4 minute read
Managing emotional eating
BY NICOLE SALIBA
If you’ve turned to food when you were stressed, bored, anxious or upset even if you weren’t hungry, you are most definitely not alone.
Emotional eating or comfort eating is a common human instinct and a behaviour we learn from a young age.
Just think back to visiting the doctor’s office and receiving a lolly for getting your childhood needles. We also know from experience that it actually works. Emotional eating can help to soothe emotional distress at a chemical level in the body.
So what exactly is emotional eating? Emotional eating is defined as the practice of consuming food, usually ‘comfort’ foods, in response to difficult feelings such as stress or sadness even when not experiencing physical hunger. If you are someone who emotionally eats from time to time, this is very much normal and nothing to worry about. If you however constantly find yourself in a viscous cycle of emotional eating then it can become more of an issue. Food for some people is consistently used as a way of dealing with negative, stressful or difficult emotions, which often leads to overeating followed by feelings of guilt and poor self-worth.
Here are some tips to help manage emotional eating. Learn your eating triggers We all have different triggers when it comes to emotional eating. Knowing the situations and feeling that trigger your desire to eat when you’re not hungry is an important step in overcoming emotional eating.
Keeping a food and mood diary can be a great way of identifying your triggers. Write down what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, how you are feeling and how hungry or full you are at the time. Complete this for seven days and then review your diary to identify any patterns, including particular situations that cause you to overeat, or any ‘danger’ times in your day or week.
Learn to soothe yourself without food Emotionally eating from time to time is normal and not unhealthy. However, it is important to find alternative ways to soothe our emotions. Explore what makes you feel better when you’re upset aside from food and try your best to turn to these feel-good activities instead. This may include have a warm bath, reading a good book, watching a trashy movie, getting a pedicure or meeting a friend for coffee. It can be anything that you find enjoyable and relaxing. If there’s a particular time of the day where you find yourself stress or boredom eating then plan an alternative activity to fill that gap such as going to the gym or meeting a friend for a walk. Prioritise your rest Not getting enough rest and sleep can affect our ability to regulate our emotions as well as elevate negative emotions such as stress. Feeling tired can also cause you to turn to food to improve your energy levels, and reduce your resolve to eat well. Research has shown that lack of sleep can increase our hormones that signal hunger and reduce levels of the hormones which tell our brain we are full. This may in turn contribute to emotional eating and overeating. Adults need between 7-9 hours of good quality sleep each night, however many people do not achieve this.
Don’t beat yourself up Feeling guilty about something doesn't help with working through it. In fact, it usually makes things worse. If you do happen to emotionally eat it’s important not to beat yourself up about it and to remember that its something we all experience from time to time! Instead of belittling yourself when it happens, take a step back, reflect and try to learn from the experience. What triggered
you? How could you deal with your emotions in a different way? How could you prevent it happening again? Then push it out of your mind!
Learn to manage stress If you know that stress is a major trigger for your emotional eating explore alternative ways to manage your stress. Schedule in some regular self-care time into your weekly routine. This may include: Doing a daily medita tion Taking up a yoga class Speaking to a tr ained professional such as a counsellor or psychologist Learning to say no Prioritising y our sleep Scheduling in daily e xercise Reading a b ook C atching up with a friend weekly G etting a monthly massage Pr acticing gratitude Shifting your mindset from ‘I have to’ to ‘ I get to’
Nicole is a passionate sports nutritionist and Accredited Practising Dietitian who established her practice Eatsense in 2013 as she has a burning desire to help people, see them happy and watch them thrive. Her vision is to help as many people learn to prioritise themselves, feel their best, enjoy delicious and nourishing food and live a healthy, happy and fulfilling life through her one on one consultations and seminars. Contact Nicole at her West Gosford Clinic on 4323 9100.
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