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Stress Bytes  Newsletter    December 2004    Volume 2, Issue 3

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In This Issue
Article: Emotional Eating: 101
Announcement: Health Alliance changes ID #'s

Article: Emotional Eating: 101

Food is fuel, not therapy. If you eat when you are not hungry, it is either
habit or emotional eating.

Habit is eating by the hands of clock, not by the growl of the stomach.
Emotional eating is using food to chase away boredom, anxiety, loneliness,
anger, sadness or to celebrate some fortunate event.

Now that the New Year has begun and many of us are starting diets, be aware
that your resolve can be waylaid by emotional eating that you are unaware
of.

How can you tell if you are an emotional eater?  The best way is to keep a
food diary for a week. Record everything (yes, EVERYTHING) you eat, when and
where you eat it, and what you were feeling before, during and after eating.
Feelings can be boiled down to some version of "bad, sad, glad, mad, and
scared."  "Numb" is not a feeling. Numb is having an underlying feeling
masked.

Once you have recorded your food and feelings for a week, look for patterns.
Do you tend to eat when you're feeling upset? What feeling most often
accompanies your eating at the times when you are not hungry? Are you eating
late in the evening out of boredom or loneliness? Do you rummage through the
cupboards looking for something crunchy when you are mad?

Awareness is the first step toward change. The second step is to learn what
to do with feelings instead of eating. When a client is upset, I'll ask
them, "What does that feeling need?"  Feelings need expression and release,
not Hagen Daas or Frito Lay.

If you're sad, you need to cry. If you're mad, you need to vent safely
and/or do something physical to spend the energy that comes with anger.  If
you're anxious, you need to feel safe and get reassurance that everything
will be okay.  If you're lonely, you need to reach out for human contact.
Call a friend. If you're bored, you need to find an activity to do (besides
eating). You can learn to attend to your feelings, express them and satisfy
their urgings without using food to suppress them.

Eat when you are hungry. Cry, complain, vent, pace, snort, growl, or reach
out for others instead of relying on food to ease the sting of those
feelings.  If you know you are using food to tend to a feeling, try
admitting it out loud. "I am eating now because I'm angry."  Remember,
feelings pass. Food ends up on the hips.
 

Announcement: Health Alliance changes ID's
For those of you with Health Alliance insurance, you will soon be issued a
new insurance card and a new Patient Identification number which will no
longer be your Social Security number.  Please bring your new card in to Dr.
Vaillancourt and complete a new claim form.

You may contact Dr. Vaillancourt at
(618) 549-5935 for help with emotional eating.
Please visit my website at http://www.GotStressGetHelp.com
Email address: DrAnnette@hughes.net

If you found this newsletter helpful, please pass it on to other people you
care about who wish to have balanced, purposeful, and satisfying lives.

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Copyright © 2004 Annette Vaillancourt, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.