It’s been two days since I’ve gotten on the scale. The reason? Guilty pleasures! Ahhh! We all have them, and the last two days I’ve given in to a guilty pleasure of mine… cookies! Okay, they’re not just any old cookie, they’re the super-soft sugar cookies with frosting AND sprinkles on top. What’s not to like? My husband and I were at Sam’s Club over the weekend and they had a massive package of the cookies for a great price, and because they’re my husbands favorite cookie too, we couldn’t pass them up.

Now the problem, as mentioned, is that it was a massive package. Usually they come in packages of 10 and between Ryan and I, we each eat five over a couple of days. This time however, it was a package of 32! Now the smart thing to do would have been to just indulge with one cookie each day, however I didn’t. Nope, I ate 4 cookies each day for the last 4 days! At 190 calories a cookie, I knew I wasn’t going to like the number I saw on the scale.

Cookies are gone (yay!) and now it’s time to get back on the scale. We all have our guilty pleasures which are okay to indulge in once in a while. The other important thing to remember is to not go overboard. Always eat your favorite pleasure in moderation, unlike what I did. Even though I’ve had 4 days of not so healthy eating, I’m not going to let it get me down. Tomorrow is a new day, and I’ll get right back on track.

If guilty pleasures are keeping you from getting on the scale, decide now that tomorrow is a new day and you can start fresh by getting on the scale, and focusing on eating right and exercising. It’s easier said than done, but you’ll be proud of yourself when you manage to get your focus back to where it should be.

I am one of those that tends to be an emotional eater. This emotional eating comes from any variety of emotions; happy, sad, anxious, bored, lonely, etc. And usually, the foods that I eat are considered comfort foods that aren’t so healthy. There’s definitely a connection between mood and food. For example, when you’re down and depressed, food can be a way to distract yourself from thinking about your problems. Another connection comes from certain foods like chocolate, which release small amounts of mood and satisfaction elevating opiates.

The Mayo Clinic has put together a very helpful list of ways that you can regain control of your eating habits so that you’re able to stop your emotional eating. They’re all easier said than done, but with work and effort, would be possible.

1. Learn to recognize true hunger: Is your stomach rumblin’ and grumblin’? If not, you’re probably really not hungry.
2. Know your triggers: The important thing here is to recognize you eating patterns so that you can avoid negative ones.
3. Look elsewhere for comfort: Instead of eating those comfort foods, take a walk, listen to music, exercise, call a friend.
4. Don’t keep unhealthy food around: Simply put… keep the junk at the store! This is much easier said than done. But, it’s true. If unhealthy foods are around, you’ll likely go for them when you’re stressed.
5. Snack healthy: Find healthy snack options that also satisfy you so that you won’t be craving potato chips and ice cream. One of my favorite snacks is veggies and dip with a fat-free dip, or apples with a little bit of low-fat peanut-putter for some protein.
6. Eat a balanced diet: This is important. If you’re eating a balanced diet and getting enough calories, chances are that you’ll feel fuller for a longer period of time.
7. Exercise regularly and get adequate rest: I think getting adequate rest is something that a lot of us have a hard time with. We have to be doing 50 different things in 50 different places which makes it difficult to adequate time for rest.

Like I said, all of those things are so much easier said than done. It might be best to focus on just one or two of those components instead of trying to do them all at once. One of the things that I have learned to do best is to recognize true hunger. When I stopped to think about what I was eating and when, there were many times throughout my week that I ate simply because I was bored. Emotional eating can really take you off track when you’re trying to lose weight, but using the suggestions above will help you to meet your weight loss goals, and change your lifestyle.

Source: Mayo Clinic [Via Yahoo Health!]