At the end of a stressful day if the first thing you do is
open up the junk food cabinet, and start mindlessly munching on something unhealthy,
you’re an emotional eater. We emotionally eat out of habit sometimes without
even realizing we’re doing it. We instinctively respond to stressors by
reaching for the junk food. We’re aware that it’s not rational to be pile in
junk food just because our emotions are all over the place, but it feels like
we can’t stop.
The food and beverage industry start targeting us as kids
with commercials that equate junk food with happiness, adventure, and love –
anything positive. As adults, we mimic the habit of rewarding ourselves with
food whether it’s in response to something positive or negative. When turning
to food for comfort we generally choose high-fat, high sugar junk food which
gives us brief hits of pleasure.
While the release of serotonin may make you feel better for
a short period of time that mild high will quickly fade. If you turned to food
for comfort, the feelings that led you to open the fridge door will still be
there when you shut it. You most likely will actually feel even worse after you
do. It’s a completely vicious cycle that leads to terrible eating habits,
excess fat, and lots and lots of sadness. The following five tips will help you step
away from food when you are emotional.
Figure out what you’re feeling. Determine if your
desire to eat is true hunger or something else. Is your stomach growling? If
not, drill down deeper to identify the trigger (the sight and smell of food can
elicit an emotional response, too). If you name it, you can tame it. If you’re
feeling anxious and tense, just say out loud “My anxiety and my nerves are
powerful.”
Keep
some distance. Another
trick: Don’t identify with the thoughts directly, so you have some distance to
make a good decision. It’s the difference between “I’m angry” versus “I notice
that I’m having angry thoughts.” That way you’re not swept away by what you
normally do when you’re angry. If you can mindfully notice those angry
feelings, you put yourself into that gap where you can notice and choose.
Mind your thoughts. Thinking “I really want a cupcake” might feel like
your free will has been hijacked. But what is a thought, really? It is a fleeting
experience that has no real power over you. A craving is just words or activity in the brain. You’re
imagining how good something will taste. Similarly, if you break down what it
means to be sad or mad or ashamed into component parts, you’ll realize it’s
merely feeling anxious or having your muscles tense up or your breathing speed
up.
Practice putting space between thoughts and
actions. When
you delay cruising by the office snack table in response to a tense run-in with
a co-worker, you give yourself the freedom to make a different choice. But it
takes practice. The next time you feel anxious challenge yourself to see how
long you can embrace the emotion. See if you can welcome it for two minutes.
Try saying “I know what this is and I can handle it,” instead of saying, “A
muffin would make me feel better.”
Take a long, slow inhale. Deep breathing may be one of the most effective
strategies you can adopt to help lessen the intensity of strong emotions. When
you’re anxious, your breath quickens. But breathing into your diaphragm may
reduce levels of tension and stress. It helps take the edge off that negative
feeling, lets you reframe how you’re thinking about it, and helps you get
through that moment without eating.
“If I eat when I’m upset, I will only end up with two problems: The problem that made me upset in the first place, and now the additional problem of feeling bad about myself and my eating. As [you], do I want to have one problem or two problems? (Anonymous) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5 Ways to Stop Emotional Eating and Lose Weight” by
Ultimate Performance
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