I think one of the things that often leads to emotional eating is FOMO. Or, The Fear Of Missing Out. The fear of missing out is an emotion that many of us grapple with daily. We face it as we scroll social media, we face it when we receive an invite in the mail, we face it anytime we’re in a group of people. And FOMO for me, always leads to FOMO TEE(Fear of Missing Out Then Emotionally Eating.)

Now, there it’s one thing to have FOMO when you actually have an scheduling conflict. It’s another thing to have FOMO even though deep down, you know, you don’t want to do what everyone else is doing or you’ll feel uncomfortable doing what everyone else is doing. I think we can all think back to times we’ve found ourselves in these situations. Those are the times emotional eating rears its ugly head. We know we don’t want to do something but we feel like we have to, or we’ll miss out and regret it forever (dramatic, but be serious, we’re all internal drama queens and kings)

Ever find yourself housing a bag of chips in a large social setting? Or saying to yourself, “ugh, I can’t stop eating this afternoon,” on days when you have an obligation to attend that night? Exactly my point.

This past weekend both my nieces were baptized together on Long Beach Island where my family has a beach house and a church we adore. It was beautiful! After the church and brunch ended most of the guests came back to the house to get in some beach time. I was fading fast and needed another coffee. And, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve loved the sun and sand less and less. So Spur of the moment a coffee club was formed. Me, my aunt, my cousin and grandmother headed to an adorable coffee shop on the island where we had a lovely afternoon conversing and caffeinating. We later joined the rest of the group for dinner.

As majority of our family and friends soaked in the sun, this small group of 4 chose to soak up a healthy does of JOMO. The Joy Of Missing Out. The Joy that sometimes comes in spur of the moment plans that go against the grain but end up being so wonderful.

It’s not that we didn’t like the people on the beach (it was our closest family and friends!) it’s just that something inside us didn’t want to go at that particular moment. Now this is a very surface example, but this small example is a microcosm of what many of us deal with daily. Our days and weeks are all configured differently which means our obligations and energy levels are in different places. It’s ok to honor that at any given time and actively choose to miss out. The more you do, the happier you’ll be. The happier you are, the less you’ll emotionally eat.

Happy Monday!!