Getting Real With Shadra Bruce

How many times has the box of Oreos or the bag of potato chips been something you turned to not because you were starving but because you needed emotional solace? Emotional eating is a way many of us retreat and de-stress. In many cases, food is the pivot upon which our social life turns. It’s difficult to put food in its proper place: fuel for our bodies.

Just as you would not put the wrong fuel in your gas tank and expect your car to run efficiently, you should not put the wrong fuel in your body and expect any better. If you’re trying to redefine food’s role in your life, it can help to identify the stress and emotion triggers that cause you to reach for food.

Once you begin to see where you’ve allowed food to become a habit – the after-work sweet treat to de-stress, the late-night munchie habit, the emotional snarfing that happens when you are upset or sad – you can learn to replace those responses with healthier ones. Stress is much easier to relieve on a treadmill than with a bag of chips; late-night munchies don’t have to go away but can be replaced with pre-cut veggies that fill you up without adding pounds

You may have many different triggers that push you toward comfort foods, and as you identify each, you can retrain yourself to feed that need in a different way. Instead of eating when you are stressed, call your sister (it works for me!). Instead of eating when you are angry, hop on the treadmill for ten minutes at the fastest pace you can handle (always consult with a doctor about your own personal exercise limits). If late night munching has turned into a nightly habit (and a fourth meal) start swapping your nachos and pizza for veggies and hummus or another healthy comfort food.

Food is fuel, not a path to better socializing, a solution for stress, or a way to make you feel better emotionally.

What are your triggers?