So many
people make plans to eat healthier and lose weight and start off great only to
be derailed by some emotional turmoil that drives them to overeat and end their
efforts.
Why is it that we know what we should be eating but we just are not
doing it?
Weight
Watchers recognizes that it is not just about what you eat, but also learning
why you eat. Melissa Vap Kubicka discusses understanding the
difference between hunger and appetite and how small changes in your habits can
lead to big results.
Identify
if it is physical or emotional hunger.
- Physical
hunger occurs gradually.
- Symptoms
are rumbling in your stomach, irritability, headache, dizziness and
difficulty concentrating. With physical hunger, eating food will
most likely make these symptoms disappear.
- Emotional
hunger comes on suddenly and feels like it needs to be satisfied
instantly. When you attempt to feed emotional hunger, no amount of food
will satisfy that feeling because food is not what you need. More often
than not, people feed emotions with high fat, sugary or salty foods which
can wreak havoc on our diets.
So what do
you do?
Identify your triggers:
- Identify
the feelings that are making you want to eat. Once you're able to
identify your emotional eating triggers, you can plan how best to handle
them when they arise.
Out with
the old, in with then new:
Just
because you have always responded to strong emotions with food does not mean it
has to stay that way. One of the tools we use is reframing. Reframing
helps you stop negative or unwanted behaviors by replacing them with ones that will
support your weight loss efforts. It's like taking a new picture of yourself -- new habits = new you!
- Try
replacing a negative action with a positive action that can equal weight
loss success. For example, when you feel the urge to eat out of
emotional, take a short walk, distract yourself with some household
cleaning or turn on an exercise DVD.
Power up your food choices:
- When
that gnawing feeling is present the best choice would be to fuel your body
with delicious healthy foods. Power up with Power foods these are the
"best for you" foods. They fill you up and help you feel more satisfied.
