Emotional Eating and How To Fix It
Ever wonder why you can't lose fat or change your body composition even though you really, really want to? Ever wonder why just eating that whole pint of ice cream/bag of chips/10 cookies/3 beers makes you feel momentarily awesome even though you know you will feel horrible in about 5 minutes?
The results of a national survey about weight loss barriers finds 90 percent of respondents discounted one of the most important factors -- your mind. A neuropsychologist says the most crucial factor is your psychological relationship with food and exercise, yet the majority (60 percent) listed diet and exercise to be the biggest barriers of weight loss, and only 10 percent of people thought psychological well being was the biggest barrier to weight loss.
Another recent national survey of more than a thousand people commissioned by Orlando Health found that 31 percent of Americans think a lack of exercise is the biggest barrier to weight loss, followed by those who say it's what you eat (26%) and the cost of a healthy lifestyle (17%). Another 12 percent said the biggest barrier to weight loss was the necessary time commitment. (Although I'll save this topic for another blog, check out how more people thought lack of exercise was more of a barrier than what you eat.... It is sooooo the other way around!!!)
Only 1 in 10, however, thought psychological well-being was a factor. "That may explain why so many of us struggle," says Diane Robinson, PhD, a neuropsychologist and Program Director of Integrative Medicine at Orlando Health. "In order to lose weight and keep it off long term, we need to do more than just think about what we eat, we also need to understand why we're eating."
Creating an awareness in ourselves and coming to grips with the fact that our emotions and mind are a huge barrier to the body composition and health we desire, is the first step in helping ourselves create a healthy body that is lasting.
"From a very young age we're emotionally attached to food. As children we're often given treats, both to console us when we're upset, and to reward us for good behavior. Most celebrations, like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day are food-focused, and birthdays are spent sharing cake. Even the mere smell of certain foods, like cookies in grandma's oven, can create powerful emotional connections that last a lifetime," explains Robinson.
"If we're aware of it or not, we are conditioned to use food not only for nourishment, but for comfort," said Robinson. "That's not a bad thing, necessarily, as long as we acknowledge it and deal with it appropriately."
Whenever the brain experiences pleasure for any reason it reacts the same way. Whether it's derived from drugs, a romantic encounter or a satisfying meal, the brain releases a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. "We feel good whenever that process is activated," said Robinson, "but when we start to put food into that equation and it becomes our reward, it can have negative consequences."
In fact, researchers have found a link between emotional issues like stress, anxiety and depression, and higher body fat percentages. Many of us can relate to the idea of overindulging at happy hour after a bad day at the office, for example, or eating a pint of ice cream to help us deal with bad news.
If you think you might struggle with emotional eating, (most of us do), try this:
1. Recognize the emotional attachment you have with food.
2. Keep a daily food and mood diary or log and look for unhealthy patterns.
3. Identify foods that you love to eat and why you love them. Do they make you feel good? Do they bring up a memory? Do they help alleviate stress?
4. Before you eat anything ask yourself if you are eating it because you are hungry. If not, look for the root reason why you are reaching for food. Stressed? Bored? Want to celebrate? What is it?
5. Practice mindful eating at least once a day. (This has been my saving grace for emotional eating). If you don't know what mindful eating is, check out this link:
http://www.livingwell.org.au/mindfulness-exercises-3/3-eating-mindfulness/
6. Pray/say grace/say thank you (doesn't have to be religious) before you eat (whether you're at the dinner table, in your car, at your desk). This slows you down, creates a space for more mindful eating, and, in turn, creates a healthier you.
Awareness and a little mindfulness can go a long way in helping you solve emotional eating!