In the last post, I wrote about emotional eating. Once we recognize that we may be an emotional eater, there are ways to identify eating triggers. It’s this awareness that can help to bring us to a level of understanding.
Situations and emotions that trigger us to eat fall into 5 main categories
1) Social – when around others. Excessive eating can be caused after arguments with family or feelings of inadequacy around others.
2) Emotional – eating in response to boredom, stress, fatigue, tension, anger, anxiety or loneliness as a way to fill the void.
3) Situational – eating because the opportunity is there eg) in front of the tv, going to a movie, passing a favourite memory
4) Thoughts – eating as a result of negative self-worth or making excuses for eating.
5) Physiological – eating in response to physical cues eg) increased hunger due to skipping
meals
Once you identify your specific triggers, it’s now time to break the habit. If you know that you lose all will power when you walk by a particular store or cafe, try a different route. If you’re the type of person that stands over a pot and continues to eat after your meal, pack it up and put it away before you sit down. Sometimes it only takes small adjustments to help us change our habits. Most importantly, if you know that having a certain type of food in the house is problematic, just remove it for a while. The constant temptation isn’t fair to you and you’ll find that it’s easier to remove it completely.
You might notice that it’s not this easy for you. This means that you may have to dig a little deeper. If you’re eating to feed a feeling, this can take more time. Ask yourself what might be missing in your life or what may be upsetting you in the first place. Maybe there are goals you’ve never reached or dreams you feel are impossible. Start small and try to make small steps that will get you closer to reaching them. Next time you go to the fridge, ask yourself if you’re truly hungry or if you’re eating to fill a void. A body/mind practice such as yoga or tai chi can also help to open your awareness within yourself. Shining a light on this subject will help to address what is really going on. Be patient with yourself and your feelings.
