The Emotions of Eating: How to Nourish Yourself the Right Way

Food.

Merriam-Webster's defines it as, "any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, and promote growth". For many of us, however, food means so much more. It is a way to socialize, ease emotional pain, cover up feelings of anger, reward ourselves or ease boredom. We are emotional eaters and our waistlines are expanding because of it'experts say that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.

Emotional eating has a myriad of causes'inability to deal effectively with stress, depression, anxiety, low self esteem, patterning in childhood-but overcoming emotional eating can be done-by understanding what triggers you to eat and changing the habits that support this eating.

Here are some common emotional triggers and ways to circumvent them:

* Boredom: you eat when there is nothing else to do or when you don't know what you should be doing. This is perhaps the easiest kind of emotional eating to kick. Chances are you just need to be made aware of the times you are vulnerable and have a sure plan on how to deal with it. When you feel yourself going back to the kitchen to snack, try leaving the house and going on a walk instead, pick up something that occupies your hands like knitting or drawing, or keep only low calorie snacks around so that you know you won't pay for overindulging.

* Depression: Many of us eat to stop feeling the sadness, anger, and hopelessness involved in being depressed. Eating makes us feel better for a few minutes, but it is a quick fix. Exercise, meditation, and therapy are all wonderful ways to get in touch with how you feel and help cure depression. Often, we discover that our reliance on food to make us feel better stems from childhood-,either our parents used food as comfort or denied us food as punishment. Understanding your early patterns of food as reward or punishment can help you decode when and how you are likely to overeat. One good thing to remember, is that your need for reward or comfort is a healthy feeling, it's just that food is not a healthy tool to use. Try replacing food with things that are good for you and your body'short hikes, massages, facials, a movie, a good book, or a conversation with a friend'little things go a long way toward helping you feel healthy and happy. If it is anger you are trying to stuff down with food, try letting it out in healthy ways that you don't have to be afraid of like a kickboxing class, self-defense, or scream therapy. You might find that if you feel safe enough to let out your anger, you won't have to eat as much to keep it from coming up.

* Social: In our culture, food is also a social tool. We celebrate with food, connect with food, and create ritual with food. If your family is like mine, you learned that food is a part of any social gathering. The problem comes in when we use social engagements to overeat. It's only natural to consume more calories when we are out with others. We are busy talking and not paying attention to what we are putting into our mouths, we indulge in dessert because the other person is too, or we are expected to eat as much as we can (Hello Thanksgiving!). Being aware in social situations is one of the best ways to stop this kind of overeating. If you are going to a party, eat a healthy meal at home first so that you are less likely to overindulge, at restaurants box up half your meal before you start eating so that you don't have to worry about limiting your portion or better yet share a meal or dessert. Sometimes we overeat in social situations because we are anxious. Taking deep breathes and having a glass of water to sip on instead of nibbling on food are good ways to help calm your nerves. Perhaps, however, the best way of dealing with social eating is to begin to engage in activities not centered around food. Instead of going out to dinner with friends, go on a walk, hike, or bike ride instead. Meet up at a coffee shop instead of a bar or a museum instead of a restaurant. Take a dance class together. For holidays, go out and look at lights or try caroling or volunteering. There are so many ways to connect with people and the more we become committed to healthy engagement the less obsessed with food we become.

* Situational: Do you find yourself eating because the food is there? Eating in front of the television or having to get the big bag of popcorn at the theater because the movies just aren't the same without it? If so, then you fall prey to situational eating. The easiest way to stop this kind of eating is to recognize the triggers and go out of your way to change the habit or substitute with a healthy habit instead. Try not to eat in front of the t.v. Some research suggests that we consume more than 50% more calories this way. If you need to, make sure to snack on fruit or raw veggies. Popcorn at the movies? Bring your own air-popped popcorn or allow yourself only the smallest size. Eating because the food is just there? If it's at your house, make sure you don't keep so much food around. If out, make sure you always have a healthy snack on you that you can indulge in to ease the temptation. If you stop for donuts because they are on the way to work then go a different way.