I had the chance to attend a wellness seminar last night led by Dr. Laura Ruby. Dr. Laura works primarily with women to help them understand the relationship between chronic symptoms and core nutritional imbalances, environmental factors and poor lifestyle choices.
I was one of the few guys there to hear what she had to say, and I left impressed with what I heard. When I got home, I jumped on to her website and found the blog post below. I wanted to share it with you today, as a gentle reminder that good health is one of the keys to a happy and fulfilled life. We all have to work with what we’ve got, but simple, everyday changes can make a huge difference in our overall health. Even though the post focuses on women, guys can also benefit from putting her tips into practice.
Carbs Gone Wild- How To Tame Stress Eating
Guest Post by Dr. Laura Ruby, DNP, CRNP
Tips for Taming Stress Eating
Emotional eating can sabotage weight loss efforts when we turn to food for comfort, soothe negative emotions or out of sheer boredom. As women, many of us are notorious for stress eating. We further compound the issue by “beating up on ourselves” which ultimately leads to more overeating. Here are a few tips to help “tame” stress eating;
Stress management techniques: Whatever works for you – yoga, meditation or exercise (for me its gardening or taking brisk walk)
Stall: When you get the urge to eat anything that is not nailed down – stop for a few minutes to gain insight into what is driving the uncontrolled urge to eat. Can you connect it to an emotional response or are you actually having physical hunger. Sometimes waiting 5 – 10 minutes will make the difference.
Forgive yourself: Stop beating up on yourself if you have a bad day. This just leads to further overeating. We all “fall of the wagon” from time to time. Let it go and move on.
Food diary: Keep a food diary that includes a column to journal any significant events or emotions tied into what you have eaten that day. This may help you identify trends that will allow you to be more proactive in the future.
Support system: Team up with a friend that you can call when you are tempted to engage in excessive indulging.
Restructure your environment: Get rid of any foods that may tempt you. I tell my patients this all of the time. If you are craving chocolate cake, don’t bake a cake, but instead go out for a slice of cake. This takes more effort and decreases the chance that you will be eating chocolate cake for breakfast for the next week. For me it is donuts. I rarely buy donuts. If I do it will be enough for the kids to all have 1 donut each, rather than having a dozen sitting on the counter calling my name!
Get adequate sleep: Lack of sleep makes many of us crave bad carbs.
Avoid boredom: With 4 kids, a husband (make that 5 kids), 2 dogs, and working full-time I dream about actually being bored – just for a little while! However, if you find yourself eating out of boredom, find a hobby or activity to keep you out of the frig!
Binge eating: Seek counseling if you find yourself binge eating on a regular basis.
