On the Coast – Families Issue 102 I October/November 2019 | Page 35
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.
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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 meditation
Taking up a yoga class
Speaking to a trained professional
such as a counsellor or psychologist
Learning to say no
Prioritising your sleep
Scheduling in daily exercise
Reading a book
Catching up with a friend weekly
Getting a monthly massage
Practicing 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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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER – ISSUE 102
35