Below is an interview I had with a local fellow fitness trainer and mom. When I first met her, the first thing I noticed was her enviable toned figure, radiant hair and skin, and a smile like sunshine. By the looks of it, you could never tell that Shannan ever struggled with emotional/compulsive eating. When she opened up to me first about what she struggled with (emotional eating), I knew it was something I wanted to share with my own clients and friends.
Remember, eating disorders aren’t always as black and white as having anorexia or bulimia. According to an article in the World of Psychology, currently 80 percent of women in the U.S. are dissatisfied with their appearance. And more than 10 million are suffering from eating disorders. And even while “normal” eaters experience occasional emotional eating episodes (e.g., Thanksgiving when we all stuff ourselves because it’s tradition, releiving stress with a bottle of champagne, or rewarding your hard work with a slice of pie), a normal eater thinks nothing more of the event. On the other hand, a truly emotional eater will feel a whole host of emotions tied to their eating experiences, and uses food to feed a feeling, rather than physical hunger.
In Shannan’s story, emotional eating led her to gain 30 lbs. However, through the steps she took to address her emotional eating, she was able to lose the 30 lbs and has kept it off for 3 years now. You can see her before and after pictures on her website, listed below.