Holidays and Emotional Eating

The winter holiday season has begun.  The time between Thanksgiving and New Year's is often filled with celebrations and get-togethers.  We enjoy special dishes and family recipes as part of our celebrations.  However, special foods are extra good for a reason!  Often they are rich with fat, sugar and salt, and may be higher in calories than the foods we usually eat.

Holidays can also be challenging emotionally for us.  Family issues, worries about finances, and unrealistic expectations about holidays can lead to negative feelings which can then lead to comfort eating. When feelings affect when, what and how much we eat, it's called emotional eating.  We may eat to distract ourselves from something that is bothering us, or to keep from feeling bored.  On the flip side, happy reunions with friends and family may make us feel like leaving our usual limits and healthy choices behind.  And no one wants to insult a host by not eating a special meal! While it may not seem like a big deal to over indulge a few times a year, the truth is often those extra pounds never go away.

Below is a chart from HelpGuide.com that will help you recognize when you're feeling actually hungry vs feeling you need food now!

Emotional hunger vs. Physical hunger
Emotional hunger comes on suddenly.	Physical hunger comes on gradually.
Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satisfied instantly.	Physical hunger can wait.
Emotional hunger craves specific comfort foods.	Physical hunger is open to options–lots of things sound good.
Emotional hunger isn't satisfied with a full stomach.	Physical hunger stops when you're full.
Emotional eating triggers feelings of guilt, powerlessness, and shame.	Eating to satisfy physical hunger doesn't make you feel bad about yourself.

HelpGuide's website is  full of great information on how to recognize triggers for emotional eating, and great tips on how to stop and prevent emotional eating.  Click here to read more: http://www.helpguide.org/articles/diet-weight-loss/emotional-eating.htm

The website, Everydayhealth.com also shares valuable information on emotional eating and how to prevent it. Their 5 tips for Emotional Eating Busters includes becoming a mindful eater, that is eating slowly and really savoring what's on your plate, to building impulse control.  You can find more at:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/how-to-end-emotional-eating.aspx

Finally, Dr, Oz's website has a terrific article on Tips to Stop Emotional Eating that includes the 4 tell-tale signs of comfort or emotional eating and why food is comforting.  Tips are offered on how we can re-wire our brains so that we find other behaviors that don't include eating to be just as satisfying. This article can be found at: http://www.doctoroz.com/article/tips-stop-emotional-eating


There are a number of ways we can limit our unhealthy choices during the holidays, and planning ahead is key.  There is not one exact plan for everyone, but you need to know yourself, your stressors and your limits.

• If you know you are going to be eating a special meal, try to limit other extra treats beforehand. 
• Eat slowly and really enjoy the food.  If possible, take smaller portions.
• Avoid extra calories from alcohol, soda and juice.  It is okay to have a glass of water or seltzer in your hand!
• Eat a healthy snack before going to a party, and think about what you most want to enjoy at the party.
• Be aware of portion sizes; a serving is the amount of food listed on a product's food label and a portion is how much you choose to eat.
• Enjoy conversations, music, the decorations or other distractions instead of focusing on the food.
• If you know you can't limit yourself to one bite of all the desserts, choose just one or two to try.
• Find time to exercise and be active during the holidays.

More tips on healthy holiday eating and portion control can be found in the following articles:

Portion Control:
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/just_enough.htm#g
http://www.webmd.com/diet/control-portion-size

Healthy Holiday Eating:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/top-10-holiday-diet-tips-of-all-time
http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/eat-healthy-during-holidays

This blog was written in part by two guest bloggers: Claudia Dwass, MPH and GMU intern Hala Nicolas. Thank you both!

Fake It 'til You Become It!

Judgments about people can be formed quickly based on non-verbal communications, or body language. Picture Wonder Woman, if you will,  in her strong, powerful pose. Simply by looking at her conclusions are drawn that she is a confidant, dominant woman.  Her body language says that she has opened herself up, that she is ready to take on the world, not closed or wrapped herself up to us.

Social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, studies non-verbals and has conducted much research into how body language can govern how we think and feel about ourselves.  Can our postures effectively change our minds? In this 20 minute speech, she'll briefly cover her research and you'll learn how:

our bodies change our mind, 

and our minds can change our behavior,

and our behavior changes our outcomes. 

Cuddy demonstrates through her research how by striking the Wonder Woman pose, for example, especially before an evaluative situation such as an interview, your testosterone (confidence, dominance hormone) levels increase while your cortisol (stress hormone) levels decrease so that your mind changes your behavior so that your presence is noted with confidence. Initially, she explains how you may feel uncomfortable to the point that you think you are faking it, that you are an impostor, but she encourages you to challenge yourself to continue "faking it til you have become it!" Walk away from that interview, that important meeting with your boss or whatever it might be knowing that you said who you are rather than wishing you had expressed who you are. Even if you are terrified and feel like you're faking it, get out there, strike the pose, and continue to do it until you become it! 

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention, don't walk into the interview, meeting, etc in your Wonder Woman pose, but strike it in the privacy of a restroom stall or if you're the only one in the elevator.  Just some place where you won't have to explain yourself!

 http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are