Often with food we are going after a feeling state rather than the physical contentment of satisfying hunger. We want happiness, comfort or pleasure. Everything we want in life with few exceptions is because of how we think it will make us feel.
We eat reactively and what drives us to overeat are feelings. I need it, I want it, this food will make me feel better. Diets don’t stop the feelings. They can only ever briefly suppress them. That’s why diet plans that are based only on behavioural changes don’t work.
We have a bad day and we grab the ice cream even though we know we shouldn’t. Without the skills linked to emotional intelligence, the urge or desire to eat—which is stoked by feelings both positive and negative—will trump even the most valiant effort to avoid overeating. The high performance health mindset uses strategies linked to emotional intelligence to help us navigate the relationship between what we feel and how we eat.
-Coach Liane
