Here is some of the handout that was given at the emotional eating seminar that I put on last Sunday. Thank you to all that came out. I finally took a day for ME time and am getting caught up on the all of the things that have been piling up. Feels great :) I hope you all had a relaxing and healthy weekend.

1. You eat in response to a situation, whether it be a positive or negative one. You get a bonus, an excuse to go for pizza. You get into a fight/breakup and reach for Haagen Daaz. While it is ok to have emotional ties to a food due to a memory or family/cultural tradition, it is not ok to eat mindlessly.
2. You are eating to pacifiy, distract from or to soothe a feeling. Numbing yourself from experiencing an emotion.
3. You are eating mindlessly. This includes multitasking (while doing other things), stuffing your face or eating frantically. You are not savoring each bite and enjoying your food.
4. You are eating when you are tired or do not feel physically hungry, or it is not on your meal plan.

1. BE MINDFUL! You need to learn how to be in touch with your emotions and feelings. When anxiety, panic, sadness, or any other emotion arises, you must take a deep breath and be calm and in the moment. Ask yourself what you are feeling. Label the emotion.
   If you are in a busy situation be calm and excuse yourself to be somewhere quiet to process the emotion and think it through.
2. Think about how you can respond to the upsetting emotion .Do you need to do a workout? Call a friend or doctor? Cuddle with your dog? If you feel the urge to eat distract yourself for 15-20 minutes at a time and go for walk to clear you head (away from the grocery store)
3. Be sure to eat on a regular basis and don't skip meals. This will keep your metabolism fired up and prevent binge eating due to starvation or extreme hunger.
4. Lean to recognize the difference between emotional and physical hunger. It is a good thing to be hungry between meals. If you are not hungry every 4 hours, you need to evaluate your portions. Feeling hungry is not a bad thing.
5. Exercise on a regular basis. It will help with food cravings and keep hunger at bay, as well as keep cortisol in check (Fight or flight response).
6. Drink 3 litres of water a day to ensure you are not mistaking thirst for hunger

Strategies to prevent emotional eating:

Breathing
Councelling, call a friends, cry, clean

Emotional Hunger	Physical Hunger
Comes on suddenly, an emotion hits and you need to eat ASAP	Is slow, you get an empty stomach, a rumbling, a deep ache or pit in your stomach with nausea at times. Comes on over hours.
You are typically craving something specific. Usually with the fat/sugar combination or deep fried food with a specific mouthfeel. Typically junky food.	You are open to eating a wide variety of healthy foods
Is in the “head”. You get ideas about the taste and texture of a food and you feel urgency to get that food.	Is physical and in the stomach first. You can wait until you eat, although if you wait to long dizziness, nausea, and low blood sugar, irritability may occur.
Is coupled with an upsetting event/emotion. Such as angry boss, difficult children, exhaustion. You use the food to soothe your emotions.	Occurs because you physically need the energy to fuel your body through the day and it has been awhile since your last meal.
Involves eating absentmindedly. While doing something else, eating quickly. You may not notice how much you are actually consuming. You may binge eat to stuff emotions away and eat foods that trigger calming brain chemicals. You may suffer from bloating, gas, and pain from overeating.	Involves choices and awareness and being present in the meal. Eating slowly and savouring your food is part of normal eating. You can make a decision to stop half way through the meal if you are getting satisfied and not to overeat.
Feelings of quilt typically accompany overeating and bingeing. You may beat yourself up right after the meal making yourself feel even worse. This becomes a vicious cycle.	Eating is a normal behaviour and function of life and should not invoke guilty feeling.

• You are not expected to be perfect, you are not to be on a diet that restricts you from foods (unless you have allergies).
• Work indulgences into your meal plan so that you do not crave them (unless they will trigger you to over do it, go slowly)
• After a slip happens, recover gracefully. Ask yourself why you slipped up, and what better ways there are to go about dealing with the emotions next time. Did the stratgegy that you implement work or not?
• If you overate, rather than beat yourself up, think of the extra energy as fuel. (If you are sick or overstuffed do not workout). If I have too many calories or junk, I use it as an opportunity to do an extra long way. Don't feel like you have to overcompensate, but make use of the fuel you put in your body.
• Intermittant fasting or cleansing are popular trends. While I do not think going long periods of food is a great idea all the time, consuming clear liquids for a half a day after a binge, going hungry and eating protein and veg for the rest of the day can reset the body so that you do not feel so sluggish
• Make note of how you feel/felt during and after the emotional eating/binge. Remind yourself next time of these feelings (ie sick, bloated, nauseous, weak)
• Do not engage in all or nothing thinking and let one binge ruin a week or month. Do not engage in negative self talk. Get back on that horse.

• Body image is a persons inner perception of their own body. This encompases race, abilities, facial features, weight, height and other things. One's sence of well-being and satisfaction can be related to their body image.
• What are the different messages we are receiving from the media about the ways our bodies should be?
• Are these messages getting better over time?
• Why we should focus on exercise and health over weight lose and body shaping...
• You will not be remembered for the size of your waist or breasts. You will be remembered for the way you treat others and impact others lives.
• This being said, if you take care of yourself and are happy with who you are, you will be in a better position to accomplish the things you want in life and will be outwardly happy and have better relationships.
• Exercise because you love your body, not because you hate it
• Catch yourself in the midst of a negative thought and nip it in the bud
• Write a list of the positive things that your body can do
• Exercise helps your skin! (see previous blog post)
• Dress to impress, have fun with your body, pay attention to the bits that you don't normally like or even acknowledge (massaging your feet and fingers, forearms etc)
• No one likes a complainer
• It is good to have goals and aspirations, but finding a balance
• Celebrities...tabloid magazine, paparazzi shots, constant scrutinization, etc

Goals....

• When you start a new program, always start small. If you are a beginner exerciser, make it a goal to get to the gym 3 times a week to start.
• Don't expect an instantaneous life overall in a month. Starting with adding in a breakfast, or cutting out late night eating a good first step
• Remember, changing your life is a process

            Today I had the privilege of training two really great, but very different women. One has been struggling with weight loss due to poor food choices, the other is overweight due to periods of binge eating. While the second eats correctly most of the time, she is overweight due to the large amounts of food eaten in a short period. Even if the binge eating occurs two or three times a week, it can undo months of hard work. These two individuals require a much different approach to their nutrition plan. While they may be struggling to lose x amount of pounds each, one has some serious emotional energy required into unpacking the issues around the bingeing, while the other probably needs to find the motivation and determination to buckle down and make some changes.

Speaking to these women about the struggles they have reminded me again how different each client is. I have some clients who struggle to eat and remember to feed themselves, others who follow their meal plan without issues and others who struggle every single meal, and who are constantly falling off the wagon and then jumping back on. There really is not a one size fits all nutrition plan. Meeting with  a professional is especially important if you have food issues, as the social support really is a integral part of recovery.
         
 Food addiction is a huge topic. I will try to cover it in a few parts, and try to be as clear as possible. Let me start by saying I am in no way trying to be judgmental on the topic. I have experienced food issues myself and understand how challenging it is to deal with food addiction. I also believe that admitting you have issues with food, and finding a way of life that is the healthiest for you is very, very important. Again, social support is very important to be successful in this type behavior change. If you need to voice to your family, colleagues, and loved ones that you are experiencing some food difficulties, then so be it. Do not be ashamed. Admitting you have a problem is one of the first steps of recovery, and voicing your issues holds you accountable to others. I am going to blog in points to make it easier for me, and hopefully you. For those family members and loved ones, remember that if you call someone out on their binge eating they may become angry and defensive despite the fact that they asked for help. Be patient

* Food addiction can come from eating a certain combination of protein and fat, as mentioned in "The end of Overeating". Food manufactures have figured out a combination which in lab studies, cause rats to eat to the point of death and illness. Fed unlimited fat or unlimited sugar, rats will not overeat, but stop when they are full. The release of chemicals in the brain causes a pleasure response similar to that from drugs and alcohol. This is one reason why it is best to avoid processed fast foods. Sticking to a whole food diet, especially one that is plant based is much more beneficial to health.

*Usually if one binge eats, it will be on the foods mentioned above. While any food can be a binge food, bingeing on vegetables is much less satisfying than a cake or tub of ice cream. It becomes difficult when the over-eater will binge on anything in the fridge ie eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, bread and butter, soup and crackers. While the long term goal would be to be comfortable around all foods in the home, it may be better to eliminate almost anything that will trigger a binge. This can be difficult for other family members who enjoy a stocked fridge, or those who live in rural areas where you cannot go across the street to the grocery store. I find I keep only veggies and condiments in my fridge, and staples like brown rice which cannot be cooked quickly. I get what I need when I need it, however I am very lucky in this regard. It keeps me on my diet, especially when trying to diet for a competition.

*Diets and restricting are often harmful. Cutting calories too low and restricting can set yourself up for a binge. Plan a cheat meal and snack about once a week to prevent binge eating from feeling starved and deprived. Eating many small meals a day and consuming the proper amounts of carbohydrate, fats, and protein will ensure that you stay full and energized, and that your neurotransmitters are functioning properly. Cutting all your carbohydrates means lower serotonin levels, which depress mood and make the body crave fatty and sugary foods.
*Emotional and binge eating can occur for many reasons. Boredom, stress, anxiety, and loneliness are just a few of the emotions that can drive people to overeat or eat mindlessly. Be mindful when you eat. Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. Don't watch tv and sip on water or tea throughout the meal. If you are bored, lonely, or anxious and want to binge, try to delay the binge for 15 minutes or even an hour, and find something to do in the meantime. Exercise, go for a walk, read a book, or call a friend.