How to manage emotional eating during uncertain times

I’d like to share a media interview that I did earlier this week with CTV Winnipeg morning live. These are very stressful times for everyone around the world, and in times of stress, self-care is usually the first aspect of health that gets put on the back burner. In this interview, I share my thoughts on emotional eating, using food to cope with stress and what we can do to help manage our stress eating during these difficult times of the pandemic. I hope you enjoy the interview!

Tips from my interview

TURNING TO FOOD FOR COMFORT/ EMOTIONAL EATING:  

• Many people use food to cope, and I want to say doing so is not a bad thing, and we shouldn’t feel ashamed if we get stressed and turn to food for comfort. Food brings us comfort and pleasure and we should feel that consuming food in this way is wrong.
• The very first strategy for managing emotional eating is to make sure you’re eating enough food throughout the day.
• This means eating balanced meals and snacks with combinations of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
• Our health can be negatively impacted by long-term stress eating and we need to seek other ways to cope with the stress.
• We need to find ways to stay calm and nurture ourselves without turning to food.

Strategies you can implement:

• Practice not reacting: Before you turn to food for comfort, ask yourself “what am I feeling” and then ask yourself “what do I need” and often it is something other than food like needing a distraction, support or self-care.
• Find a distraction: Go for a walk, do some yoga, call a friend or do a puzzle.
• Nurture yourself: Find ways to nurture yourself, like journaling, reading a book, taking a bath, play with your kids, or take a nap.

If you need help with emotional eating or using food to cope with stress, we can help you en the FOOD FIGHT!

Check out Nutrition Academy for our dietitian led workshops!

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