Are you an emotional eater?
Do you find yourself hovering at the fridge or pantry looking for a snack when you're feeling any of the following:
Stress
Boredom
Sadness
Overwhelmed
Tiredness
Thirst
Sickness
If you’re being honest with yourself, are you actually hungry?
Or are you about to engage in some emotional eating?
When feeling any of the above your brain is looking for comfort. Comfort is defined as “the ease or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress.”
For a lot of us identifying when we are about to emotionally eat and engaging some non food comfort strategies will make a big difference to our health and wellness.
What causes us to emotionally eat?
Put simply, our brains are looking for a hit of comfort and satisfaction. Quite often, this is when we reach for the sugary, quick fix snacks.
Think of how you satisfy a young baby, you feed them, very quickly they are calmed and happy, mostly. However there are many other ways an adult can give their brain this sense of comfort without turning to food.
Non food comfort ideas for you to try instead...
Sit on the couch with a cuppa, wrap both hands around it and embrace the warmth
Get some fresh air, walk to the mail box and back, be present, listen to the birds, feel the fresh breeze on your face
Water your house plants and marvel at how they grow with such little attention
Sit down on your couch, lay a blanket over your legs and read something
In the evenings, if you feel like something sweet, get up and walk to the bathroom & brush your teeth. I’m sure by the time you get back to the couch, the feeling would have passed.
Find a comfy chair and call a friend or family member for a chat
Soak in a bath with essential oils
Embrace in a hug with someone you love
You will be surprised to find that once you’ve given your brain some comfort the need to emotionally eat will have passed. The key thing is, to know your TRIGGERS. If you know that sitting down on the couch at night is a trigger time for you, BE PREPARED FOR IT. This isn’t easy, and lots of ladies struggle with emotional eating, especially at this time of day. Honestly, it’s usually just habit. So make yourself a new habit - you can do it!
If in fact you are truly hungry, plan what you are going to eat. Try your best not to just grab from the pantry otherwise it is likely your meal will be less nutritious.
Try making your own list of non food comfort ideas and put it on your fridge! If you would like more help around this topic, reach out to me.
Sarah Xx
