By Alana Gold, Registered Dietitian

If you overeat when your emotions are running wild, or when you’re feeling stressed or bored, you are not alone. Research shows approximately 75% of overeating is caused by emotional eating, in other words, using food to cope with your feelings. Eating is an easy, yet temporary, emotional crutch. The good feelings created by food are often short-lived, resulting in excess pounds which only add to an existing list of worries, anxieties and stress.

It is important to recognize that many people eat in response to emotional hunger, not physical hunger. Physical hunger is when the stomach sends a signal to the brain telling it that it’s time to eat. Physical signs of hunger can include an emptiness and rumbling in your stomach and lightheadedness. Alternatively, emotional hunger is not accompanied by these physical hunger cues. When you eat to feed your emotions, such as stress, anxiety or boredom, food is being used as a comfort—hence the notion of comfort foods.

Unfortunately, the comfort foods we indulge in during times of stress tend to be unhealthy foods that are high in fat and sugar. Think back to when you were last stressed out: Did you grab a lowfat yogurt or potato chips? Chances are you chose the latter of the two. We may reach for these foods in times of stress because carbohydrate-rich and protein-poor foods allow more tryptophan, a mood-regulating amino acid, to be released into the brain, putting us in calm state of mind. Carbohydrate-rich foods also help the body make serotonin, the brain’s mood-enhancing neurotransmitter. As well, carbohydrate-rich foods can create a “sugar high” to give us a quick energy boost, only to a cause a “sugar crash” moments later.

What’s Driving Your Appetite?
To control emotional eating, it is important to identify and understand the underlying emotion that drives the behavior. A good way to identify eating triggers is to keep a food journal. Record what and when you eat as well as the emotions you recognize as you eat. Research shows that those who are most likely to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off use journals to monitor their thoughts, feelings, goals and strategies. You can also use the Truestar Food Trakker to monitor your intake and see the nutritional breakdown of your meals.

Adopt healthy new habits
Once you have uncovered the emotions driving the eating response, the next step is to develop an alternative replacement behavior. Studies indicate that individuals who respond to a negative situation with positive thoughts and actions were able to avoid emotion-based eating 85% of the time. Use the Truestar SPTS Daily Life Improvement Checklist to help you implement healthy new habits, one day at a time.

When breaking any behavioral pattern, it is always necessary to provide a substitute behavior. Instead of reaching for food in response to an emotional trigger, try substituting a non-eating behavior that gives you pleasure such as:

• Going for a walk or to the gym
• Reading a book or magazine
• Writing in a journal
• Spending time with family and friends
• Chewing gum
• Drinking watered-down juice

That being said, there will always be times when doing an activity instead of eating will not satisfy cravings. When this occurs, try to become a conscious eater. Eat a few bites versus the whole portion or try eating a lower fat version of the food, such as frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. It is also important to eat balanced meals throughout the day. We recommend eating hormonally balanced meals and snacks throughout the day. Starving your body will only leave you to more likely binge late at night. As well, try not to keep foods you crave in the house. Chances are you will not go out to buy these foods and your craving will eventually subside.

The Bottom Line
Learning why we overeat in times of stress and developing strategies to combat these emotions is the best defense against emotional eating. Once you start taking control of you’re emotional and physical well-being your weight will control itself.

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