A very succinct article that describes a mnemonic device that you can use to help you H.A.L.T. incidences of emotional eating.
"Food provides us with the necessary nutrients and energy that our bodies need."
]Normally, "we eat food when we are physically hungry and we stop eating when we are physically satisfied ('full' or 'sated')."
"Sometimes, however, we eat for other reasons. That is, we eat not because we're hungry but when we are sad, angry, nervous, happy, or bored."
"This is a challenge for those people with diabetes who are trying to limit their carbohydrate intake, lose weight, or match insulin doses to food portions."
"Eating for other reasons besides physical hunger is often called emotional eating."
"We can use the mnemonic device H.A.L.T. to help us remember and guard against four important human conditions that are known to trigger this unhealthy eating behavior."
"The four letters in H.A.L.T. stand for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired.
Therefore, try to not let yourself get too:
- "Hungry. Eat regular meals and snacks throughout the day and do not skip meals. This helps regulate your appetite and prevents you from overeating at the next meal."
- "Angry. Sometimes we can’t avoid anger or other negative emotions. They are a part of life. We can, however, identify what we are feeling and then use other coping strategies, instead of eating, to address emotions that are strong enough to knock us off balance."
- "Lonely. Emotional eating often occurs when we are alone, feeling lonely and by ourselves. Look for ways to increase social interaction and connect to family and friends by phone or the Internet."
- "Tired. When we are tired, our defenses are down. At the beginning of the day, we can follow a meal plan just fine, but by the end of the day, when we are tired, it is harder for us to stay on track. Look for ways to take restful breaks during the day, and sleep well during the night."
"Use the H.A.L.T. mnemonic to quickly remember these four risky triggers for overeating, which often lead to high blood glucose levels."
"Keep H.A.L.T. in mind and see if using it helps you to reduce episodes of emotional eating."
So when was the last time you allowed yourself to get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired? Did you then eat even though you were not physically hungry?
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http://health.yahoo.net/experts/diabetescheckup/halt-emotional-eating