How to break the habit...

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A while ago, I talked about emotional eating - eating to compensate for something that's lacking in our lives or to comfort ourselves. But we often eat from habit, too. Actually, I'm not talking about eating as in 'eating a well balanced meal' (as in breakfast, lunch or dinner - all of which I hope are established habits in your day), but eating as in snacks and treats.

If you think about it carefully, you will probably realize that there are rituals associated with your in-between meal snacks and treats. Perhaps you habitually have a couple of biscuits with your tea or coffee: always munch on chips while you read a book; usually eat sweets while driving; reward yourself with chocolate for a job completed.

Habits can be difficult to break. So maybe try modifying the habit instead - have only one plain biscuit, and only with your afternoon tea or coffee: munch on grapes while you read: sing along to the radio or CD while you drive (good for coping with traffic stress, too): move on to the next challenge when you've completed the job (or tick the job off your to-do list). These new strategies are wiser choices for your mental health and your waistline. It is really not a good idea to eat anything while you are doing something else anyway. Your attention is diverted, and you consume far more than you realise.

We should be aware of every morsel that passes out lips - do we really need it? Probably not. Do we really want it? In the long term, no.

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Eating to feel

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Working from home can make weight loss and maintenance quite difficult. The kitchen is right there, and it is oh, so easy to make a cup of coffee and get out the biscuit box whenever I feel. Yes, that is the way I intended to write that last sentence.

I used to think that I wasn't an emotional eater, but, hey, it turns out I am! And we all seem to have a similar comfort attachment to food. As soon as we feel bored, lonely, unhappy, worried, stressed, tired, dissatisfied, disappointed or overworked - I bet you can add another dozen adjectives to this list, some even positive! - we tend to comfort or reward ourselves with food (and/or alcohol). And I'm not talking sensible portions of good, nutritious food. It's a case of "what can I eat to feel better?"

While eating for comfort may make us feel better - carbohydrates are naturally calming - the feeling is very temporary, and soon swamped out by other feelings... of guilt.

So we need to take control. We always have a choice. We can choose to eat a whole bar of chocolate / bag of pretzels / litre of ice cream. Or we can make a more responsible choice. Instead of indulging in empty calories and lots of fats - which we'll regret later - we can clean or tidy something. At home there is always some little job that needs doing, and even at the office we can tidy and reorganise desk drawers, or make a to-do list. Take a walk, even if it is only to the bathroom. Any distraction like these will improve our mood, and give a sense of achievement. (As long as we then don't then congratulate ourselves with food for a job well done!) If you must eat, have a piece of fresh fruit.

Objectivity helps, too. Mentally take a step back from the situation. Will it (the situation) really matter in a week's time? a year? Stretch. Really stretch. Breathe deeply and slowly.

Now, back to work.

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