Two years ago, I injured my wrist. 2018 was a painful year, trying to figure out how I was going to keep going with weightlifting. I kept training, trying to find ways around my injury. We tried everything, for taking a break with overhead movements and doing nothing but squats, to scaling my numbers back, to making sure that rehab days are actually programmed in. My wrist was slowly starting to get better, but the fact of the matter is I started compensating somewhere else.
2019 I started feeling like my old weightlifter self again, the pre-injury Natalie. Sure, there were times when the wrist would bother me, but I kept pushing, I kept compensating. My left shoulder had started to take the brunt of impact, as I kept trying to protect my wrist while pushing my numbers.
Why am I sharing this? I’m getting to that.
I am open about being an emotional eater. I turn to food to make me feel better, but then the guilt will set in, and I would scrap my entire ‘plan’ with my nutrition and food and start over. This is a cycle that is common to a lot of people.
Today’s training session was lackluster, and my shoulder started to bother me. I was frustrated because we had decided to change certain things, and while it feels better, it doesn’t seem like it is clicking as fast as I would like. I left training incredibly frustrated, disappointed, and wanting to binge eat.
Thankfully, I had somewhere to be. I had to walk one of my clients (I walk dogs on the side). On my way to my client’s house, I passed several food places. I had to think long and hard. ‘Do I want food because I am ACTUALLY hungry?’ or ‘Do I want food because I’m upset?’ I decided that since I was already running a little bit behind, that I was not going to stop and go through the drive-thru. I told myself that there is food at home, and that since I still have to finish training this afternoon, I should eat that instead.
Let me tell you – making that decision made me feel incredibly powerful and proud! I was NOT hungry. I was upset. Eating something to ‘soothe’ my emotions, would have just left me feeling sluggish, slow, and crappy for this afternoon’s training session.
Am I still a little upset about this morning’s training? Of course I am, but I am incredibly proud of myself for recognizing my reason to have wanted to eat, and to eat something was only going to derail this afternoon’s session.
It is absolutely important to understand your relationship with food. There are and, in the future, there will be times where I will turn to food for comfort. This is a setback, but it is not a reason to quit. There is always a choice that is just a little bit better. Regular check-ins and being honest with yourself is not just healthy for your body, but it is also healthy for you mentally.
Sometimes the biggest obstacle in our way is ourselves and our way of thinking. Change isn’t easy and you have to want it for yourself. You also have to be BRUTALLY honest with yourself. You will always have people around you to help, but it all has to start from you.
What do you do to soothe your emotional outbursts? If it’s turning to or away from food, contact me now and let’s talk.
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