Weight Loss Fourteen: Unconscious Comfort Eating Shirley’s Story

Shirley is frustrated that she can’t seem to lose those extra fifteen pounds. When she thinks about her diet she can’t seem to figure where and how she puts on the offending calories. She tells her friends that she is careful about what she eats. For the most part this is true. But Shirley is a victim of unconscious calorie consumption driven by her need for comfort food. Shirley is a hard working, responsible woman who does her best to do the right thing in life. She considers herself to be spiritual, goes to therapy and sincerely wants to grow. But Shirley is frustrated about something in her life over which she feels she has no control. Every day Shirley drives one hour to and from work. The drive is taxing on her system and tires her out. At the end of a work day she is already fatigued but still must face that hour drive home. So Shirley stops off at the fast food on the corner near her work and gets the biggest sugary soft drink she can buy and drinks it while she makes the drive home. It comforts her, lulls her into a state where she can make the drive without too much stress. She learned that doing this softens the drive so much that she started doing the same on her drive to work. Without realizing it Shirley consumes hundreds of calories a day. To solve this problem Shirley needs to become aware of the habit and find another way to comfort herself on the drives or solve the problem of the long drive.