting on the couch watching TV or hiding behind your Facebook page. Find hobbies, socialize (safely we are still in a pandemic), accept invitations. Step into life, instead of away from it.

5.      Change your attitude. Let go of complaining and start feeling gratitude for all the people, opportunities and experiences in your life. There is scientific research establishing the benefits of gratitude on one’s health and overall well-being. The simple act of saying thank you each evening for the gifts of the day will do wonders for the quality of your life. 

6.      Conquer procrastination. Start engaging in those activities that you have been postponing – travel, dating, and ice skating, wearing short hair, you name it. 

7.      Stop settling for less. Enjoy the best of everything that life has to offer. No more buying something on sale because it’s good enough – no, now you will shop for what you really want. One really nice pair of shoes you love is better than six you bought on sale. You really want to go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, then stop traveling to Las Vegas for the replica. Find a way to get to Paris. You will learn that when you stop settling and find ways to give yourself what you really want, your life will feel more joyful.