When Emotional Eating Feels Automatic

 Psalm 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed..

Why Emotional Eating Happens:
  1.Stress & Cortisol- Your body seeks quick dopamine. Sugar appears to be an instant comfort.

2. Fatigue
 After 40, your hunger hormones rise when you’re tired. It’s not “lack of willpower” — it’s biology, but it can be realigned.

3. Loneliness or overwhelm- Food seems to be a silent companion.

4. Unprocessed emotions- We avoid feelings by eating them, only to be left feeling worse than before.

Eradicate Emotional Eating with this METHOD:

The 1-Minute Interrupt: When you start to feel the pull to the fridge or pantry, before you take a step in that direction or even one bite, pause for 1 minute and ask yourself:

1. What is my body feeling? Tired? Anxious? Overstimulated?

2. What is my heart feeling? Lonely? Hurt? Ignored?

3. What does my spirit need? Peace? Prayer? Stillness?

Lord, I am so tired of this crutch. I am so tired of leaning on food when I know You are the only true fix to any issue I face. Father forgive me for seeking fulfillment in food and diets, Lord I am laying it all down. No more going to the pantry before I run to You. Lead me Lord, take this struggle from me, I can’t do it on my own and I don’t want to. I want to operate on the Resurrection power that lives inside of me, thanks to You. Restore me Father! Rescue me from this exhausting emotional cycle, I’m done. Give me what I need today Lord, which is time with You and in Your Holy Word. Remind me why I’m here, Lord, to serve and love others in Your Name. I ask this in Your Name, Amen.

Are you sick of trying diet after diet and NOT losing weight?

Hey there friend, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late twenties and struggled for years to get it off. Seven years ago, I found a basic system that worked and has helped me lose 90 of those pounds. I’ve been working with women in online fitness and nutrition ever since to break chains of diet culture, embrace their bodies and fueling instead of dieting.

In this podcast, I'll teach you how to:

• • Lose Weight in a Way that honors God without obsessing about the scale
  • Meal Plan and Prep for Your Family
  • Follow a MACRO based plan that allows you to eat the foods you love.
  • Recognize and pray through triggers keeping you stuck.
  • I’ll help you Plan your week and schedule your self-care time.
  • Cultivate a spirit of self-discipline in your workouts you actually enjoy.
  
  It's time to give God your health journey and watch Him make you new, from the inside, OUT.

Join The Biblical Weight Loss Framework: https://www.herweightlossmindset.com/framework

Join my FREE Community: https://bit.ly/JoinTheChristianWeightLossCommunity

Join my Insiders List with weekly tips for weight loss for Christian women: http://herweightlossmindset.com/herweightlossmindsetinsiders

Transcript

Introduction

Today, fam, we are talking about something tender, something real, because weight loss isn't just macros and meal prep. It's emotions, wounds, stress, trauma, and patterns that we've picked up just trying to survive.

Especially for us women over 40, emotional eating can feel automatic, sometimes like it's wired in. But automatic does not mean irreversible, especially when we're operating on Holy Spirit power and discipline.

So stay with me here and let's learn together. Are you sick of trying diet after diet and not losing weight? Are you tired of doubting your ability to actually lose weight in a healthy way?

Do you wish you could find a laid out for you plan that will help you stay accountable to your goals? Hey, friends, I'm Lindy Schlabach, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late 20s and struggled for years to get it off.

So grab your pre-workout and let's chat. Are you ready to take a Holy Spirit led approach to weight loss God's way? Join the biblical weight loss framework.

It's a 90 day group coaching training program that I created through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's going to help you everywhere from recognizing traumas and triggers to healing, to accountability, to time management, time blocking.

We are going to dig up the things that are really hard to deal with, and we are going to throw them up to the Lord and let him heal you from the inside out. Because when we can truly heal our mind, that's when he can really start to heal our body.

And then we get to walk through nutrition and fitness and macros and learn how to fuel ourselves instead of buying to every fad diet or weight loss tactic that has not worked for us.

So if you are tired of the diet game, and you are ready to finally release weight in a Holy Spirit led way, find the link to join us in the show notes, or go to herweightlossmindset.com/framework. That's herweightlossmindset.com/framework.

Spiritual Battle

So this one hits hard for me. I have so many unhealthy patterns that I tend to gravitate towards depending on the time of year. And I get so sick of myself at times.

And I often think that God must get tired of me too. But I know that that is a lie from the enemy. He doesn't get tired of us.

He does not tire of our issues. He made us, gave us free will, hoping that we would turn to him. That's why he made us to have cravings.

He just wanted us to crave him. And we know that food and gluttony and the distraction of fad diets and weight loss has been a tactic of the enemy since Eve in the Garden. He tempted her with an apple.

He pushed her to see what she could be beyond God. And we continue today, thousands of years later, to fall victim to the same trap. But the difference is we have the Holy Spirit inside of us.

We have an advantage. If Christ is in you, you have resurrection power that you can tap into through this emotional eating journey.

We can create new habits and thought patterns that are going to keep us pushing forward towards a prize, which is obedience, right? Because the thoughts won't stop. The scheme may still show up in your life every day or maybe in a new way.

But when we start to lean in to Jesus and what he wants to do in us and through us, we can truly change those old, unhealthy patterns and create new ones that honor the call that God has for our life.

Personal Gluttony Scripture

So for a really long time, it looks like gluttony and sometimes I still find myself tempted in those ways. But for me recently, something God has shown me in the last six months, is that I shop too much.

I have a closet full of clothes and in prayer one morning, I was asking him, why do I feel like this pull when I walk into a store and I touch something soft?

He revealed to me that for a long time, I would walk into a Kato and their size 24 pants was the biggest that they had, and a size 3X t-shirt was all I could find. I couldn't even fit into those at some points.

I cried in so many dressing rooms when I was at my heaviest. Now, a lot of the things that I try on, most things I try on, they fit me. And even, I found myself, like, even if I didn't love it, I would buy it.

And he's really called me in a different way of gluttony to lean in and, you know, he keeps putting this on my heart. Like, it's just stuff. It's just stuff.

The things in my house, the things in my closet, it's just stuff. It's material possessions of the world, and they do not matter. So I want us to read from two different perspectives today.

Maybe one will speak to you over the other, but first I want to connect with Psalm 34, 18. It says, The Lord is close to the broken hearted. He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

And then I want to read Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 to 3. It says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joys set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the Father.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Does one of those speak to you more than the other? I want you to choose one to cling to today.

And let's remember as you choose a verse to cling to, that these apply to us not just spiritually, but emotionally as well. And even in the kitchen when you're tired and the chocolate feels like the only comfort you have left.

Emotional Eating Triggers

So, I want to first explore why emotional eating happens. And there are four major triggers. The first one is stress and cortisol.

Your body is seeking that quick dopamine hit. And sugar appears to be an instant comfort, right? The second one is fatigue.

After 40, your hunger hormones actually rise when you're tired. It's not lack of willpower, it's biology. But you can realign those things.

The next one is loneliness or overwhelm. Food seems to be a silent companion, something to keep you company in the silence. The fourth one is unprocessed emotions.

We avoid our feelings by eating them, but we know it only leaves us feeling worse than before. But there is hope, my friend. We can interrupt and eradicate emotional eating with the method that I'm going to share with you, okay?

So here's the tool. It's called the one minute interrupt.

So when you start to feel the pull to the fridge or the pantry, before you even take a step in that direction or one bite, I want you to pause for one minute and ask yourself, what is my body feeling? Am I tired, anxious, frustrated, overstimulated?

What is my heart feeling? Am I lonely, hurt, or ignored? And what does my spirit need?

Do I need peace, prayer? Do I need to be still? And then choose one of the following replacements before you turn to food.

A quick two-minute prayer, a hot shower, a walk around your house or outside if it's nice out, maybe give a call or a text to a friend, maybe play a worship song or drink a cup of tea.

Nine times out of ten, that urge to eat emotionally is going to fade.

Nutrition for Women

So I want to talk about nutrition for a hot minute for us ladies over 40 who tend to eat emotionally. So ladies, we need 25 grams of fiber per day to maintain that satiated feeling.

So let's load up on those fiber-filled veggies, berries, potatoes, and chia. We've got to really focus on the amount of protein that our bodies need.

I've worked with women in online fitness and nutrition for nine years, and 100 percent of the women that I work with aren't even eating close to their daily allotment of protein. It's no wonder we're all exhausted, hungry, and bloated.

We also need those good energy-filled carbohydrates to keep us going through the day.

Not sugary garbage, but beans, potatoes, fruits, veggies, whole grains, quinoa, all the goodness that God put out here for us to eat, along with that daily dose of healthy fat that's going to help with your hormone production and balance.

So I want you to eat, sister. Like, eat. We're done starving ourselves and making excuses.

If you want to change, truly change, you have to start looking at your diet and be willing to take hard steps forward. And you can because God is in you, and it's his power that continues to push you forward.

So I want to offer you a couple of meal prep strategies for the week. I want you to prep two meals. That's it.

Start small. Two this week might lead to three next week. Because when emotional hunger hits, we want something convenient.

And it's okay to be hungry for a while. Like, let's be honest. Most of us would do well to let our bodies actually tell us when and what to eat.

Like, fasting is an underrated tool. We underestimate the knowledge that our bodies have, so listen to her, and she will lead you perfectly. So just prep two meals this week.

Something small, something that's gonna give you a quick bite when you are hungry and maybe you're short on time, okay? Planning to fail. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

We're not failing anymore. We are leaning into the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord what you should prep, okay?

Prayer for Freedom

So I want you to take a few minutes, as you journal today, and ask yourself, what emotion has been driving your eating lately? And where do you need God's compassion?

And then where do you need to stop making excuses already and start truly making a change? Only you can decide. Holy Father, I am so tired of this crutch.

I am so tired of leaning on food when I know that you are my only true fix to an issue I face. Father, forgive me for seeking fulfillment in food and diets. Lord, I am laying it all down.

No more going to the pantry before I run to you, Lord. Lead me. Take this struggle from me.

I can't do it on my own and I don't want to anymore. I want to operate on the resurrection power that lives inside of me thanks to you and your sacrifice. Restore me, Father.

Rescue me from this exhausting emotional cycle. I'm done. Give me what I need today, Lord, which is time with you and your Holy Word.

Remind me why I'm here, Father, to serve and love others in your name. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Hey sis, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds and share it with a friend? Also, please leave a quick review for the show on Apple Podcasts.

It lights me up to know this podcast is helping you. Okay, it's time to go make a protein shake and get my sweat on. No more standing in the kitchen waiting for motivation to appear.

I will meet you back here for another episode. God bless.