How Mood and Food Affects Weight Loss
Your mood and food can trigger urges that can cause overeating.
Eating for some people can be a way of suppressing or soothing
negative emotions. These emotions could be stress, anger,
anxiety, boredom, sadness and loneliness.
The connection between mood and food turn these emotional
eaters toward comfort foods in times of trouble. They do not
necessarily eat more food but they turn to more unhealthy foods.
Starchy, sweet, salty and fatty foods can seem to provide
comfort but are usually short-term fixes. They can also lead to
a long-term habit of unhealthy eating in response to negative
feelings. This leads to weight gain and even more negative
emotions that can be a never-ending cycle.
Understanding the reasons that cause you to crave unhealthy
foods can help you avoid giving in to your cravings. Knowing
some signs that trigger emotional overeating can help you
recognize the path before you take it.
How your body reacts to these moods may indicate that some
foods might have a seemingly addictive quality for many people.
Scientists are studying the possibility that sweet and fatty
foods might actually relieve anxiety.
For some people, eating comfort foods can be a distraction.
While you are eating, your thoughts may be focused on the
pleasant taste of the food, but the distraction is only
temporary.
When you are finished overeating, you return to your problems
and have now added the additional burden of feeling guilty about
overeating.
Here are a few tips to help you avoid the unhealthy
consequences of emotional overeating:
1. Learn to recognize if your hunger is real. Are you really
hungry or is it emotional overeating?
2. Monitor your eating for the next several days, making note
of how much and when you eat, how you are feeling and if you are
really hungry. A pattern will begin to develop and you can
recognize the negative triggers to overeating.
3. If you feel the need to eat because of your mood, try taking
a walk, go to a movie or call a friend to distract you. This
gives you a second chance for the feelings to eat to pass.
4. Don’t keep starchy, high fat, high calorie, comfort foods in
the house.
5. If you feel you just have to have something to eat between
meals, make healthy choices. Keep fresh fruit, pretzels or low
fat, low calorie foods available.
6. Try to eat your meals at the same time every day and stick
to the basic food groups. Fill up on whole grains, vegetables
and fruits, as well as low fat dairy products and lean meats.
When you eat like this you are more likely to feel full longer
and avoid the need for emotional eating. Emotions can trigger
cravings for food but you can take steps to control those
cravings.
The correlation between your mood and food can affect your
eating habits and ultimately your weight loss. Learning to
recognize the signs is the first step to success.
Copyright © 2005 Treadmill Info.com All Rights Reserved.
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