5 Tips for Breaking the Breakup Binge Habit

It would seem that the hardest time to control ourselves around food is when we’re in the middle of a breakup. Does that sound about right? Your boyfriend dumps you (or maybe you dump him) and you’re wallowing around in your misery. Every song on the radio reminds you of some moment in time that you spent together. Walking around your apartment you practically hear his footsteps behind you. It’s a difficult time, for sure.

If you’re like most women I know, this is a time when you call in your back-ups: Best friends and Ben & Jerry’s. I don’t blame you. I’ve been known to call chocolate “magical”, in that I believe it can heal wounds. Before you know it, the doorbell rings and your best buds are there with pints of ice cream and spoons to go around.

This is a really familiar story for lots of us. In fact, it’s a common scenario in just about every chick flick known to mankind. We can all relate. Here’s the thing, though: When you’re going through a breakup, it’s time more tha
EVER to be kind to yourself, to treat yourself well. Breakups can leave us vulnerable and emotionally distraught. That’s ok. That’s totally fine. We just need to make sure that we’re taking time for ourselves and really taking care of ourselves.

Are we taking care of ourselves by stuffing our emotions with cream, sugar, and flavoring? Are we honoring our feelings by washing them down with margaritas?

My top 5 tips for breaking through the breakup blues:

1. Work through the grieving process. Acknowledge your emotions and allow yourself to feel them. They’re ok. YOU’RE ok! Cry, get angry, talk to a friend. Eating through emotions is just stuffing them down, putting them off until later. Why not address them now?

2. Get some support. Enlist the help of your friends to keep you focused on moving forward.

3. Take some time for yourself. Take a trip to a spa, relax in a bubble bath, whatever floats your boat.

4. Read the book “Getting Past Your Breakup”. This book is the bomb-diggity in helping you to learn the lessons your relationship was teaching you and has kick-ass tools for helping you to move forward.

5. Find a new focus. Relationships take a lot of time, energy, and effort, right? Now that you’re not in one anymore, you’ve got that time, energy, and effort freed up to do other things. So, what would you like to do? This is a great time to take up a new hobby or learn something new. (And who knows? Maybe you’ll meet Mr. Right at this new activity!)

What’s been your experience in moving past a breakup? Any tips or inspiration you can share?