Robin Rae Morris - Goodbye Comfort Food: How to Free Yourself from Overeating

My clients with food issues are laughing and relating to this book in a way that brings them hope and supportive tools to use every day.

Wendi Carter , LCSW, Counselor and Life Coach

Robins insights are like the combination of your best friend, confidant, expert and equal.

Dr. Deborah Walters , author of The Supreme Remedy , www.deborahshealingarts.com

This book has given me hope after years of struggle.

Linda , client

How to
FREE
YOURSELF
From
Overeating

ROBIN RAE MORRIS

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

GOODBYE COMFORT FOOD

How to FREE YOURSELF From Overeating

2019 ROBIN RAE MORRIS

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing in partnership with Difference Press. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

ISBN 978-1-64279-280-5 paperback

ISBN 978-1-64279-281-2 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911228

Cover Design by:

Rachel Lopez

www.r2cdesign.com

Interior Design by:

Bonnie Bushman

The Whole Caboodle Graphic Design

In an effort to support local communities, raise awareness and funds, Morgan James Publishing donates a percentage of all book sales for the life of each book to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg.

Get involved today! Visit
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For Nancy B. Jacobs,
who taught me about being shape-able.

T hey dont call it comfort food for nothin! Lets talk about what they are. Cmon, you know your mouth is already watering. Your mind is planning for when youll eat them. You can feel it so close, so lets name names!

In no particular order, our cast of characters includes, but is not limited to:

• Fried chicken
• Teriyaki chicken
• Chicken alfredo
• Pasta with meatballs
• Pasta with tofu
• Pasta with parmesan
• Pizza with parmesan
• Brie, cheddar, or goat cheese on bread
• Sourdough bread, 14-grain bread, or cinnamon raisin English muffins
• Blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies, carrot cakes, and lemon pies
• Bacon and eggs. Bacon and everything.
• Fruit

Fruit. No. Just kidding. I once had a therapist tell me If you have to eat for comfort, try eating fruit. I thought, You just dont get it.

And now I realize how much she didnt get it. Not only have I never met a single comfort food eater who wants to soothe with sliced fruit, the physiology isnt there.

Our go-to comfort foods of choice are brilliant. They are the foods that will dampen our physiology so that we literally feel less emotion and stress. Additionally, since most of our comfort food choices involve sugars and carbohydrates, our brains will begin to crave even more of them, which keeps us trapped in a comfort-food feedback loop that becomes progressively harder to break.

Then theres the marketing that surrounds us. A recent advertising poster outside of the local Starbucks featured a photo of a whipped cream topped caramel coffee drink below which was written, Made to Crave. Like thats a good thing. Well, maybe it is for Starbucks. Yet my point is that as if it werent difficult enough to break a comfort food, emotional eating cycle, everywhere we look, were encouraged to reward ourselves with foods that increase the very cravings were trying to overcome. Cmon, you deserve a break today. And you do, you deserve the opportunity to break away from foods and habits that momentarily sweeten your life, yet ultimately steal your soul, well-being, energy, and positive sense of self.

Speaking of giving yourself a break, before you go any further in this book, the first thing Id like you to do is to congratulate yourself for choosing comfort food. Its a brilliant way to deal with the world: simple, effective, and efficient; a dependable problem with a dependable response and dependable outcome.

Something up? Something uncertain? Grab a two-foot submarine sandwich and down that puppy in one sitting. Go ahead. No ones judging. Ok. You might be judging yourself, but not in that moment, because in that moment, there is the experience of yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum in every quickly inhaled bite.

Yes, we love comfort food. And we long for a way out of this mess. There is a way out of turning to food when life throws you a curveball, your boss expects overtime, your kids are a mess, and your life feels unmanageable.

There is also the possibility that, once a comfort food woman, the desire (whether quietly nudging you or urgently screaming at you) to turn to your favorite comfort food in times of trouble and turmoil will never completely go away.

What will change, I promise you and I know you dont and shouldnt believe me yet, is that no amount of comfort food will ever be worth your peace of mind, clarity of thoughts, and ease of taking fruitful action. (Which I guess is where the fruit actually comes in.)

H elen has had a hard day at the office. Despite a recent promotion that originally left her elated, she is now overwhelmed at no longer being part of the team, but instead giving her first performance reviews to people who used to be her co-workers and pals.

Her first performance review required putting a pal on a performance plan. It was a tense meeting. It ended in polite and politically correct statements addressed to one another. At the end of the meeting, Helen thought, We used to share with one another. Now, were speaking corporate speakthe kind of language we used to make fun of! Helen felt the pang of lost connection.

Helen returned home, put on her PJs, skipped dinner, pulled out a pint of Ben and Jerrys Chocolate Therapy ice cream and a package of Walkers shortbread cookies shaped like adorable Scottish Terrier dogs, and cuddled up in a blanket on the couch. Netflix, and comfort food, take her away!

She simultaneously watched the newest installment of This Is Us , while the ice cream melted away her cares. The smooth, buttery cookies added just a bit of crunch. The creamy goodness and buttery crunch became one with the emotional catharsis of people living an intense TV life. Suddenly, Helen was in heaven.

She polished off another pint of ice cream, the entire package of cookies, and three more episodes before falling into bed in a kind of sluggish, tired coma.

Helen wakes the next morning with a surging sense of dread. She is going to have to go into work and do a second performance review. The terror about that has no immediate buffer, and since she overslept and is still feeling stuffed from the previous evening, there is no room, nor time, for food to comfort her now. She tries on three outfits before she finds one that semi-fits.