I ate like a pig.
Now I feel like a whale.
Or maybe a hippo,
or an elephant or a blubbery walrus.
I am a disgusting, worthless big fat ugly cow…
A “food hangover” is a very real
physical feeling:
Your belly is bloated and your clothes feel
uncomfortably tight around the waist.
Maybe you are also gassy, or have nausea or cramps.
You might have other body sensations
such as headaches or joint pain.
You feel dull and sluggish and just plain irritable!
It doesn’t matter whether you
simply ate too fast,
or you have trouble digesting certain foods,
or if you are suffering the consequences
of a binge-eating episode.
Your entire body feels like sh*t.
“Here, baby, have some hot peppermint tea”
is really what you need to hear right now.
Instead, you start right in with the name-calling and I-hate-myself talk!
On top of all the uncomfortable,
maybe even painful, physical feelings,
now you are swimming in a sea of guilt and remorse and self-loathing…
As yucky as your body may be temporarily feeling ,
your negative name-calling just adds fuel to that miserable fire.
But, thankfully, actions speak louder than words!
Take action to feel better in the moment:
1. Stop using emotionally-charged negative language to describe yourself!
2. Do something to relieve the physical feelings of discomfort.
• Try some digestive medicine or herbs.
• Drink soothing warm liquids or take a walk.
• Switch into more comfortable clothes or take a nap.Take action to prevent feeling like this in the future:
1. Stop using emotionally-charged negative language to describe yourself!
2. Look at the facts and literally take notes about cause and effect. Study the notes and remember!
• When I eat this _______, I feel this _________.
• This situation ________ (or this person!) triggered this ______.
• Eating like this ____________ makes my body feel like this __________________.
• Next time this happens, I could do this ___________________ instead.
Shame and blame will never make you feel better!
Be gentle with yourself.
Allow your body to recover and rest.
Live and learn.
The pattern of over-eating, followed by guilt and remorse, can be a very difficult cycle to break.
If you think you may be suffering from binge eating disorder
(or any type of emotional or disordered eating )
please seek professional treatment and support!
PS:
Cows, pigs, whales, hippos, elephants and other large animals
are not defective, misshapen or disgusting.
Each one of these animals has the perfect size, shape and form for it’s place in nature.
And so do you!
Good to hear this right now. Amazing what comes up when you really need it!
Thank you Cheryl for telling me!
Elizabeth:
Thank you from my heart. This post “comes to my rescue”……I am a binge eater. Your art-work and your thought-work lighten my load right now.
I am blessed by you!
……“Here, baby, have some hot peppermint tea.”
Leslie,I am surrounded with family,friends and students who struggle with eating disorders and/or poor body image, and am always on the lookout that I don’t slide back myself.
Thank you for your comment! I am really touched when I know my words/art can help make the journey a bit easier. The holidays are particularly stressful if you have an ED, so please keep your gentle inner angel on alert to remind you that you really are able to make peace with food and your body.
Sympathy and peppermint tea is what we’d give a child that we love, rather than the emotional abuse and guilt we sometimes heap on ourselves. We should treat ourselves equally as well!
so true! we are so much harsher on ourselves than we would ever be to a child. Our inner child needs as much TLC!
Thanks for the reminder to be kind to myself. If berating myself actually worked, I would be thin. History tells me self hate never works. I need to make my changes from within.
Thanks
Yes indeed, if berating yourself really worked, we might all be thinner, richer, younger, smarter, whatever!
This is so fabulous! Thank you so much.
you are welcome Tammy. Thanks for stopping by!
[...] When you have a “food hangover,” try these excellent — and gentle — suggestions. [...]