There is an undeniable link between our moods or emotional status and the kind of foods we eat as well as our eating habits. Whenever we find ourselves eating uncontrollably, it is usually to deal with stressful life situations or negative feelings hidden deep inside us. Have you ever found yourself alone and facing an anxious family or work situation? How did you deal with the situation? While some of us will phone a friend or hit the gym with a vengeance, others will resort to a bucket of ice cream tucked away in the fridge specifically for such moments. And once the lid is popped, they will eat scoop after scoop until the container is empty without realising it. Only when they put the container down do they suddenly become aware of how much they’ve eaten and they are then overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, shame, disgust or even depression.
Binge eating because of boredom
Finding yourself at home with nothing to do and a whole weekend stretching out ahead of you is the starting points of many a binge eating session. You reach for a bag of chips and plonk yourself on the sofa and stuff yourself as you watch a DVD. Before you know it the sun has gone down and you’ve gone through the entire bag alongside a host of other knick-knacks whose wrappers are littered all around you. You’ve not eaten a healthy meal since morning and by the time you stumble to bed you’re feeling sick. If this scenario sounds familiar to you you’re probably wondering how you can avoid it. Having a to-do list for your weekend is a good place to start. There is plenty to do if you look around; a room that needs painting, a hedge that needs trimming, clothes that need mending etc. Make a list of these and pin it to your fridge door so that you’re triggered to get active just when you’re reaching for comfort foods.
Stress can lead to binge eating
Every one of us adults has probablyexperienced our own version of stress. Be it the long day your boss gave you when you failed to meet a deadline or when your child fell ill and your car broke down on the same day. What do you do to cope on such days? A number of us will feel that the world is against us and that our only friend lies hidden in the fridge or in the pantry. But you don’t have to punish your body whenever unplanned-for disasters arise. There are other ways to deal with the stress. Calling a close friend and venting is one of them. Hitting the gym hard is another.
Depression can have you binge eating
Everyone experiences times when they feel low, sometimes without knowing exactly why. But it just seems you can’t get yourself motivated to do anything. Apart from reaching from that bar of KitKat, that is. Then reaching for another, and another, until you reach a point of nausea.But there are other ways of dealing with depression. Ways that build you as a person, and don’t destroy your health. Many people have found solace in exercise whenever they feel heavy. Take a jog in the park whenever you feel that heaviness setting in; I guarantee you will feel much lighter and brighter. Moreover, once you get started, make it a habit and you will reap an improved physique from a case of the blues.
Richie Richardson provides general health tips. He also writes on popular weight loss programs Medifast and Diet to Go. By using codes such as Medifast coupon and dietto go voucher codes discounts can be availed for the weight loss programs.