I'm Not a Fan of the F-word, But I Said It To Myself (then took it back).

Ever feel as puffy as this guy? That's a fat day.

I’m not talking about that F-word, but one that is perhaps more damaging…FAT! A few days ago I had what I deemed a “Fat Attack!” It might sound silly, but I think it’s a pretty common occurrence. I haven’t had one in a while, so this is why it took me a little by surprise. I just felt…”fat.” My jeans were tight, I felt bloated, I convinced myself my arms were flabbier than the day before, I had an unsightly zit. Ugh…it wasn’t pretty.

As soon as I heard myself say all of this, I luckily had a counter-thought to myself, “Fat isn’t a feeling, dude,” which is a helpful idea that a few books on the subject of overeating and body stuff talk about. Again, just like food is often not the real issue at hand with overeating, when feeling badly about your body, it’s usually not your actual body that is the issue. I took the feelings as a red flag to observe a little more into what was actually going on. Some of the things that after I paused and took a breath, I realized were going on: I was under-slept, I had been out of town and hadn’t been able to exercise, it was absolutely freezing out, I had a weekend coming up that didn’t involve any time to myself or just relaxing, AND some other personal things that aren’t really all that interesting.

So yeah. I sat myself down and I knew I had to get myself out of this…and while it took about a half a day, I managed to pull through with minimal damage. I did eat a few more chocolate covered raisins that my roommate had out on the counter than I would have liked, but I put those away, took a shower and read some blogs that I like.

In the past, when feeling this way, I might have continued down a black and white spiral that included eating more I need or want and feeling guilty and even more terrible, with the possibility of a multiple-day “Fat Attack.”

It has taken me a while to be able to not freak out and be self-destructive when some of these types of feelings hit, but I have learned to be patient and figure out some things to calm myself down and re-frame my beliefs and attitudes. Plus, being able to recognize the feeling or situation (because fat isn’t a feeling), acknowledging that this is what’s going on, pausing to assess what might actually be going on, and then doing something to redirect all of the negative talk and energy, can be hugely helpful. Oh yeah, and I’ve found that just plain breathing is good too!

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Any things that help you deal with it? (Hey, I might be able to manage it now, but I could always use some other ideas!) -Morgan

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[photo 1, photo 2]