THINK BEFORE YOU SNACK

IF YOU WERE A REGULAR AT THE FRIDGE WHILE WORKING FROM HOME, YOU COULD HAVE PICKED UP THIS UNHEALTHY HABIT

As we move out of lockdown and towards regaining some normality in our day, there may be a new habit you have picked up while spending time at home.

Increased food intake or emotional eating is said to relate to escapism from self-awareness. It acts as a form of procrastination and avoidance of immediate issues. Whether it’s boredom, feeling upset, or even happiness, dealing with our emotions through eating (if practised long enough) forms into habitual patterns.

Numerous studies have shown the foods test subjects report overeating when stressed are foods they normally avoid for weight-loss or health reasons. Stress not only increases consumption in certain people, but also shifts their food choice from lower fat to higher fat foods.

As we all know, the feel-better factor of eating comfort food only usually lasts for a short amount of time, until guilt, shame, and self-worth creep in. This often amplifies feelings while self-destructive habits continue to form, or we promise ourselves that it will never happen again … until tomorrow.

Enter the rollercoaster ride that leaves us feeling out of control and helpless.

In an effort to overcome or restrict the amount of food eaten, dieting is usually the first port of call. Unfortunately, over time dieting installs a disconnect between our needs and thoughts. Restrained eating requires the silencing of hunger signals — rather than relying on intuition to know when to eat, we follow unrealistic, unsustainable meal plans.

So, what’s the answer? There are many strategies that can help, but everyone has their unique triggers. A great place to start is by distinguishing between emotional eating and true hunger.

REAL HUNGER

Real hunger is generally brought on by a true need for food and gradually develops over time. If you have not eaten a decent meal within the past three hours, then there is a high chance it is true hunger.

True hunger is not immediate — it can wait if need be — but once your stomach is full (remember it takes 20 minutes before our brains register this) you can stop eating.

Food preference is not important. If you feel a need to eat, any food available will usually satisfy and you will not suffer the feelings of guilt.

EMOTIONAL EATING

Emotional eating generally involves a craving for a specific food or group of food, usually high in fat and sugar, such as chocolate, cheese or lollies.

Emotional hunger is usually in response to a trigger such as a feeling — maybe you’re happy, sad, bored, depressed, lonely or confused.

Once you’ve eaten, emotional eating turns into overeating and you continue to eat past comfortably full, usually until all the food is gone. There can be a “time warp” sensation where it feels like things happen suddenly and are out of your control.

You’ll feel guilt or ashamed after.

Another trick to help identify if you’re genuinely hungry is to ask yourself how you rank on a hunger scale between one and 10 — one being totally ravenous, eat the tail off a horse, and 10 being uncomfortably full. I recommend staying within the two to seven range. When we become too hungry, we tend to make rash decisions and overeat without consideration of nutrition value.

Food/feelings diaries are a great tool for keeping in check invisible meals or binges that we may be avoiding dealing with.

By becoming aware of the moment and taking a couple of minutes to remove yourself from a potentially negatively driven situation is an awesome place to start in overcoming overeating, bingeing and emotional eating patterns.