Ending Emotional Emptiness

As the title of this post suggests, my goal here is to offer some thoughts on how emptiness leads to emotional eating and how to possibly end it! Please share your tips too! I am personally guilty of eating when I feel “empty”, so here is a short exercise from Dr. Gould’s “Shrinking Yourself” that may be able to help anyone who eats simply because they feel empty.

First of all, fill in the blank, “I feel empty when ________.”

1. I am filled with self-doubts/I feel judged/I don’t feel good enough about myself
2. I’m lonely/I feel unsatisfied in my relationships/My needs aren’t being met/I’m overwhelmed by life/I’m not involved in something I’m passionate about
3. I’m anxious/I’m scared to try something new/I have conflicts with my family
4. I feel misunderstood/I feel alienated/I feel unimportant
5. I am in a moment where life doesn’t make sense/I’m with people I love but I don’t feel like I fit in/I’m going through a big change in life

Now that you’re aware that you can actually put a label on your emptiness, you can work on finding ways that fill you up! For example, fill in the blank again, “I feel full when ______________.”

• I’m in love
• I get a good report at work/school
• I feel like my life is on track
• I feel connected to God
• I’m passionately engaged in something
• I’m connecting with someone
• I’m taking care of myself/I’m taking care of others or engaged in service

Here’s an exercise: Make your OWN list of specific situations (the more detailed the better), so you can refer to it at times when you feel overwhelmed with a feeling of emptiness. Strive to do what makes YOU feel emotionally “full”!

With that being said, I’m returning my book to the library today! Thanks Dr. Gould!

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Lazy Brains

My default breakfast is definitely pumpkin oats!

Here you have 1/3 cup oat bran microwaved with water, big scoop of pumpkin, raspberry yogurt, 1/2 a banana, lots of exciting cereals (like puffins, frosted mini-wheat’s, blueberry special K) and a splash of skim milk on top. PHEW that was long.

Not long after, I really really wanted to try the Apple Pie Larabar, and low and behold, I had some for a snack. As much as I wanted to FALL IN LOVE with this, I just didn’t because I kept comparing it to fresh warm apple pie. It is definitely much more healthy much more nutty than an apple pie though…I can imagine it microwaved…it could be quite the treat with a scoop of ice-cream. muahhaa

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Illinois’s Beeeegest Whole Foods!

Did you know that Illinois opened up a ginormous WF that has a food court with 5 hot bar tables, over 10 food stations (including a sushi bar, a gelato counter, a Southern food station, a sub station, a Chinese food stations, and a Diner station???)

Jeesh, I had SO much to choose from I ended up settling with a pulled chicken sandwich, that I regret getting because the bun was dry and everything was cold. 😦

Luckily, the salad I got to split with the boyfriend was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I love mine with a hodge podge of EVERYTHING.

There was teriyaki tofu, grilled asparagus, marinated mushrooms, sweet potatoes, edemame, cranberry curry couscous, stir-fry broccoli, terriyaki chicken, marinated beets….ok you get the point.

This is what a $15 salad looks like close-up. Enjoy! (I remember thinking to myself what a waste of money this was at the check out. hahahah). Then we were off to Costco to work up an appetite for a mid-afternoon snack at…

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Yogen Fruz Finally!

Thanks to the recommendation of family and friends, and more friends (Mara!), I found the Yogen Fruz downtown! First of all, we went to Yogen Fruz in the loop on a Saturday at 4pm…they ran out of just about EVERYTHNG I requested (Pom seeds, mochi, and chocolate base), but the guy making the fro-yo was so nice (he gave me some coupons!) and yogen fruz is tasty!!

If you’re not familiar with Yogen Fruz, this fro-yo store differs from its competitors in that they literally blend whatever frozen fruits you choose from their freezer into either a vanilla (low-fat, non-fat, or no sugar & no fat) or chocolate frozen yogurt base (which is shaped like a rectangular block).

My froyo combo: Low-fat (original) vanilla fro-yo with green tea, topped with blueberries
Flavor: It had the perfect amount of green tea flavor, but if you like it stronger or less, you can kindly request for it! This is right in between being classified as “sweet” or “sour”
Texture: It is right in between Red Mango’s uber creaminess and Berry Chills iciness, so I would call it…smooth and a half-step away from “creamy”.

Nick’s combo: Low-fat vanilla with mango’s (blended in)
Flavor: The mango’s provided a natural tartness to the yogurt, which was already a tiny bit tart on its own. If this is possible, the flavor was like a sweet and sour mango ice-cream. Very fruity and refreshing!

Nutrition stats (Low-fat vanilla block itself w/o add ins): 120 calories, 2g fat

RATINGS:
Flavor: 3.75/5 (it was GOOD, but I have trouble loving it more than Red Mango’s creaminess)
Value: 4/5 (The cheapest customizable fro-yo you can get in all of Chicago!! Yay!!)
Presentation: 3.5/5 (The mixing of the ingredients leaves the fro-yo slightly less refined, but the cups are adorable!)

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Cantonese Barbecue Dinner

After our Yogen’s, we made our way to Chinatown to buy some taro bubble tea for the bf and Cantonese barbecue meats to bring home for dinner! Let me share with you two traditional Cantonese roasted meats that we eat over rice! SO GOOD!!!

On the left, you have BBQ pork glazed with honey, and the right is half a soy sauce chicken. The bf and I enjoyed these two proteins with a bowl of rice each and some stir-fried spinach & bean sprouts (not pictured) that Nick made.

Haagen Dazs FIVE

A couple weeks ago, I participated in a Haagen Dazs Conference Call and offered some suggestions for their new line of ice-creams, so I got to test out their new line of ice-creams made of only 5 ingredients! Of course I got coffee to try for dessert!

5 Ingredients: Skim Milk, Cream, Sugar, Egg Yolks, Coffee

Stats per 1/2 cup: 220 Calories, 12g fat, 23g carbs, 21g sugars, 5g protein

Thoughts: OH my gosh I couldn’t believe there were only 5 ingredients. It tastes SO GOOD, slightly bitter, not too sweet, rich and creamy…all the premium quality textures and flavors you’d expect from Haagen-Dazs. Unfortunately, it retains all the fat and calories you would expect. BOO. 😦 At least it’s more natural right?

They also come in other flavors…Not sure what I wanna try next, but here’s what you get to chose from: Brown Sugar, Passion Fruit, Ginger, Mint, Vanilla Bean, Milk Chocolate.

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Phew, sorry for the MIA as life has taken a dangerous spin for the HECTIC!!!! I shall be back on course with commenting. 😉 Sometimes, I really think I enjoy reading your blogs more than writing my own. Does that mean I’m a bad blogger? heheheh

Just for Fun!, Product Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Apple Pie Larabar, BBQ Pork, Book review, Cantonese Roast Meats, Chinatown, Emotional Eating, Haagen Dazs Five, Larabar, Products, Pulled Chicken, Pumpkin Oats, Reviews, Salad, Shrink Yourself, Whole Foods, Yogen Fruz

June 2, 2009

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