[CarolD2005]

Ok everyone my free week ends tommorow lol so I wanted to post something on emotional eating. I am an emotional eater and this comes from the website I hope you all enjoy the articles

**The South Beach Diet™ Guide to Ending Emotional Eating **



Talking Emotions: An Interview with South Beach Diet™ Dietitian Marie Almon

Marie Almon, MS, RD, LD, a licensed, registered dietitian with a master's degree in nutrition, helped to develop The South Beach Diet™ with Dr. Agatston. She currently coordinates getting the most up-to-date information onto The South Beach Diet™ Online, and is in private practice with Dr. Agatston in his Miami Beach office. We spoke with Marie about the issue of emotional eating, ways to overcome emotional cravings, and the importance of positive thinking during weight loss.

Q: How would you define the term "emotional eating"?

Marie: Emotional eating is not being aware of what is driving the individual to eat. It's really a lack of self-awareness. Instead of feeling actual hunger, the emotions begin to drive the eating.

Q: What are some indicators of being an emotional eater?

Marie: Some of the indicators are when people eat when they are bored, or when they immediately get home from work and they don't even know why they are going right for the refrigerator. It also has a lot to do with feelings of depression and anger — and when I say "depression," that can also be someone who is sad or lonely. As a result, food makes these types of people feel better — it's filling a void and that needy feeling.

Q: What is your advice for someone who is an emotional eater?

Marie: Individuals who are emotional eaters have to start paying attention to the feelings of hunger — to see if they are really hungry. This means determining whether there is a hollow hunger feeling in the stomach or whether they are eating to fill an emotional eating void. One way to do this is to start writing things down, keeping a diary [or using the Journal tool on the Web site], which contains information on what they ate and what their emotions were. Were they feeling anger? Were they feeling anxious? The more people can write down, the more they can become aware of why they eat.

Q: What are some suggestions you have to avoid binge eating?

Marie: Basically, you have to focus back on some of your actions. If you are eating mechanically, meaning you are in front of a TV, blocking everything out, and you are just mechanically eating those chips or nuts, then there really is a problem. You need to focus on eating instead of making it this automatic process.

One thing you could try is to eat at one designated place — like the dinner table. You should remove yourself from that mechanical place of eating, whether the couch or the bedroom, so you are focusing on the eating of the food for enjoyment and nutrition.

Another idea that individuals who have emotional eating issues could try is rereading through their notebook and seeing what different emotions were causing them to eat in the past. Then they could develop ways to tackle the different emotions. For example, if they are bored, they can develop a hobby, like working on crossword puzzles, crocheting, knitting — something they can get physically involved in and take their minds off of the urge to binge.

Also, sometimes it's just getting to know themselves better and trying to work out what is troubling them That might mean reaching for a friend or building a support system — someone to talk to.

Lastly, if they are really, really going to eat, individuals should try and focus on something like a whole fruit (for example, an apple), instead of snacking items, like nuts. If someone is gnawing into an apple, eating is going to take a while instead of opening a can of nuts. They should reevaluate what they tend to eat when the emotions are talking and go for better foods/nutrition, like the veggies to munch on — have them readily available, prepared in the refrigerator. The trick is to have the right foods available and to keep the temptation foods out of sight or more inaccessible.

Q: How does The South Beach Diet™ work for people with emotional eating problems?

Marie: The South Beach Diet™ stresses frequent eating by way of snacks and meals, and hopefully one is staying satisfied — the hunger satisfaction is there. With emotional eaters, it isn't really the physical hunger driving people, — it's the emotions. If people who eat from their emotions could look at their diary [suggested above], they would realize this difference in emotional hunger and physiological hunger. They could see that food has been their companion instead of a satisfying snack, and they could see they were over-rewarding themselves, instead of stopping when full. The basic principals of The South Beach Diet™ are to fill the hunger needs, and the suggestion of tracking with a food diary would give them a clue to the emotional issues behind this other type of eating.

Q: How important is positive self-talk to a person's weight loss?

Marie: I think it's very important because we have to feel good about ourselves — worthy — that we are of value. Positive self-talk is so important. We must never think that we are failures.

Q: What do you recommend for dieters who are extremely hard on themselves?

Marie: We have to be kind. We have to look at things realistically, much like taking small steps, one day at a time. Even if it's just one little thing like, "Hey, I've done well. I've waited 15 minutes before eating that second apple, and I gave myself time to reflect before I ate it, and that was a positive." You can reinforce your achievements day-by-day.



**The Emotional Attachment to Eating **

As many of us know, it isn't always hunger that causes us to eat. Our moods and emotions can play a huge role in how vulnerable we are to food and in our ability to stay in control of our diet. For some, food becomes an obsession and a crutch that has little or nothing to do with the physical need to eat. Stress, depression, and even boredom are some of the triggers that can break down your defenses and bring on the urge to binge.

Feeling fatigued by your daily schedule and overwhelmed by responsibilities can spark emotional eating. Depression and loneliness are other causes — many people eat to fill a void or use food to keep themselves company. Some look to food to distract themselves from a traumatic event, such as the loss of a job, a death, or an unexpected breakup. But most who suffer from emotional eating find that it can't be traced to one specific reason &mdash it's often simply a pattern of falling back on food when we need comforting in one way or another.

In these situations, eating provides only temporary relief to a deeper problem. If you binge when you're depressed, and then you get depressed because you binge, you've started a cycle that can be very difficult to break. But it's not impossible to change your behavior. There are other ways to deal with complicated emotions, and it's much healthier to process your feelings than to block them out with food. It's important to realize that, ultimately, you do have power over your actions. Eating is something that can be controlled and still be enjoyed.


**Journal Your Emotions **

Many nutritionists recommend keeping a food journal to combat emotional eating. Fortunately for members of The South Beach Diet™ Online, there's already one at your fingertips! The Journal feature on the site can be a powerful tool in keeping you on the path to a healthier you. Here are some examples of how you can use the Journal to battle emotional eating and keep yourself on track:

For one week, write down what you eat and when. Along with each item, describe how you're feeling at the time. You'll be able to see if your eating habits are affected by your emotional patterns. Do you binge before/during/after the most stressful part of your day? Are you vulnerable to foods you shouldn't be eating when you're feeling certain emotions? When you know the answers to questions like these, it will be easier to prepare for those moments of weakness throughout the day.
When you do feel the impulse to binge, use the Journal to record the experience. Take 15, 20, or even 30 minutes to write out exactly how you're feeling and why. By the time you've finished, the temptation to binge may have passed, or you might realize that venting, not eating, was what you really needed all along.
You can also use the Journal to remind yourself of the progress you've made. For some inspiration, go back and read the entries from when you first began your diet — remember why you started and what you have achieved since then. Similarly, record your progress each time you write an entry. Think positively, and remember to take pride in accomplishing even the littlest goals. It's the sum of all the small steps that gets you from where you started to where you've always wanted to be.

**Five Ways to Beat Cheating **



(Published 9/25/03) If you cheat while on the South Beach Diet™, does it mean you've failed? Not even close. The South Beach Diet™ recognizes that everyone is bound to have their moments of weakness, and the damage can always be repaired. If your indulgence causes you to put on a few pounds or experience cravings, move back to Phase 1, or simply cut back on carbs with a high glycemic index. Once you've lost the added weight and gotten cravings under control, you can pick up where you left off.

If you find yourself cheating on a regular basis, try these tips for avoiding temptation:
Skip the chip and cookie aisle at the grocery store.
Empty your cupboards and refrigerator of all "illegal" foods.
When going out to eat, don't tease yourself by looking at the dessert menu. Instead, eat a bowl of sugar-free Jell-O or a sugar-free Popsicle when you get home.
For "emergencies," always carry a healthy snack with you, like a low-fat cheese stick or a handful of plain nuts.
If someone gives you an indulgent present, like a box of chocolates or your favorite cookies, share it with your coworkers or donate it to a local shelter.


**Why Do People Occasionally Fail on This Diet?**
By Arthur Agatston, M.D.


As a cardiologist who developed this diet to help my chronically overweight heart patients, I'm always looking at the reasons why people fail on The South Beach Diet™ in order to find ways to improve it. Most find that taking the plunge is surprisingly easy, partly because this diet doesn't require you to give up everything you love. But we also recognize that it's easy to be gung-ho at the beginning of any new eating regimen. You're feeling motivated, and in the first few weeks the pounds are melting away. But then what happens?

Looking for a Quick Fix

To a degree, failure is a result of the program's success. After two weeks, you begin reintroducing some of the carbs you cut out completely in Phase 1. You continue losing weight in Phase 2, but not at the same speed. Depending on how much you want to lose, it may take up to a year or even longer. For some, that's a disappointment, so they decide to stay on Phase 1 until they reach their goal. Now, I know plenty of dieters who have made that decision and succeeded — but I know plenty more who have failed.

Here's why: Phase 1 isn't meant to be a long-term eating plan. You're limited to a fairly small palette of foods, which — after two or three weeks — gets a little dull. That's when dieters begin to improvise — improperly. They mix in their old bad habits. They follow Phase 1, but they add in a handful of cookies at night, a small bag of corn chips one afternoon, or pizza and beer on the weekend. Before long, you're cheating more than dieting. When you realize how badly you've strayed, you might try Phase 1 again, only now it seems even more monotonous than it did the first time. You may just surrender. If you're lucky, you won't end up weighing more than you did before you started the diet.

This is why we strongly urge everyone to switch to Phase 2 after the second week, no matter how tempting it is to remain on Phase 1. This is a long-term diet, and the three-phase approach is an important part of its success. It may take longer to lose the weight, but your chances of keeping it off are much better.

Daily Challenges

Another reason for failure has to do with how everyday life intrudes on our plans. Travel, work, stress, and other daily challenges can make it easy to fall back into comforting old habits. At home or on the road, the disruption of normal mealtimes can lead you to overeat when food finally arrives. Or maybe you're one of those who look to comfort foods when they feel psychological or emotional pressure. Many people went off the diet after September 11, 2001, when weight seemed like an awfully trivial concern in the larger scheme of things. That's the kind of anxiety and insecurity that seeks comfort in a sweet mouthful or a brimming dinner plate.

However, plenty of people are able to give in to temptation on special occasions and then make up for it the next day

[Ruthxxx]

Carol, we have to be careful about lifting things from other websites due to copyright issues. I'll leave this up for a day or two but then will remove it. Sorry. (It's good stuff but we did get in trouble with Weight Watchers over this same issue a few years ago.)