Emontional Eating & Comfort Foods

Differences

Emotional hunger and Physical hunger,

according to

The University of Texas

Counseling and Mental Health Center web site

1. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly; physical hunger occurs gradually.

2. When you are eating to fill a void that isn't related to an empty stomach, you crave a specific food, such as pizza or ice cream, and only that food will meet your need.

When you eat because you are actually hungry, you're open to options.

3. Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satisfied instantly with the food you crave; physical hunger can wait.

4. Even when you are full, if you're eating to satisfy an emotional need, you're more likely to keep eating. When you're eating because you're hungry, you're more likely to stop when you're full.

5. Emotional eating can leave behind feelings of guilt; eating when you are physically hungry does not.

When emotional hunger rumbles, one of its distinguishing characteristics is that you're focused on a particular food, which is likely a comfort food.

Comfort Foods

"Comfort foods are foods a person eats to obtain or maintain a feeling,"

says Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois.

"Comfort foods are often wrongly associated with negative moods, and indeed, people often consume them when they're down or depressed, but interestingly enough, comfort foods are also consumed to maintain good moods."

Ice cream is first on the comfort food list.

After ice cream, comfort foods break down by sex:

For women it's chocolate and cookies;

for men it's pizza, steak, and casserole, explains Wansink.

What you reach for when eating to satisfy an emotion depends on the emotion.

According to an article by Wansink, published in the July 2000 American Demographics, "The types of comfort foods a person is drawn toward varies depending on their mood. People in happy moods tended to prefer ... foods such as pizza or steak (32%). Sad people reached for ice cream and cookies 39% of the time, and 36% of bored people opened up a bag of potato chips."

if its not time for a meal....your body doesnt need the calories

your body shouls be like clockwork

every three hours you would notice that it is time to refuel

EVERYONE SHOULD FEEL THIS WAY

if you do not, your metabolim is slowing down

research has proven that 3 hours is the maximum time to digest previous meals

this is why nursing new borns each AT LEAST every three hours

......and they have the newest most active metobolisms

THINK ABOUT IT

if you eat when you body isnt ready to burn

what happens? you store the caloires as FAT

i know this isnt intentional when eating emotionally

but do you think that adding stored fat to your body

helps your emotional state?

emotional eating stems from childhood

treats or as consolation

"do you want some ice cream?"

SURE I WILL STOP CRYING AND ENJOY THIS CREAMY SPLENDOR

(little did we know it would be detrimental years down the road)

how to manage this problem that WE ALL HAVE

recoginze when you are reaching for somthing to comfort you

notice that you are not hungry and do not need it

now the hard part....how do you get yourself NOT TO EAT IT

reward your self with positive thoughts and activities

what i have done in the past is......

everytime i wanted to have something i didnt need

i did 50 crunches or went for a walk

and drank a full glass of water

INSTEAD OF REACHING

1 week later

my abs we fab and i had a more stable emotional state

after that the cravings went away

my recommendations

keep a food journal

dont eat in front of the tv

dont eat out of the container

or standing up

never have more than a serving size

you can do anything

you have to find motivation

you have to change the way you think

and the way you approach the issue.