How To Avoid Comfort Eating And Beat Food Cravings

Comfort Eating And Food CravingsA sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary habits are only partly to blame for the fight against flab. Often the reasons for weight gain are more complex. Many people have underlying psychological and physiological factors that make them the size they are, in which case, exercise and trying to persevere with a low-fat diet are not enough to win the battle for a better figure and a healthy lifestyle. Comfort eating, frequent cravings for sweet foods, or even just the occasional binging, is not an uncommon cause of weight gain.

If you’ve ever mindlessly worked your way through the entire biscuit tin, the chances are you weren’t really that hungry, but simply looking for instant gratification. And as you’ve had a couple, why not have the rest? The mushy, soft texture of sweet, stodgy foods can feel enormously satisfying in the mouth and on the taste buds. Carbohydrates such as bread and pasta also have a naturally calming effect, while chocolate has the bonus of containing a substance called phenylethylamine, which promotes a similar chemical sensation to feeling in love. It’s no wonder so many of us turn to food as an occasional mood-booster.

“The right food at the right time in the right amount is as effective as a tranquillizer,” says Judith J. Wurtman, a nutritionist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Just 25 to 50 g of carbohydrates can trigger the production of the mood-altering chemical serotonin, which eases anxiety within about 20 minutes.” Sounds good in theory, but what if you reach for the bread bin every time you feel stressed? “There’s a real danger with these types of foods,” says Professor David Booth, head of nutritional research at Birmingham University, “that because of the inherent feelgood factor, it’s easy to turn to them as comfort foods. This in turn can lead to lethargy and weight problems – which will only make you feel worse in the long run.”

Using food as an instant fix is a major indication that all is not well on the emotional front. “One of the most common reasons for overeating is to try to satisfy an emotional need,” says David Brooks, a psychotherapist specializing in weight control. “You might not even be aware of this, because often it’s totally subconscious – so you re-route what it is you think you’re feeling and turn it into hunger. Or if you do know, you ignore it and carry on eating. Often we’re not exactly sure of what it is we’re feeling, and that can be very confusing. For instance, you may be suppressing a lot of anger, sadness or frustration. Or perhaps you’re suppressing what it is that you’re really trying to say. This can leave you feeling stressed, edgy, irritable or restless, and comfort eating is a way of trying to make that feeling go away. But you cant expect food to make you feel less lonely, to take away depression or boredom, to heal the pain of a relationship, to relax or stimulate you. That’s totally unrealistic. While food can be soothing and help you to feel better in the short-term, it wont change your state of mind – it will just make you fatter.”