Taking Charge of Our Emotions

What to Expect Today… Learn Our Own Emotional Eating Cues and How to Conquer Them Identify the Never-Ending Cycle Hunger vs. Appetite Understand and Use the Hunger/Satiety Scale Should I Snack? During this session, participations will be able to have a better understanding of these 5 major topic areas. “You will learn what your own emotional eating cues are, how to identify this never-ending cycle, grasp the difference between hunger and appetite, understand and use the hunger/satiety scale, and finally why it is okay and encouraged to snack.”

Emotional Eating Cues Anger Hopelessness Lack of control Boredom Anxiousness Loneliness Stress Thoughts or feelings What others say or do The sight or smell of food Certain activities Identify and discuss these emotional eating cues. USE HANDOUT “WHAT ARE MY EMOTIONAL ‘CUES’?” This slide is to help your participants with self-awareness. “Each of us beats to our own drum. We all have different situations that trigger different emotions that may result in overeating. Do you eat because you are angry? Bored? Stressed? Everyone responds to situations differently. The important component is that you learn to identify them and develop coping mechanisms that allow you to respond in a healthful manner.” Read this slide aloud as a question. Do you eat because you are angry? At someone? Something? A situation? Do you eat because you are hopeless? Do you eat because you feel you have lost control? Do you eat for control? Do you eat because you are bored? Do you eat because you are anxious? Do you eat because you are lonely? Or feel alone? Do you respond to stress by eating? Do you eat because of your own thoughts and/or feelings? About you? The world? Your career? Your family? Are you influenced to eat by what others say or do? Does the sight or smell of a particular food entice you to eat? Do you participate in certain activities in which all you do is eat? Overeat? Using handout What are My Emotional Eating ‘Cues’? , we will examine what triggers us to eat. Take a few minutes to have your participants fill-in a few cues that often result in eating behaviors.

Managing Your Mind When you eat for reasons other than hunger, it is referred to as ‘emotional eating’ Identify food connections: What you eat Where you eat When you eat How you eat When you are too upset to eat In additional to the emotional eating cues, ask your members to answer these questions; give them a few minutes to complete their response. This slide is to help your participants with self-awareness. Ask your group to volunteer a few of their answers. As a group, discuss what the cue is, what foods are consumed, and what a healthy alternative would be. “When we start to examine the reasons for WHY we overeat, it becomes clear to us that there is room to improve our thoughts and our behaviors. When keeping your food journal, take a couple of extra minutes to jot down your emotions when you consumed a food item. Where you stressed? Bored? With friends? etc”

The Never Ending Cycle I gain weight I eat more I feel fat Many emotional eaters will identify with this slide. As you discuss this cycle with your participants ask them to keep themselves in mind. Ask them if they can identify with this cycle? Can you relate? “This cycle probably looks very familiar to many of us. It is the never-ending cycle we spiral through with emotions and food.” I feel fat I am negative

Hunger vs. Appetite Hunger is defined as a physiological need for food It is associated with a discomfort, weakness or pain caused by the lack of food Appetite is defined as a psychological desire for food It is a learned motivation and positive sensations that accompany the sight, smell, or thought of food Hunger and appetite have been defined by Nutrition – Concepts and Controversies 7th edition and www.dictionary.com. Hunger is innate; we are all born with the need to eat for satiety (feeling of fullness). Appetite, which is learned, can teach us to ignore hunger or to over-respond to it. Below is a list of factors that are thought to affect hunger and appetite: Hunger Central Nervous System: parts of the hypothalamus monitor glucose levels and trigger hunger when glucose levels run low. Other body systems: The liver will also signal low glycogen stores, adipose tissue may signal energy needs, and hormones trigger hunger. Disease State: obesity, mental illness, diabetes many cause increased hunger. Emotional influences: availability of food, weather, media sources, routine, and meal patterns influence hunger. Appetite Preferences and aversions; what you like, how things taste, how things smell. Environmental influences (i.e. temperatures); do you eat certain foods in the cooler weather vs. warmer weather. Social influences: culture, religion, social pressures, and companionships determine which foods we accept. Pharmacological influences: drugs can increase your appetite. Pleasures of taste, texture and odors can increase or decrease your appetite.

Appetite Eating When was the last time you felt real hunger? What time of day do you generally binge or overeat? If you were to binge, what foods would you eat? Are you a slow, moderate, or fast eater? How often are your eating habits related to stress and emotions? How often do you eat past the point of comfortable satiety? As you read these questions aloud, pause for a few seconds to allow your participants to write down their answer. Remind your participants to be honest with themselves! “We all have an easy time indulging in our favorite foods and snacks. Let’s face it…in America, we are almost forced to be overweight and obese. With restaurants on every street corner, elevators, escalators, and vending machines within an arms length away, losing weight does not come naturally for most of us. Yet knowing when we eat, why we eat and what we eat may make the battle with weight loss become a whole lot easier.”

Experts have found that most cravings pass within 20 minutes Beating the Cravings Identify foods you crave Time meals to prevent excess hunger Do not avoid certain foods Learn to enjoy small portions Find healthy alternatives Try new foods Experts have found that most cravings pass within 20 minutes Identifying personal cravings will allow participants to recognize them. Identify what type of foods they often crave..cookies? Cakes? Ice cream? Most likely these are comfort food(s). When planning your day, also plan when and where you are going to eat to avoid long periods without food. Long periods without nutrients precipitate your blood sugar levels to drop dramatically. When this occurs, it is difficult to make healthy choices. Often we reach for the quickest food which is traditionally unhealthy and full of calories. A balanced diet consists of a variety of foods. A wide variety prevents boredom. Portions in America are out of control! Learning portion size is the key to long-term success. Begin to realize that smaller portions are okay. There are many healthy alternatives available. Begin to identify what they are and incorporate them into your balanced diet. Never shy away from new foods. Commit to trying one new food a week.

Conquer Emotional Eating Be positive Overcome guilt Have control over eating Be prepared, plan ahead Record what you eat Use non-food rewards Find an outlet Exercise Eat from plates, not from packages Stick to an eating schedule Eat slowly Do not eat while watching TV Be Positive: Think about good health and how much better you are feeling. Place pictures of fun activities around you, or pictures of family if that is what is motivating you to make this change. Take away all of the negative images that you have and surround yourself with positive images to enjoy this change in lifestyle. Overcoming guilt: recognize that you should not feel guilty about emotional eating but, understand where the cues are coming from. Have control over eating: Be aware of what your strengths and weakness are with your food habits. Have a support person prepare you to deal with these situations. Be prepared: This is so very important! Schedule your meals and snacks ahead of time so you can avoid temptation and increase convenience. Try to schedule an activity following your meals to avoid other temptations. Plan meals and snacks ahead. Haphazard eating often leads to high-calorie eating. Pack low calorie snacks, such as raw vegetables or granola bars instead of chips and candy. Record what you eat: Write everything down, make yourself accountable and aware of what you are or are not actually consuming on a daily basis. Use non-food rewards: Find something that motivates you and use it when you need a helping hand. Celebrate your success (not with food), buy or do something that supports your successes and achievements. Does anyone have an idea to share that they use as a reward? Think about this with your children as well. Find an outlet: Find an activity that will occupy your mind, something that you enjoy. When you get the urge to nibble, distract yourself and do something else. Jog, call a friend, walk the dog, step outside, anything to distract yourself. Exercise: In addition to all the health benefits, this is an outlet to overcome emotional eating. Eat from plates, not from packages. This helps to make sure you know exactly how much you are eating. You may tend to not know how much you have eaten if you nibble straight from the bag or a carton. Portion foods before bringing them to the table. You will most likely eat less this way. Use smaller bowls and plates so the servings look larger and more filling. Stick to a schedule. There are no strict rules about eating three meals a day. However it does help to stick to a routine to establish regular eating habits. Missed meals can lead to impulsive snacking and overeating. This may lower the rate at which your body burns energy. Eat slowly. Enjoy the flavor of each bite. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. Try putting your fork down inbetween bites, this will help to slow down the process. Swallow before filling your fork again. Stop eating when you leave the table. Avoid the urge to nibble on leftovers while you are cleaning up. Just eat. Make eating the only event going on and enjoy it. When you eat while distracted, you may overeat without even trying.

Use the Hunger/Satiety Scale Rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10 before, during, and after meals and snacks This will help you to be more aware of hunger and appetite cues Explain the rating system of the hunger/satiety scale to your participants. Number one is not hungry, most likely an appetite response; five represents a moderately hungry feeling; and ten is starving where you must eat something. The number ten is likely to result in binge or overeating. Use the snacking handout to discuss the importance of snacking. Snacking helps to manage energy levels, control weight, maximize nutrition, and prevent binge or overeating. Where am I? 1 5 10 Not Hungry Moderately Hungry Starving

Take the stairs instead of the elevator! Get Moving Tip Take the stairs instead of the elevator!

Sing It One More Time… Why Emotional Eating Occurs Know Your Cues There is a Difference Between Hunger and Appetite Put What You Have Learned into Practice Snacking Suggestions Review the emotional cues and where that behavior comes from. Ask your participants to remember what they identified and wrote down in reference to themselves. Remind your class that there is a difference between hunger and appetite and how to recognize them. Finally, encourage your members to review this session on their own so that they can reinforce what pertains to them especially if they are emotional eaters. Have them put the suggested snacking list in a visible spot for easy reference.

Words of Wisdom “Hope is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only to take a deep breath and say ‘YES,’ and hope will reappear.” -Author Monroe Forester