Guilt: A Three-Part Series Part II: Eating Healthy—Not Emotional Eating

Four years ago when making the decision to move back to the family ranch, I did not in my wildest nightmares anticipate I would be in the state of “un”health I am in today.  In actuality, I anticipated quite the opposite.

But here I am.  Weighing more than I ever have in my life with anthropometric (big word, I know…look it up) measurements larger in areas where they should be smaller and smaller in areas where they should be larger resulting in clothes fitting uncomfortably.  The result…feeling extremely unhealthy and weak.

The partial cause (more on this in a later series)…poor nutrition habits.  The cause (of poor nutrition habits)…a lack of time to plan, shop, and prepare calorically friendly, nutrient dense meals and snacks.  The cause (of lack of time)…not to be discussed here and now and maybe never.

The result…guilt and frustration.

Fortunately, I did have a realization.  I told my husband I didn’t think some people mind being in the same situation I am in (not having time to prepare healthy meals and snacks) because they don’t think they are eating unhealthily or don’t mind if they are.  Good, bad, or indifferent, this helped me to feel there is not something wrong with me (a common challenge in my life…oh how I wish I had my teenage and young adult arrogance back at times).

I speak of weight, size, and health in relation to nutrition rather than physical activity (to be discussed in next week’s blog post), because contrary to popular belief, weight management is more strongly related to nutrition than physical activity.  See December 7, 2020 Monday Meme on my social media pages.

To be clear, I am not talking about an issue of emotional eating.  I am talking about guilt and frustration resulting from the aforementioned causes.  If someone is challenged with emotional eating, I encourage them to look into intuitive eating.

For me, I’ve identified one potential solution that hasn’t come to fruition yet…hiring someone to help with preparing meals I have planned and shopped for.  I’m in search of other potential solutions and welcome any creative solutions that have worked for others in my situation.