#64 How to overcome emotional eating with Fadela Hilali

Today's guest believes that "when we feel good, we do good." And she's got a point! I certainly know what it feels like to grab comfort food when I feel like crap. And then feel even worse off for it... It's a vicious circle right?

So how do you get out of the habit of reaching out for food instead of dealing with your emotions? Especially when you're an entrepreneur and you're under a lot of stress?

Meet Fadela Hilali, the author of "Stuffed: how to feel so good about yourself you won't have room for cake" and the founder of Prayanas: an emotional wellbeing consultancy that specialises in helping people feel better about themselves.

In today’s episode you will learn:

  • Why there’s so much shame around emotional eating

  • How to deal with information overload on what you should and shouldn’t eat

  • Why we get hangry

  • How to get out of the vicious circle of emotional eating

  • Tips to deal with living with a partner who eats differently

What do you think?

I love how Fadela is honest about there being no quick fix for emotional eating but breaks everything down into easy to implement steps. Let me know what clicked for you - what’s the one thing you can start to change tomorrow to help you make better food choices?

 

Don’t have time to listen? Stand Out Snippets:

On emotional eating

I used food both as a punishment and as a comfort throughout the years. It wasn’t ever just one or the other. The lines are very blurred. It’s the same logic as do you exercise to feel good, to feel strong because you love the endorphins, because you love the community or do you exercise to punish yourself because you ate something. [11.59]

 

We’re all hungry for realness. [14:08]

 

On how to get the balance right

 

This isn’t about eradicating any sort of food that’s not deemed super healthy, but I fine tune. [10:00]

 

I think we’ve forgotten how to connect with our bodies... It’s very clear when you eat something that doesn’t sit well with you… Start there, notice how you feel after each meal. [14:51]

 

Stop comparing. What works for me will not work for you. [15:39]

 

On how entrepreneurs can manage their eating habits

It’s about anticipating the challenges you’re going to have… The key is to plan ahead of time - if you have ten minutes, maybe you just want to go for a walk. Maybe you want to have a check in with another friend in the similar situation. [20:42]

 

I’m strict about my self-care but I’m flexible about how I achieve it. [22:24]

 

The first thing to realise is this dynamic you’re in didn’t happen overnight… Just start with very small tweaks - make a deal with yourself, this isn’t going to happen overnight. Introduce very small tweaks - pledge to yourself that every day at lunchtime, you’re going to make an effort to move your body. [27:09]

 

On intuitive eating

You can trust your body to know what it needs and you don’t need to be controlling what you’re eating all the time otherwise you’d go crazy. [33:10]

 

Eat what you want to eat. I often don’t eat the same things as my husband... whatever  it is it doesn’t matter. I look at it like: you like vanilla, I like strawberry - it’s not a big deal. [36:11]
 

SHOW NOTES

  • Website: http://www.prayanas.com

  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/fadelahilali

  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fadela_h/

  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/fadelahilali

  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FadelaWellbeing

  • Stuffed (Book): http://amzn.eu/cK7jhS8

 

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