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Just when you're trying to stick to a healthy eating plan, along comes a
situation or problem that puts you in a tailspin. Suddenly, you MUST have a piece of chocolate cake or that extra helping at dinner.
Sound familiar?
This is known as emotional eating and has nothing to do with hunger. Real
hunger is biological and emotional eating is based on psychological
urges.
Unfortunately, there's no magic formula to stop emotional eating and everybody responds differently. Below are a few tips to help you deal
with those sudden stress related cravings known as emotional eating.
-
Evaluate your emotional
status - Stay in touch with your emotion and be
ready to deal with food cravings anytime you're upset. Everyone deals with problems and situations that will cause emotional turmoil and
therefore, impulsive or emotional eating. Many times you can avoid giving in to temptation by anticipating the urge.
-
Substitute lower calorie snacks - It's very important to
establish good eating habits without resorting to impulsive snacking,
but occasionally there will be situations that will trigger an emotional craving.
Instead of giving in to your favorite high
calorie treat, use lower calorie snacks such as:
Ritz whole wheat crackers
Fat free chips
1 cup of low fat chili
Meal replacement shake (Slim Fast)
Low fat ice cream
Non fat / sugar free yogurt
Light microwave popcorn
The above snack may not be the most nutritious but it's better than
gorging on cheesecake or half of a Sara Lee cream pie.
-
Give In - If you have established a good track record of
eating healthy and seldom (once a week) eat sweets or tempting junk
food, then GIVE IN. YES ...... give in. If you have a very strong craving for
a particular food, then don't eat a substitute. Rid yourself of the
temptation and eat the treat. This way you satisfy the craving without
eating a lot of other foods along with the food you are craving.
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Emotional Eating
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