Face your feelings, remove guilt to manage emotional eating, say experts

Instead of stopping it suddenly, one can manage emotional eating  pragmatically. In  a  chat  with  DT  Next,  nutritionist  Sandhya  Manian  says,  "When  the  lockdown started last summer, many felt like a long  holiday  with  the  freedom  of  work  from  home.

Soon, this freedom became a burden and many  started  losing  the  boundaries  between  work,  family  and  self-care.  Most  of  my  clients  stopped  maintaining  a  regular  eating  cycle   they  started  complaining  of  weight  gain,  high  sugar  levels  and  were  feeling  unhappy.

Even  though  we  have  access  to  eating  at  any  time  of  the day we are not satisfied and happy. All these indicate  one  main  condition    poor  sleeping  pattern. Sleep is a great medicine but many end up  sleeping  late.

The  repair  mechanism  of  our  body  happens  between  10  pm  and  5  am.  If  you  sleep late, say by 2 am, then you are compromising  your  physical  healing.  If  there  is  a  poor  sleep  pattern,  you  will  end  up  eating  mindlessly.

If  you  can  work  on  your  sleeping  pattern  then  you  can  take  charge  of  your  eating  habits  as well."The  city-based  nutritionist  suggests  ways  in  which one can maintain the sleep cycle. "Firstly, sleep on time daily. Stop using gadgets after 8  pm.  The  majority  of  us  don’t  have  a  demanding  job    so  wind  up  work  by  6  pm  and  relax.

Those who have late working hours should find some  other  alternative.  Learn  to  unwind  the  mind  and  body  to  get  into  sleep.  We  all  know  how to start a day  by going for a walk, doing yoga or exercises, but don’t know how to end a day.  There  are  specific  yoga  practices  to  relax   you  can  get  in  touch  with  a  yoga  teacher.  There are also chanting and sleep programs you can  sign  up  for.

The  ideal  sleeping  time  is  be-tween 9-10 pm to 4 am-6 am. If you can maintain this cycle, your body will get into a natural state of   balance.   Secondly,   plan   meals      have   a   healthy  mix  of  veggies,  fruits,  nuts  and  seeds.  Thirdly,  stay  hydrated    lack  of  water  intake  is misunderstood as hunger. So, when you feel hungry or feel a craving, drink water, smoothies or juices," she explains.

Sandhya  also  stresses  the  need  to  talk  to  a  psychologist, nutritionist or yoga therapist and seek help. “Resorting to food for emotional wellness  is  harmful.  The  happiness  one  gets  while  stress  eating  is  short-lived  and  it  leads  to  guilt  trips and other complications. Seek help if you feel like you are overeating."Psychologist and mindset coach Nikita Vyas says that emotional hunger is triggered at a specific  time    after  an  emotional  episode  (argument/bad news, etc) due to anxiety/uncertainty or  after  completing  a  taxing  task.

“Eat  if  it  makes you happy but don’t feel guilty about it. Guilt  is  what  adds  to  more  emotional  eating.  Sometimes a craving is just a craving. If you feel like eating something, try to eat in small quantities.  Also,  prepare  for  the  craving.  If  you’re  aware  of  the  timings  (late  night,  difficult  conversations,   etc)   prepare   something   that   is   healthy  and  can  fill  your  craving.

If  you  have  craving for ice cream add some granola to it. If chocolate  is  your  thing  try  eating  dark  chocolate or cacao which has less sugar,” says Nikita Vyas.Take  a  look  at  the  pantry  and  remove  the  items  that  could  be  unhealthy  for  you.  “If  you  need to stock it for whatever reason, try to put it in  some  containers  that  cannot  be  easily  accessed.

The  most  important  aspect  is  to  face  your  feelings    talk  about  what  is  happening  with  a  friend  or  partner  or  someone  you  trust.  Acknowledge   your   feeling   and   name   them.   Naming the feeling will help you stay in control of  your  craving.  Start  doing  meditation  daily  and include a healthy diet in your everyday life.

Move  your  body  for  better  circulation  and  balancing  high  energy  levels  that  sometimes  re-lease pleasure chemicals that can help manage your craving. Unsubscribe food channels, mute food   profiles   or   influencers   (at   least   for   a   while),” she remarks.Nikita further says that if a person is unable to  manage  all  these  methods,  then  he/she  may  need to hire a counsellor or a nutritionist.

“You cannot stop a craving or stop emotional eating; it can trigger anytime. Be kind and compassionate  with  yourself  instead  of  judging  yourself.  Listen to what your body wants and not the other  way  round.  Give  yourself  the  time  to  understand the feelings and emotions instead of forcing  yourself.  Emotional  eating  cannot  be  managed  only  emotionally  or  mentally.

Managing  emotional  eating  is  never  easy  and  requires  a  lot of work and mindfulness but if done compassionately,  it  easily  works  and  helps,”  Nikita  concludes.