Emotional eating: Feeling less, weighing more

Breaking the pattern
In order to become an individual who eats with awareness, you must stop when you sense the urge to eat, take a breath and focus your awareness back to how you are feeling. Is it hunger or is it stress?

Try some of the following steps to start practicing awareness eating;
• Take sips of water between each bite.
• Do not take the entire bag or container of food. It is best to dish out the amount or serving size you would like to eat in a small dish or bowl.
• Use you knife, fork and spoon while eating to slow you down. Take breaths between bites and chew your food.
• Do not keep high-glycemic index snack foods in the house such as cookies, crackers or sugary cereals. If the temptation is there, you will likely fall off the health wagon during times of stress.
• Play the "name it" game. While sitting down for a meal, pick 1-2 things that you are really enjoying about your food. Is it the colour of the strawberry? The crunch of the walnut? This will slow down your eating and snap you back into awareness.
• Try to make your meals last a minimum of 20 minutes. It takes 20 minutes for the stretch receptors in your stomach to say to your brain, "Hey! I am full."
• Invest in chewing gum or chewable vitamin C. When you are experiencing the urge to grab and gobble – pop two chewable vitamin Cs to slow you down and cut cravings.
• Do not skip meals. Skipping meals will lead to over eating.
• Do not eat until you are uncomfortable (i.e. until your pants feel snug). Eat until you approximately 80 per cent full.
• Allow yourself to get hungry and feel your stomach grumble. It is important to be able to identify real hunger versus eating merely for the sake of boredom, according to the clock etc.
• Talk to a friend or a trusted family member about the issues you are having with food. There are also wonderful psychologists and counselors who specialize in emotional eating and can be of great value.

Keep in mind, winning the weight loss battle involves both a psychological and physical component. Once you take control of the underlying issues, you will feel an enormous burden lifted that allows you to enjoy food and nutrition, without a negative emotional result.

Read more: 5 sneaky things that make you gain weight.

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For more information on emotional eating and weight loss, look for Dr. Joey Shulman's new release The Last 15 – A Weight Loss Breakthrough. Also, visit www.drjoey.com.