HOW TO HANDLE EMOTIONAL EATING

Use the rule of halves

Melvin believes no food should be forbidden, and giving yourself permission to eat anything you love is the key to having a healthy and happy relationship with food. She says one of the best ways to get back on track is to halve everything, especially sweet treats. “Start by having half a portion of absolutely everything: half a portion of cheese, half a slice of Christmas cake and so on,” she says. “Remember, you can always go back for more should you feel hungry, but you must stop when you’re full.” The reason why going halves is so effective? “The flavour and satisfaction is in the first few bites, so thinking this way, you can indulge without guilt rearing its ugly head. More importantly, you’re changing your habits around food, learning to self-moderate and recondition your mind not to finish a portion unless you’re genuinely hungry for it. This is the key to food freedom.”

Rethink the hunger scale

You’ve heard of the hunger scale, right? But have you been using it correctly? Contrary to popular belief, the trick isn’t to start eating when you’re at one or two (ravenous) and to stop at nine or 10 (fit to burst). “Many women can’t tell when they’re truly hungry nowadays,” says Melvin. “The hunger scale is the most vital tool for having a healthier relationship with food and your weight. The trick is to start eating when you’re at three and four (slightly hungry) and stop eating when you’re at around six (pleasantly satisfied). As soon as you feel that satisfaction, stop eating. Remember that food is only pleasurable, only satisfying, when you are genuinely hungry,” she says. “Indulging is different to bingeing. Indulging means eating the food you love and stopping when you’re satisfied.”

Upgrade your emo-hunger detector

Stressed about seeing the in-laws? That deserves another chocolate. Overeating is often more to do with distracting yourself from your emotions than willpower. Emotional hunger can’t be satisfied with food, which is why you can eat and eat without ever feeling content. So, how do you know if it’s your mind or your stomach that’s hungry? Melvin says an emo-eating attack normally hits suddenly (there’s no stomach grumbles) and you crave one specific food. True hunger is gradual and doesn’t make you a picky eater. So, listen to your stomach, not your urges, and find a healthier outlet for your emotions, such as a stress-reducing walk around the block.

Have a thought stopping mantra

Melvin suggests that every time you’re about to put food in your mouth, you should ask yourself, ‘Am I hungry? Where am I on the hunger scale? What am I hungry for?’ If you’re still struggling to keep your urges in check, have a mantra on standby, for instance, ‘I don’t eat when I’m not hungry’ or ‘I don’t eat mince pies because I don’t even like them’. You’ll be surprised at how effective repeating these phrases can be. Thought stopping is a decision not to respond to the pull of food for the wrong reasons. The more time you spend thinking about what to do in the face of an emotional urge, the greater your chances of not giving in to it.

Tip the balance

Woken up with a food hangover from hell? There is no scenario in which you should beat yourself up for overeating during a meal, but Melvin says it can also be useful to compensate by eating less the following day. “It might sound like a contradiction, but this approach will help the fixation of foods being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ by automatically viewing your eating habits from a position of balance,” she says. And, let’s have a hands up here, who doesn’t want to have their cake and eat it?