T.J. Samson | Destination Health | February 2020

Hit pause. When a craving strikes, put off eating for a few minutes—or even one minute to start. Use the time to try to figure out what emotions are behind your urge to eat. While eating for comfort can make you feel good in the moment, ultimately you may feel worse because of all those calories you just consumed. emotional Spot the red flags. Sometimes it’s tricky to tell emotional and physical hunger apart. Here are tipoffs. Emotional hunger: Comes on rapidly and can feel over- whelming, while physical hunger happens gradually. Isn’t satisfied even if you’re stuffed, while physical hunger goes away when you’re full. Involves powerful cravings for specific comfort foods (you want pizza or pie—nothing else), while physical hunger isn’t so particular (you are happy to eat healthy foods, like veggies). Soothe your feelings without food. Find other ways to comfort yourself emotionally. For example, if you’re feeling: ●  ● Sad or lonely, call or text a supportive friend or family member who almost always puts a smile on your face. A furry friend—your cat or dog—can cheer you up too. ●  ● Stressed, get rid of pent-up energy with a brisk walk. Take some deep breaths, squeeze a stress ball or stretch away tension. For exam- ple, roll your head or shoulders in gentle circles. ●  ● Exhausted, relax with a hot cup of tea or a warm bath. Or wrap yourself in a soft blanket and chill on your couch. ●  ● Bored, clean out a junk drawer or tackle an- other task on your to-do list. Grab a book or listen to your favorite podcast. Add items to your scrapbook, shoot hoops, swim laps—any choice works as long as it distracts you from food. Sources: American Academy of Family Physicians; HelpGuide.org eating 2 1 3 HOW TO TAME Behavioral health H ave you ever cozied up to some mac and cheese after a bad day at work and wolfed down more than you intended? Binged on a bag of chips when you were bored? Consoled yourself with ice cream straight from the container when you were sad? That’s emotional eating, and a lot of us have been there. While eating for comfort can make you feel good in the moment, ultimately you may feel worse because of all those calories you just consumed.That’s especially true if stress eating is sabotaging your attempts at getting to— or staying at—a healthy weight. REGAIN CONTROL No matter how often you eat to feel better, you’re not powerless to stop. Try these three strategies for putting an end to fixing your feelings with food: 4 DESTINATION HEALTH