November 30, 2017
Understanding Your Eating Habits
The integral part of understanding your eating habits is to become self-aware.
If you suffer from emotional eating (or comfort eating), you are trying to numb yourself from feeling something or dealing with an experience. For example, when you are stressed and reach for a tube of cookie dough or a package of cookies; or you are studying/watching TV you are continuously grazing on snacks out of boredom. When we eat like this, we are not conscious of our choices, our thoughts and feeling around food; and by the time we become aware, the tube of cookie dough is gone and the bag of chips is completely empty. Alternatively, when you feel stressed do you avoid food? Do you feel anxious around food? Do you prefer eating in isolation?
The goal is to iron out why you do the things you do and become mindful about your feelings and choices that involve food. To become mindful, you need to be present in the moment. You need to become aware of your current feelings and thoughts when you are about to eat, when you eat, and the feelings you feel after eating. This means, you are not distracted by your phone, the TV, a book, the newspaper, your dog, or even your husband.
Write down what you actually eat (not what you like to believe you eat)
This is not to pass judgement on yourself. This is the start of the process of accepting you’ve made these choices and what you would like to do about it.
For example, if you’ve written down:
- A lot of junk food
- Sweetened juices/pop
- Saturated animal fat when cooking
- Or, is your list actually TOO small?
Think about what you can do to make healthier choices. This could mean snacking on fruit instead of sweetened juices, or packing more nutrient-dense snacks like nuts to up your calories.
What is your portion like and how do you feel when you eat?
The main focus here isn’t calorie counting, but how much you are eating and how that makes you feel.
For example:
- What size are your portions? Do you think they are large or too small?
- Do you feel anxious when you eat?
- Do you skip meals during the day then all of a sudden binge at night?
When and where do you eat?
- Do you eat at the table or in front of the TV?
- Do you enjoy eating with people or would you rather eat by yourself?
- Can you link any emotions such as anxiety, frustration, boredom or loneliness?
Ask yourself these questions every time you eat and write your answers down for a week. At the end of the week, look back and see if you can notice any patterns. The more you begin to notice and become self-aware, the closer you are to helping relieve and release yourself from unhealthy eating habits and emotions you have around food.
Living a healthy lifestyle is a choice. Health comes from having and following sustainable choices. By asking yourself some questions, knowing what choices you make around food, and begin to create new thought processes and habits, you can live a healthier life and gain control over your eating habits instead of the other way around.
There is no shame in asking for help. If you feel that you need more guidance, do not be afraid to reach out to a professional.
