Comfort Eating

We have all been there, you know the scenario, you have had a hard day, the kids have been a nightmare, the printer was playing up, pointless staff meetings, dragged the kids off to activities, cooked the tea, folded the washing, bathed the kids, went to bootcamp, cleaned up the house, replied to emails, checked social media, then you sit down for some chill time- “OH MY GOD, I NEED TO REWARD MYSELF with some chocolate, ice cream, chips, a bottle of wine -it will make me feel better, I deserve this!!”

It may make you feel better in the short term but eventually you will feel guilty and wish that you didn’t consume that whole sleeve of tim-tams. Then we end up in a place worse  than where we were before we ate what we ate. Most people know this cycle all to well. It’s a simple response to any stressful situation, but it doesn’t solve anything. Eating does not deliver comfort or stress relief. While it may provide a few instantaneous chemical changes in the body that make us feel better, the truth is, it’s the long lasting “feel better” we are after. And we never get that when we eat for comfort.

You are not a dog…do not reward yourself with food! You are human, try rewarding yourself with this;

*Go for a walk or a run on a beautiful day (or not so beautiful if you live in Ballarat)*Get a manicure*Have a massage*Go to a movie*Window shop*Give yourself a facial*Have a girls night out*Take a drive*Do something you have been afraid to do*Visit a friend you haven’t seen in a while*Buy yourself some flowers*Keep a journal*Volunteer

Comfort eating or emotional eating can be hard to identify but here are some differences between emotional hunger and physical hunger;

~emotional hunger is urgent while physical hunger is gradual.

~emotional hunger you crave certain foods and physical hunger you are open to options.

~emotional eating can go absentmindedly, but with physical hunger you are aware that you are eating.

~emotional eating is paired with an upsetting emotion or wanting to feel good, but physical hunger occurs because it’s been to long since your last meal.

If you think you do too much comfort or emotional eating, try the following..

Wait 20 minutes until you eat when you have certain cravings, most of the time the urge will pass.

Try and figure out which emotions are generally attached to your emotional eating and find an alternative coping mechanism.

Be aware of your own habits and behaviours and establish good, regular routines with set meals plans. Take lunch to work so you’re not tempted to go to the shops.

I must log off now but just a quick word on our wholemeal lifestyle change. Last week I mentioned that some of the husbands were finding the transition from white to wholemeal difficult, but I’m happy to report that Claire(Wednesday Group) has informed me her husband is now eating brown bread. I think his words were; “ok I ate the damn wholemeal, get Jacke to put that on her blog!” So, well done Paul, it was worth the mention , you have made the blog, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK EVERYONE 🙂  Jac

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