Eating with emotion

Melissa Flederbach, Fitness chick
Published On: 01/22/2008

Is your mood sabotaging your waistline? Eating to fill a void or in response to an emotion can be classified as emotional eating, this can happen consciously or subconsciously. The Mayo Clinic defines emotional eating as a way to suppress or cope with negative emotions including stress, anger, anxiety, boredom, sadness and loneliness. This can sometimes be a form of binge eating or compulsive eating. Here are some tips to try and avoid emotional eating.
 

First of all, try to identify what is triggering the sudden urge for brownies/pasta/or whatever your comfort food of choice is. To prevent emotional eating it is key to try and understand what emotions are leading you to overeat. Also equally important is to recognize hunger cues. If you find yourself reaching for the bag or chips or carton of ice cream ask you need to ask yourself if you’re really hungry.
 

When the craving for comfort food hits sometimes one of the best things you can do is take a walk. The rationality behind this is that leaving the house for a little bit of exercise can actually help relieve stress and/or make you realize you’re not actually hungry. Another suggestion is to call a friend, or play a game. The point is to take your mind off of wanting to eat so the urge can pass.
 

I know sometimes you just cannot help it, or you just get to the point where you cannot take it anymore. My suggesstion to you is keep on trying and plug it out. The rewards are great and you’ll feel so much better in the end.
 

And one final tip is to get those unhealthy foods out of your house. If you’re an emotional eater then it is very unlikely you will reach for the carrot sticks when you’re stressed or upset. Therefore, if there’s no comfort food in sight you won’t have the option to eat it. Emotional eating can be a hazard to both your waistline and health if it occurs too often. Try to be aware of both your emotions and your hunger level to stay healthy.
 

If you would like to schedule an appointment with a Registered Dietitian for a nutrition consultation here on campus, and you’re a member of the Campus Recreation Center, call 205.934.8224. This will include a nutrition assessment, counseling, and diet instruction planning. For more information on Campus Recreation Wellness Services visit http://studentaffairs.uab.edu/CampusRecreation/wellness.html.

email: melissfl@uab.edu