- Did you notice your hunger coming on fast, or did it grow gradually?
- When you got hungry, did you feel an almost desperate need to eat something right away?
- When you ate, did you pay attention what went in your mouth, or did you just stuff it in?
- When you got hungry, would any nutritious food suffice or did you need a certain type of food or treat to satisfy yourself?
- Did you feel guilty after you ate?
- Did you eat when you were emotionally upset, stressed or experiencing feelings of "emptiness or sadness"?
- Emotional hunger comes on suddenly, while physical hunger develops slowly. Physical hunger begins with a tummy rumble, then it becomes a stronger grumble, and finally it evolves into hunger pangs, but it is a slow process, very different from emotional hunger, which has a sudden, dramatic onset.
- Unlike physical hunger, emotional hunger demands food immediately, and it wants immediate satisfaction. Physical hunger on the other hand, will wait for food.
- When you are feeding physical hunger, you can eat your food and savor each bite, but when you eat to fulfill emotional hunger you stuff the food in and eat rapidly. All of sudden you look down and the whole pint of ice cream is gone.
- A difference between physical and emotional hunger involves mindfulness. To satisfy physical hunger, you normally make a deliberate choice about what you consume, and you maintain awareness of what you eat. You notice how much you put in your mouth so that you can stop when you're full. Emotional hunger in contrast, rarely notices what's being eaten. If you have an emotional hunger, you'll want more food even after you're stuffed.
- Emotional hunger often demands particular foods in order to be fulfilled. If you're physically hungry, even carrots will look delicious, even if they aren't a food you would typically enjoy. If you're emotionally hungry, however, only cake or ice cream or chocolate or your particular preferred indulgence will seem appealing.
- Emotional hunger often results in guilt or promises to do better next time. Physical hunger has no guilt attached to it, because you know you ate in order to maintain health and energy.
- Emotional hunger results from some emotional trigger such as stress, emotional highs or lows. Physical hunger results from a physiological need.
Emotional Eating-Shrink Yourself
No more emotional
eating!
by Bryndon Preston
What is Emotional
Eating?
Emotional Eating is
by far the most common cause of weight gain, and all the diets, exercise
programs and surgical procedures in the world may not free you from the
problem. Why? Because they don't address your reasons
for overeating. Many of us know what we need to do, but struggle with doing
what we know is right. Dr. Robert Gould provides valuable insights and
strategies based on his work with more than 20,000 people. Combined with the
insight and programs available with The Wellness Prescription, you can break
the cycle of weight loss for good.
To find out if you
are an Emotional Eater, answer the following questions.
The last time you
ate too much:
Let's see how you
did.
If you feel
Emotional Eating is something you struggle with, you may benefit from the book
Shrink Yourself by Dr. Roger Gould MD, you can order a copy at Amazon.com and Order Emotional Eating. Feel free to
contact your Wellness Prescription doctor to find out what a successful weight
loss program looks like for you. Make sure you are feeding/fueling your body
with the food that is right for you and your current health condition.
Questions:
Q: What tips can
you give me when the urge to eat is really strong? I don’t want to binge but
I’ve got to have something to eat.
A: Xylitol flavored
gum (Spry) and tea all varieties (use stevia, truvia is Dr. Charles favorites)
Handful of nuts, almonds. Use the EFT (
Q: Can I work extra
to make up for a less than perfect eating choice.
A: It takes an hour
of intense exercise to burn 600-800 calories; it takes you less than 5 minutes
or less to eat 600-800 calories. You won’t win this battle.
Q: When I start
eating things that aren’t good for me it’s really hard to stop, do you have
any tips for that?
A: This is an
emotional eating issue and it’s better to eat something raw (high in fiber)
before you eat that food that you know isn’t good for you.
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