December is traditionally a month of celebration, but it can also be a stressful time when we are under pressure to socialise more, buy gifts and decorations, and spend more time with our families. For some, this can trigger emotional eating as a coping mechanism, usually of food that is calorie dense and high in fat or sugar.
This is obviously undesirable for our physical health, leading to weight gain and increasing the risk of conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. In the long run, it also makes mental health worse as well, creating a cycle of guilt and regret or shame, which only leads to further comfort eating.
Here are some tips to help you manage your holiday eating habits. Our nutritional therapist in Birmingham can provide you with more tailored advice.
What is the connection between stress and emotional eating?
Most of us comfort eat from time to time, such as a chocolate bar in the middle of a difficult day at work, or a takeaway to cheer us up when we are feeling down in the dumps. However, for some people emotional eating becomes their default method of dealing with regular feelings of stress, anxiety, sadness, or burnout.
Comfort foods trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, which provides a temporary pleasurable feeling and relieves the emotion we are trying to escape from. However, the distraction soon fades, and we may feel guilty and cross at our lack of self-control, only to reach for another unhealthy snack to dull the uncomfortable feelings.
The holiday season can amplify feelings of stress, from gift shopping and strain on finances to extra socialising and travelling. It can also intensify feelings of loneliness or grief, particularly if you have recently lost someone close to you, or are unable to be with your loved ones for some reason. This can make emotional eating worse.
Tips to manage emotional eating during the holidays
Identify your triggers
The first step is to acknowledge your habit. Write down everything you eat during the day in a journal, being totally honest and objective, because sometimes we can kid ourselves that certain snacks don’t count, or tell ourselves that we ‘deserve’ them. Next, identify what triggered you to reach for the items on the list that were outside of a healthy balanced diet.
Record the feelings in your journal to help you find patterns to your eating. For example, is it when you get home from the office, or after seeing a certain person? If there is no way to avoid the trigger, put a distraction activity in place, such as exercise or texting a friend.
Eat mindfully
Get into the habit of asking yourself before eating anything “Am I really hungry or I am eating for another reason?” Don’t try to deprive yourself of calories you genuinely need, but avoid mindlessly eating snacks in front of the TV or as an automatic habit when you make a cup of coffee.
Allow yourself some treats
It’s fine to enjoy some more indulgent food: after all, it is Christmas. However, plan your treats in advance so you can control the frequency and amount that you eat.
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