Common Challenges: In the eyes of emotional eating

“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” Eleanor Roosevelt

This is a powerful quote and one I use often when meeting with some of my wonderful clients. It’s such a simple, short sentence but so thought provoking. Often upon an initial meeting with clients we discuss past medical history, medications, food allergies, exercise, meal timing and patterns and just skim the surface. I listen while a story is told and understand that it will take time for trust to be built as my client and I put our plan together to move forward.

As we move through this journey together, we find that more times than most it is not just about the food. We talk about using food as a fuel; we work on a meal plan and initiate lifestyle changes, and initiate exercise. Most of the time success is obtained and for some, this is when the fear starts to settle in. Will this last? I’m doing well now, when will I start to fail again? Can I keep this up this time?

It is important to understand it’s never about the food and that is why, when appropriate, I introduce the concept of keeping an emotional chart along with the food journal to document feelings, emotions, or activities that parallel eating.

If you find that you eat during times of stress, anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anticipation of events, depression, or anger it’s important to address this behavior and work within yourself to define trigger points, understand actions, and work on behavior modification. Emotional eating can become detrimental to weight loss and lifestyle change and it is important to get to address. Dietitians have an ability to discuss nutrition and health and introduce the concept of emotional eating, but a therapist is best to work with to uncover the parallel between the action and emotion.

Most dietitians pair up with therapists they trust and respect. The combination of therapy and nutrition intervention is an equation for success. If you have any of the signs above you can start by keeping a food and emotion journal. If you notice a pattern, make an appointment with a clinician. You can ask your physician, research the web, or even contact me at kindrednutrition@gmail.com and I’ll help you find the right fit. Good luck and be well.

Comments

Family Nutrition: What’s the deal with Multivitamins?

This is definitely one of my top ten questions from clients and frankly it’s a hard question because there isn’t a generic answer. The internet and such stores as the Vitamin Shoppe and GNC continue to place a lot of focus on vitamins and minerals and some of my clients swear by their regimen. I’ve even had some clients tell me they can tell a difference within hours of taking certain supplementations. Since this is a subject I try to tame my responses too, I was very glad to see the article “Multivitamins, So Many Types, So Many Labels” by Melinda Beck in the Wall Street Journal published June 21, 2001. Did you know that the multivitamin is the number one dietary supplement producing $4.8 billion back in 2008 and that one third of American’s take multivitamins religiously? As Melinda points out there are many different varieties of multivitamins yet there is no specific formulation that specifies what a multivitamin should look like. ...

Miraculous Misconceptions: Raspberry Ketones

The interwebs are abuzz about the supposedly “miraculous” Raspberry Ketone supplements. Raspberry Ketone popularity started with Dr. Oz's show in February 2012, when he nicknamed it a “miracle weight loss drug.” Some even credit Raspberry Ketones with stimulating hair growth, but for our purposes here, let’s talk about weight loss. Raspberry Ketones are derived from red raspberries. Proponents claim that the supplement will stimulate your metabolism causing weight loss. However, there are no reliable studies to prove this. Specifically there is no scientific evidence to show how it alters metabolism to promote weight loss. There is also no scientific evidence to determine a proper dosage. If you find a study that claims otherwise, check the funding source. Most likely, that study was funded by a company who produces or funds raspberry ketone products. As far as I know, no major pharmaceutical companies are investing in Raspberry Ketone research. And it is my opinion ...

Food Trends: Plant vs. Animal Protein

In my practice I see a lot of vegetarians who have a lot of questions about the types of protein they eat. In case you need a refresher, animal proteins are proteins derived from meat, dairy, and eggs. Plant protein is derived from nuts, seeds, beans, legumes and soy. Most animal proteins are higher in saturated fat as well as cholesterol which have been proved to increase risks of arteriosclerosis, a precursor to cardiovascular disease. A lot of the general public, not just vegetarians, are starting to focus on decreasing intakes of animal proteins and focusing on plant sources to decrease total calorie, fat, and cholesterol intake. It’s important to know that most generally healthy individuals only need .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Basically this means that a 150 pound man or woman requires about 54 grams of protein in an entire day. Protein is made from amino acids. Although there are many amino acids, ther...

Search This Blog