We all have our comfort foods… the ones that we eat to make us feel better. But do you indulge occasionally or are comfort foods your self-soothing technique?
Turning to food for comfort is so common that the term “comfort foods” is well recognized and conjures up images of mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, warm cinnamon buns and ice cream. Even though there are differences between genders with women preferring more snack-type foods like chocolate and men preferring more meal-type foods like pizza, we all turn to food at some point to make us feel better.
This starts at a very young age when our mom or dad holds us lovingly to feed us and we feel nurtured, loved and safe. Later, we may have been given treats or some type of food when we did not feel well, when we were sad or upset or some other uncomfortable feeling or emotion. Attaching the food to feeling better is a strong memory that becomes embedded and often repeated over and over.
Now you are an adult in a grown up world full of stress, worries and daily demands. If you have not learned other self-soothing techniques and effective ways to handle your stress and worry, you will turn more often to food as your comfort. It can creep up insidiously with just a dessert or two here and there, until you have full-blown cravings and difficulty managing what and how much you eat.
The good news is that once you identify that you are not eating because of physical hunger, you are on the road to change. Patterns of behavior can only be changed with awareness. Each time you want to eat, ask yourself first if you are really hungry? Or are you responding to an emotion or feeling and want to feel better?
If you are not really hungry, go to your Distraction List. This is a list you will make ahead of time of activities that are quick, enjoyable, available and eating incompatible. Everyone’s list will be different; some of mine include walk my dog, Buddy, write in my gratitude journal, look at old photos of my kids, meditate and dance. Every time you think of something fun or enjoyable, add it to your list. As your list grows, you have more to choose from when those moments strike.
This will start you on your way to changing that well dug in pattern. Baby steps… If you need some support and assistance, call me for a free consultation.