Good Lifestyle

He can not deny it:The food can make you feel good. There is nothing better than learning to engage in your favorite pasta dish to dinner, sip a coffee with warm milk in the morning, or share a pile of soft pancakes with your friends on brunch. However, food can also be used for independent reasons to complete a need for energy. If you have noticed that you turn to eat food during sad, happy or stressful periods, you practice emotional eating.

To fight against the non-spirit stress diet, we asked dietary nutritionists to explain this emotional east eat, negative side effects, and how to stop eating emotional.

What is emotional feeding, and what are the causes?

"Means emotional food that you eat forreasons other than hunger, "saysAmy KimberlainRDN, LDN, CDE, recorded nutritionist dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "Eating his emotions is a recurring basis, unconscious attraction to foods that fill an emotional void or distract you from what really bothers you. This can include emotions from stress, sadness, frustration and anxiety to name just a few. »

Although it can have a negative connotation, emotional power can not always be motivated by negative emotions.

"Emotional eating can also be bound to happy times," says Kimberlain. "Think about how you celebrate great achievements and special opportunities, or even simply define fun outings. We treat our favorite foods to define a moment of pride or joy, and we associate activities like going to a movie to get to make you pamper in the candies ".

What are the negative side effects of emotional nutrition?

"Eating can be emotional well with moderation. It's when this behaviorbecomes a bad habit Where he can be a problem physically and emotionally ", says Kimberlain.

If uncontrolled and several times done over time, Kimberlain tells us that emotional eating can cause a number of potential health problems related to:

• weight gain
• Hypertension
• Type 2 diabetes
• High cholesterol levels

It can also have a heavy impact on your mental health.

"The consequences of mental health can trigger symptoms of anxiety ordepressionOr aggravating symptoms in people who already live with these questions, "says Kimberlain. "It's when emerging eating is used as an adaptation mechanism, and you avoid dealing with the underlying issue".

17 Tips for stopping emotional eating.

If you are in the pangs of emotional food, here are 17 dietary nutritionist tips to help you stop eating emotional.

1. Identify the triggers you have.

"While eating is emotional and it is normal to sometimes soothe our emotions with food, it becomes problematic if it is the only way we know how to soothe emotions," says Sarah Schlichter, MPH, RDN, Nutritionist Dietitian recorded and owner ofBucket List Tummy.

It can be helpful to identify the triggers you have who can lead you to turn to food. Some common examples include:

• boredom
• A fight with a friend or spouse
• Bad criticism of performance
• A bad note on a mission
• an imminent project deadline

If you are aware that the stressor is, you can try to proactively put other self-care measures in place to help relieve emotions. Schlichter recommends these self-care replacements for food emotional triggers:

• read a book
• call a friend
• block
• Take a shower or bath

2. Write it.

"Now is the time to buy this newdietary newspaper You have been Lorgne! , "Says Charlotte Martin, MS, RDN, CSOWM, CPT, Nutritionist Dietitian and owner ofShaped by Charlotte. Martin gives the following simple instructions:

1. For a week, write(a)what and(B) when you eat.
2. Next to each eating / drinking occasion, note(a) what you were doing and(B) How did you feel at this moment (namely happy, sad, bored, anxious, stressed, neutral, hungry, etc.)

"Although it may seem intimidating at first, followed both your food consumption and the emotions you encounter every occasion to eat can help you identify emotional food behaviors and what triggers them. It can also inform you of the types of foods you tend to gravitate towards when you emotionally eat ", says Martin.

3. Reward yourself with something other than food.

"If you are always associate happy or bad events with the food it could very easily lead to an emotional diet that often happens," says Maggie Michalczyk, RDN, Nutritionist Dietitian based in Chicago and owner ofHe was a pumpkin. "Instead ofreplace a food reward From ice cream for example let with something like painting your nails, or take a "time" to read or a newspaper ".

4. Eat regularly throughout the day.

"Ontimes, I see customers eat from a place of emotions in the evening because they aresubpround During the day, "said Chelsey Amer, Ms. RDN, CDN, authorized dietary nutritionist and owner ofChelsey bitter nutrition and author ofProsper in 5. "Aim for eating balanced meals (with protein, vegetables, carbohydrates and healthy greases) When you feel hungry throughout the day. Avoid excuse yourself, because it makes it more difficult to consume balanced meals. "

5. Find other ways to deal with stress.

"Discovering another way to deal with negative emotions is often the first step towards the restoration of emotional consumption," said Kimberlain. "It could mean writing in a newspaper, read a book or find a few minutes to relax differently and decompress from the day. It takes time to move your mindset to reach food to other forms Stress relief, so experiment with a variety of activities to find what works for you. "

6. Get to move.

"Some people find relief to get regular exercises. A walk or jog around the block or a fast yoga routine can help at particularly emotional moments," said Kimberlain.

In a study, participants were invited to engage eight weeks of yoga. The researchers then evaluated participants about their mindfulness and insightful understanding - basically their understanding of themselves and situations around them. The results showed that regular yoga can be a useful preventive measure to help disseminate emotional states such as anxiety and depression.

7. Slow down when you eat.

"When you eat to feed your feelings, you tend to do so quickly, consuming disturbing automatic pilot food. You eat so fast that you miss the different tastes and textures of your food, as well as the signals of Your body you are full and is no longer hungry, "says Kimberlain." But by slowing down and savoring every bite, you will not only appreciate your food more, but you will also be less likely to eat too much. "

8. Keep the trigger of your pantry.

"Identify the foods you usually grip towards emotional consumption and tryremove them from your pantry And the view, "says Martin". The reason why eating emotional can turn into a considerable health problem is because we usually climb toHigh foods, high sugars and drinks during these periodsNo green leafy and water. By removing these foods and replacing them with something a little healthier, you may be more likely to pause before eating emotionally and / or engage in something non-food. And if you decide to go, you will fill morefiber-rich andFoods rich in protein, who help reduce desires later. "

Add Martin, "for example, if you adonions something sweet as cookies in you feel sad, replace it with fruit butter and nuts. If you adonions to something tasty like chips when you Have stressed, replace it with roasted snacks. "

9. Ask yourself why you eat.

"Emotional diet is not always intrinsically a bad thing. However, it's important to participatedelicately, "said bitter." If you notice emotionally, pause and ask why. Simply identify that you eat an emotional state is a step in the right direction. "

10. Do not deprive yourself of your favorite foods.

"One of the main mistakes of people who are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle avoids avoiding certain foods not perceived as healthy," saysKristen Smith, Mrs., Rd, Dietitian inscribed at Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, GA and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "It is common for people to be excessive in food when they avoid certain foods in their diet, especially when they feel emotional triggers."

11. Make an interesting food decision.

"The truth of the question is that the food is linked to our emotions and that some foods can remind you of your childhood, or some that you hate because they have made you sick," Michalczyk said. "Rather than fighting this desire in every situation, make a choice count when you turn to food in emotional situations. Can you make a healthier pizza by adding vegetables? Could you cook something healthy and Delicious? emotional rotaming eating, say, turning to fast food whenever something bad or good maybe do something at home, etc. can also make a huge difference. "

12. Try a conscious restoration exercise.

"Slowing and savoring your food is an important aspect of conscious diet, opposite without spirit, eating emotional," says Kimberlain. "Put your utensils between each bite, and really focusing on the eating experience. Pay attention to textures, shapes, colors and smells of your food. Ask:

How is every bite taste?

How is your body feeling?

"By slowing down this way, you'll find yourself appreciate every bit of food much more. It takes time for the full body signal you can even give you your food and feel full on much less preferred. To reach your brain, take a few moments to examine how you feel after each hungry or satiated bite-can help you avoid eating too much ", says Kimberlain.

13. Focus on your breathing and count up to 10.

"Focusing on your breathing and the counting forces you stay in the present," says Schlichter. "If you find yourself the position in a territory where you feel helpless and out of control, try to focus on your breathing to bring you back at the present moment. Arrival with yourself and see if there are other adaptation mechanisms that you can use in this moment. "

Schlichter recommends mechanisms for adapting stress to eat like:

• meditation
• Call a friend
• to take a walk
• huddle with an animal
• take a bath
• light a candle

14. Take a little zzz is.

"Goal of 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep per night," says Martin. "We know that the deprivation of sleep is wreaking havoc on our stress and the regulatory hormones of the appetite, which then led toEnvies of high fat and foods rich in sugar. There is also evidence to suggest that sleep deprivation can predispose emotional eating because a tired brain is less able to handle emotional experiences with controlled and logical responses. A well-rested brain is better able to voluntarily respond to emotional triggers, making you more likely to think twice to reach a cookie after a stressful day ".

15. You can help Prep to sleep a full night trying a few things.

"To help you fall and stay asleep, try engaging in relaxation techniques before bedtime, such as yoga, meditation or guided imaging," says Martin. "Mode the blue light at least two hours before bedtime, and consider turning on a lavender essential oil diffuser to create a calm atmosphere. You can also try a magnesium supplement (especially glycinate magnesium) before going to bed.Magnesium Helps promote calm and natural relaxation ".

16. Get support.

"As if to reward you with something other than food, exploring a different coping mechanism is another good option if you want to eat emotional becomes a problem. MaybeTime to meet a dietitianOr talk to someone, "says Michalczyk.

"Just like everything we treat ourselves, things can feel very alone and isolation. But it is important to know that you are not alone, and you can learn how to deal with your emotions differently, no matter where you are on your trip with your choice of health or emotional nutrition ".

17. Ask yourself if you are really hungry.

"When you need to power your body with food, you will probably experience physical hunger signs such as the vacuum of stomach and grunts, or weakness and fatigue," says Smith. To stop emotional eating, "learning to identify the hunger of the head against physical hunger. Being able to identify true physical hunger will help you better understand when your body really needs fuel. One of the best ways to do it is using ahunger scale.