A good friend stopped into my office today to chat about food. Specifically, she was having issues about food today in that she had all this good, healthy stuff available but wanted something completely different. It was really bugging her because she wasn’t having a bad day and couldn’t identify anything that was triggering the desire to eat something else.
I’m an excellent person to come and talk to about these things because I so totally, completely, and indisputably “get it”. I know from food triggers. I also know what it’s like to have the desire to eat inappropriately when no triggers exist or if they’re so muffled that I don’t realize that something actually did trigger the reaction.
I also don’t try to fix the problem. Honestly, there isn’t anything to do that can fix it. Sometimes you just have to cowgirl up and ride it out — unless it’s one of those times when you can allow yourself a break and eat what you wanted. Still, it’s nice to have someone around that you can share with, complain to, or just whine with. I’m happy to be there for my friends. God knows they are there always for me.
This same friend and I had a different conversation last week after I complimented her on how her fitness and eating regimes were really paying off. She had on a snug cut tee shirt that really defined her waist and I could definitely see how much she has slimmed through that area. (Let me note that my friend is not obese nor even greatly overweight. She wants to lose about 10-15 pounds.) When I complimented her, she immediately disagreed, which is something that I often do. We talked a lot about how it’s almost a reflex for us to refute the compliment, probably because we don’t see the progress in ourselves the way that others do. We agreed that we’re going to call each other on that habit if we do it again. So, from now on, if someone share a photo or pays a compliment, we’re going to smile and accept it as valid. This is so much healthier than having a knee jerk dismissal of a positive observation.
Weighty Matters 
It is hard to get used to receiving compliments and to learn to accept them. I trained myself to say “Thank you” and over time I (mostly) have been able to believe them. Or at least kind of.
It’s great that your friend has you to talk about eating with and that you have agreed to call each other on the compliment stuff.