About Steven AitchisonLast week I introduced you to Being Fat and the Two State Mind Theory which looked at physical state eating and mind state eating. This week I want to concentrate on ‘Mind State Eating’ and how we can stop feeding our Mind State and start feeding our Physical State.
Why do we eat?
That might sound like a silly question, however, we eat for lots of different reasons and there are many factors which influence our eating habits:
- Cultural factors
- Evolutionary factors
- Social factors
- Familial factors
- Individual factors
From the list above I’d like to talk about individual factors, meaning we as individuals decide to eat what we eat and why we eat.
As discussed in the first part of this article a lot of people eat for emotional reasons, I know I do sometimes and it’s amazing how being aware of emotional eating can help to change the behaviour. In the long term emotional eating doesn’t work but it seems like a great short term fix for coping with the way we feel sometimes. I say great, but I really mean it feels as though it feeds our emotion at the time of eating, although other feelings of guilt, anger, depression may arise soon after, and the consequences of long term emotional eating can be harmful physically and mentally.
How do we recognise emotional eating?
- Mind state hunger comes on suddenly; physical state hunger occurs gradually.
- When you are mind state hungry your foods are usually linked to a specific emotion. So, if you are happy you might eat pizza, if you are sad you might eat ice cream, when you are bored you might eat biscuits. However, when you are physically hungry you will be open to filling a real hunger and therefore open to options.
- Mind state hunger needs to be satisfied ‘RIGHT NOW’ whereas physical state hunger can wait a little longer as it is a gradual process.
- when you are eating from the mind state you tend to keep eating even when you have gone past the stage of being full. When you are eating from the physical state mind you usually stop eating when you are full.
- Mind state eating can leave feelings of guilt as you might feel you should not be eating. When you are eating from the physical mind state you do not feel that guilt.
How do we stop emotional eating?
This is the million dollar question. There are a number of ways we can start to control our behaviour of emotional eating:
Awareness:
This is one of the ways I have found works best for me, but it doesn’t mean to say it will work for you. Awareness is all about being aware of why you are eating and what you are eating and when.
For example you might eat ice cream when you are feeling sad. You might eat chocolate on a Friday night, curled up on the couch and watching a movie with the family. You might eat pastry as a quick snack meal and on and on it goes. Become aware of what you are eating and when.
Alternate you statement
Before you reach for the pastry, or the biscuit or the ice cream ask yourself 1 question ‘Am I hungry?’as soon as you ask yourself this question immediately follow it up with an ‘Alternate you’ statement such as ‘I am 200 pounds and don’t eat pastry’ – the statement should be what you want your ideal weight to be and should include the food type you are reaching for.
Do this every time you go to eat something. You are no expecting to give up food altogether it’s just to make you aware of how often you are eating. The more you ask yourself the question the more you are emotionally eating.
I always allow myself a day off, usually movie night on a Friday night when I can eat what I want, however, I have found I eat much less even on the day I can have anything.
Urge Control:
Urge control is used a lot in the alcohol field when clients with alcohol issues are not drinking but get a lot of urges and cravings. Urges are different from cravings in that they are weaker and a little easier to control than a craving.
Urge control involves distraction techniques. As soon as you get the urge to eat something you need to find something else to do for the next 15 minutes (the length of time it can take to get over an urge). An urge is simply a thought that pops into your head which turns into a statement in your mind telling your brain you want a biscuit, or some ice cream. If we interrupt the thought and push it aside with another distraction, the urge should go away.
Examples of distractions are:
- Read a good book or magazine or listen to music.
- Go for a walk or jog.
- Do some meditation.
- Talk to a friend.
- Do housework, washing or get out in the garden.
- Wash the car.
- Write a letter.
- Or do any other pleasurable or necessary activity until the urge to eat passes.
Food diary:
This is another great way to get a visual representation of what you are eating on any given day. The only thing is you have to be completely honest with yourself.
You can either print out your food diary and look at it that way or you can join a social weight loss site and input your daily food intake such as FatSecret.com
The great thing about a food diary is you can’t cheat at it unless you want to cheat yourself. You can either count the calories, the carbs, the fat, etc and go on a more measured approach to eating.
If you want to print out a food diary instead I have made a sample here for you Free Food Diary
Conclusion
As you can see there are lots of reasons why we eat what we eat and why we eat when we eat, and it is rarely because we are genuinely hungry. Emotional eating has become an epidemic and the evidence for it is becoming clear and will only get worse over the years. I am only learning about emotional eating and it’s making a difference and I hope this article will spur you on to look into this as well.
As ever I love hearing your thoughts on this, good or bad.
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Your point about being aware of why your eating is the key. I think this also extends into future planning: an awareness at mealtimes of what your physical load is going to be in the next few hours. If you are planning some heavy work in the garden then it’s okay to eat a bit more beforehand to stock up on energy. There’s no risk because it’s going to be burnt off. If you are injured or resting from exercise then it’s wise to be aware that you will not be burning the same calories and so need to cut back on portions sizes.
Hi Dave. You’ve made some good points about being able to eat a little more when you have been working out or know you are going to work and need energy and eating less when resting.
I struggled with my weight for many years. Running from one quick fix to another. From diet pills to shakes, you name it I tried it. Then someone asked me a question: “Are you eating to live or living to eat?”
That one question changed my “emotional” state around food. I no longer needed many of the sweets I used to have. There was no need, the control food had over me kinda disappeared.
It’s funny how something as simple as a question can change your habits. I guess I just wasn’t ready to listen before.
Great article Steve, hopefully people can see that emotions are truly the reason for overeating. There’s no need for pills and shakes.
Cheers,
Rishi Pathani
.-= Self Improvement Explained´s last blog ..Comfort Zones Explained =-.
Hi Rishi, thanks for commenting on this article. Questions are extremely important in life, but more important is the right questions, I think if we ask the right questions in life then change, for the better, can occur.
I read a good article by you a while back. When you feel an urge to eat out of turn, you repeat your ideal goal weight to yourself out loud. The sound and picture of that goal weight helps you modify your eating urges. I actually have thought of that and used it a few times since reading that article.
I would add that I also like your list of distraction strategies. Great ideas overall. Thank you for sharing!
.-= Steve-Personal Success Factors´s last blog ..Discover the Secret of Future Proofing Your Career =-.
Hi Steve, thanks for you comments and I am glad you found the urge control tactic helped a little.
This was so well done Steve. So many different emotions can be anchored in eating. Everything from approval to self-punishment. No diet or exercise program can be truly effective until we discover and deal with the emotional issues. I feel certain that this will be an eye opener for many.
.-= Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..20 Ways to Create More Time =-.
Hi Jonathan, I take that as a great compliment from a health fanatic like yourself. It’s amazing that it takes us so long to discover that most of the things we do in life comes from the mind first and if we get the ‘mind game’ right out lives could be so much better.
Steve,
It just so happens I have decided to lose 25lbs (just under 2 stones for the Brits reading this). I’ve lost this amount of weight in the past, but usually have only been successful doing so when I had a specific goal to motivate me. And by “specific goal” I mean something beyond “I want to lose 25lbs.” For me, the specific goals have to be something beyond a desire to lose weight, and they must be real.
For instance, I had to lose about 20lbs a few years ago to pass a physical for the US Navy. I lost it in about a 30 days because I really wanted to get back into the reserves. I know people who have lost significant weight because they had a reunion, a wedding, etc.
The point is, for many people having a goal beyond a desire to lose weight is key in weight loss, and in maintaining a healthy weight.
I think another strategy that works for me is not so much denying my urges, but weighing them against the urge that will be satisfied on meeting my goal. That does not mean I give up ice cream entirely, but that I cut back. In other words, for me, total self denial does not work. I have to indulge, but I do so in moderation.
Not all people are alike. My wife, for instance, is a all or nothing sort of person.
The strategy that is right for you is always the best strategy. Sounds simple, but its true.
Chris
.-= Chris Akins´s last blog ..10 seconds to perfect balance =-.
Hi Chris. I think you’ve made an excellent point here about motivation in general. It’s not good enough to say I want to lose weight, you’ve got to give yourself good reasons to lose weight like you did when joining the navy reserves.
You’ve added another tool to the toolbox or urge control as well which is good. The cost/benefit analysis strategy is a good one but sometimes when you have a more serious addiction to food it could mean ‘biscuit abstinence’
This is a complex subject. For anyone who is dealing with extreme emotional eating, I just want to say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you can find freedom. I have healed my own very dark eating issues (we’re talking eating-out-of-garbage-can behaviors, here) and I now have a beautiful, peaceful relationship with food and my body.
One important thing I want to add here: diets = damaged relationship with food. Period.
Also, I would highly reccommend the book _Intuitive Eating_ by Tribole and Resch. The book contains an emotional eating continuum that shows the complexity of this issue in that it ranges from mild (eating for sensory pleasure rather than hunger) to extreme (eating to punish oneself).
.-= Joy Tanksley´s last blog ..A Definition of Joy =-.
Hi Joy, this is a very complex subject but I think we can break it down into more simpler steps and give strategies for each step.
Thanks for sharing part of your story and I love your expression “I now have a beautiful, peaceful relationship with food and my body.”
Thanks also for the book recommendation, it’s always great to hear recommendations of books from people you know.
It’s good to see you addressing a topic so many struggle with. I have discovered many “raw”, delicious desserts that are very healthy and that is nice. I can satisfy my desire for yummy food (lots of gourmet raw in general) and stay well.
Still, I feel a core issue is that we simply have not formed a foundation in our culture (and many) of loving and appreciating our amazing bodies. If we don’t value it, we treat it like a thrift store item rather than a prized possession that we love. When we value something we naturally want to treat it better.
With THAT foundation, I believe, eating and exercise take their proper place – something we can maintain over time because we feel INSPIRED rather than forcing ourselves.
I like your suggestions of alternatives to stuffing our faces to stuff our feelings!
Thanks, Steve!
Lauren
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..Controlling Others: Not A Strategy That Makes For The Best Relationships Ever =-.
Lauren,
I totally agree with you that LOVE must be at the core – love for our bodies, love for our deepest selves. I firmly believe that so many techniques to “control” our eating behavior stem from fear. Ultimately, fear fails. The really cool thing I have discovered is that when we come at this body/food issue from a place of love, it becomes EASY. The struggle falls away. Sounds like you have found this, too!
Hi Lauren, I think you are spot on with your comments and I think you’re right about it being a cultural issue as well.
This is all good stuff almost as good as those cinnamon rolls;) Seriously it’s so needed. I’m an emotional eater. I agree to allow yourself some things once or twice a week. Then there is no feeling of deprivation. Or I’ve found just a few bites of something will work. I don’t keep any of the trigger foods in my home because I don’t have much control when upset.
I like the tools you give so freely. Thanks!
.-= Tess The Bold Life´s last blog ..Create a Blog Buzz-How to Blow the Lid Off Ordinary =-.
Hi Tess, I am like you, I don’t totally self deny but rather I have made an agreement with my mind that Friday night is for letting loose a little and holidays as long as I keep exercising
Trigger foods is a good phrase to use here.
Steve I just ate some Easter candy…my favorite of course!
.-= Tess The Bold Life´s last blog ..Create a Blog Buzz-How to Blow the Lid Off Ordinary =-.
Hi Steven,
Two practical steps I take are 1) I always take a packed lunch to work (tuna sandwiches, fruit etc) – this means that the decision to eat healthy food has already been made before I get to meal-time. 2) I keep a big stock of sugar-free chewing gum around – I find thats a great distraction and the act of chewing seems to disrupt the “want to eat” urge.
Thaks for the article.
Gareth
Hi Gareth, some excellent tips about the packed lunch and the sugar free chewing gum. Thanks for that.
Instead of turning to food when stressed out we should channel that stress into other avenues such as magazine reading like you mentioned, yoga or even exercising.
Physical, strenuous exercises will cause natural, “happy” chemical such as endorphans to be released into our bodies. Food shouldn’t always be the resort!
Excellent article, great food for thought.
Thanks for sharing
Jarrod
.-= Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey´s last blog ..You Know You’re Favored by God When… =-.
Hi Jarrod, I take it the pun was intended “…great food for thought. ”
, thanks for your comments.
Hi Steve, Thanks for the pragmatic tips. Like Jarrod I’ve found that exercise/ going for a walk is the best way to elevate my mood and thus overcome any Mental State urges to eat. I never realized that I was practicing ‘urge control’ as you say. It often helps me too when I can pause and think how I will feel AFTER I have splurged on junk food. When I think of the sick feeling I know I will have, I can consciously decide I would rather feel good.
.-= rob white´s last blog ..Self-Dependence Day =-.
Hi Rob, it’s good to hear about readers who are actually practising this already and it’s working for them.
Thanks for a great post, Steven.
I have some experience of losing weight and I can say that I got the best results when I stopped concentrating on eating. I shifted my goal from losing weight to eating only healthy foods. Another idea that helped me was focusing on my happiness and what I need in life in order to feel accomplished. Food is definitely not at the top of my happiness list.
I think that practicing mindful eating is also an important part of conquering any emotional eating problems. After all, food is just food and we all should remember it.
.-= Anastasiya´s last blog ..15 Non-boring Fitness Ideas =-.
Hi Anastasiya. So good that you have overcome your eating issues and managed to turn it around in such a positive way. thanks for sharing part of your story.
Hi Steve,
I think you make a great point about eating making us feeling better in the moment, but the underlying problem still keeps coming back. And I’m sure eating often makes the underlying emotional problem even worse since eating too much has obvious negative consequences. People feel bad, then they eat more, they feel better in the moment, then they feel bad again, then they eat more, etc. It’s not a good cycle.
Furthermore, I completely agree that awareness is so important. I had actually never heard of mind state hunger and physical state hunger before your articles. It’s quite interesting to think about how people can eat for various reasons (some being good and others not so good). If you are aware, this can help stop a negative cycle.
.-= Greg Blencoe´s last blog ..Letting go of certain relationships =-.
Hi Greg thanks for your comments. Mind State and Physical State eating are just phrases I thought sounded right when it came to our eating habits.
.-= Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Feeding The Mind With Food =-.
This post has a lot of good information. Some of would seem like common sense, but it is often over looked. In fact I reread it a second time. Main thing is too figure out what triggers your bad eating. For me it would be boredom. I figure if there is nothing to do, I might as well eat.
I personally agree with doing worthwhile activities to control urges. Whenever I think I’m hungry but I know that physically I’m not, I listen to music and call up my friend. After that I’ll realize that it was just an urge or a craving and I’ve overcome it.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of a Person with a Cognitive Disability =-.
I kept a raw food diet for 9 and a half months. Boy, that was a fantastic experience. I’m not talking only about the physical benefits, like weight loss, mental clarity, sleep improvement or the prevalence of positive feelings (up to the point of being euphoric for hours), but it was also a fantastic experience in terms of learning what and why we’re eating.
I discovered that almost our entire mental programming is to eat for pleasure. Once you break this mental barrier and start controlling what you eat, you connect with a source of fantastic energy. We’re incredibly influenced by what we eat so the moment we take control over our mental programming, our life changes dramatically.
Thanks for the tips, Steven
.-= Dragos Roua´s last blog ..The Magic Fairy Exercise =-.
Nice continuation from the previous post. Emotional eating is another hole I fall into sometimes, it’s so easy to eat when your bored >.<
.-= Craig Thomas´s last blog ..How To Effectively Change Someone’s Mind =-.
hi Steve,
thanks for the insights. you have really opened my eyes by this wonderful article.
once again thanks
.-= hesbon kerongo´s last blog ..Apr 14, Successful life guide =-.
I should have commented on this post earlier. Really interesting article. I’ve enjoyed it! Thanks!