I like to eat. Its one of the reasons I have trouble attaining and keeping my racing weight. For a cyclist, where power-to-ratios are super important, overeating can make or break your diet goals without much effort at all. I enjoy flavorful foods, which can come in healthy meals, but the fatty, chemical filled treats (like the ones you'd find on the gas station roller) are a real weakness. While I've managed to control this unhealthy taste in cuisine I falter most often when I'm tired, bored or stressed. I'm an emotional eater.
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I take comfort in food, especially the unhealthy kind. But life will always be filled with trials, sadness, stress and fatigue. What's a person to do to kick the bad habits of turning to unhealthy calories when faced with stress?
I found this little article from the Mayo Clinic to that's helped me get pointed in the right direction.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MH00025
However, its my dietitian, Breanne Nalder, who has really got me on the food straight and narrow. Send me a message and I'll hook you up with her contact info.
Emotional eating for me has been a lifelong struggle but with simple stress and food management techniques, the habbits can be kicked for good!
that's not good. I suggest you try EFT. it is good for emotional health problem. you shouldn't eat unhealthy foods if you're emotional stress. it will make you fat for sure.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, Thanks for the tip! I'm a firm believer in mental health and just how many people ignore the fact that many health issues they face are most related to their mental health. I just did a quick search of EFT and it looks interesting. I appreciate alternative methods and EFT looks interesting. I'll do some more research and see what I can incorporate into my life.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone Ben, emotional eating is a normal human coping mechanism for various things. An important thing to remember is that framing things around negatie emotions leads to more emotional eating. Try positive phrases such as "I am proud of what I put into my body" or "this food is the fuel I need to have a great bike ride" these will help trigger positive affirmations/experiences with food. The behavior is the same (you choose to eat when stressed) but you modify the reaction with healthy food choices (like the popped veggie chips at the gas station instead of deep fried potato chips on our last road trip). Over time, you change your stress response and feel energized by the foods you choose rather than feeling guilty and falling down the rabbit hole... hope that helps!
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