Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Updated : September 7, 2016 10:58 AM IST
People usually tend to overeat when they are stressed because they think that it is the best way to relieve stress. However, in the long run, it forms a habit of emotional eating or stress eating.
Dr Ramen Goel, Director, Bariatric surgery, Wockhardt hospitals, Mumbai, says, Stress eating or emotional eating is more to do with stress and emotions than just eating for the sake of it. To avoid stress, most people resolve to comfort food. But this doesn t mean you blame the person. In such a case, the key is to deal with stress. So to help you out in dealing with emotional eating, our expert Dr Ramen Goel, has shared some key inputs.
1. Get support from family: When stressed, do not hesitate to get support from friend and family rather than bingeing as it will only worsen your condition. Share your problems with your close relatives or loved ones as it will help in decreasing the load. If you know about your condition but are unable to control your stress and emotional eating, then ask a psychiatrist to help you out. Unlike popular belief that psychiatrists deal with only mental health problems, remember these people are trained to manage the situation and can help you out get out of it.
2. Eat healthy snacks at office and home: When people are stressed, oily and spicy foods make a way into the food platter. In such a case, choose healthy alternatives rather than indulging in oil-laden foods as it will cause more harm than good in the long run. Here are some guilt-free snacks to munch at work.
3. Keep temptations away: If sweets or ice creams or chip are your go-to-buddy when you are stressed or sad and tempt you to eat more, then keep these foods away. You can even write down triggers of emotional eating, so that the next time you have a look at it, you know what is causing you overeat.
4. Maintain a food dairy: The last but the most effective and useful one is to maintain a food diary. It not only helps you to keep track of your daily intake (with the quantity) right from morning to night but also helps you to know what your sore points are. For example, if you have a habit of drinking 5 cups of cappuccino a day, then writing it down can help you to go back and check your intake per day. And gradually over time, you will know that you are drinking excess coffee and you might cut it down.
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