Mood Munching
Is emotional eating sabotaging your efforts to lose weight?
Laurel Kelly
Mayo Clinic New Network
You know losing that extra weight would be good for your health. Your health care team talked with you about how obesity increases your risk of other health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer. They even worked out a healthy eating plan, and you want to stick to it. And you do well for many days, but then something upsetting happens, and your first thought is food.
Emotional eating is eating to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Food also can be a distraction. If you’re worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.
Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially overeating foods that are sweet, fatty and high in calories. And this can sabotage your weight-loss efforts.
When negative emotions threaten to trigger emotional eating, try these nine tips to stay on track.
- KEEP A FOOD DIARY Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you’re feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you might see patterns for a connection between mood and food.
- TAME YOUR STRESS If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress-management technique, such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing.
- HAVE A HUNGER REALITY CHECK Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate a few hours ago and don’t have a rumbling stomach, you’re probably not hungry. Give the craving time to pass.
- GET SUPPORT You’re more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends, or consider joining a support group.
- FIGHT BOREDOM Instead of snacking when you’re not hungry, distract yourself and substitute a healthier behavior. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your pet, listen to music, read, surf the internet or call a friend.
- REMOVE TEMPTATION Don’t keep hard-to-resist comfort foods in your home. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until your emotions are in check.
- DON’T DEPRIVE YOURSELF When trying to lose weight, you might limit calories too much, eat the same foods repeatedly and banish treats. This may just increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Eat satisfying amounts of healthier foods, enjoy an occasional treat, and get plenty of variety to curb cravings.
- SNACK HEALTHY If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a healthy snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with low-fat dip, nuts or unbuttered popcorn. Or try lower-calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.
- LEARN FROM SETBACKS If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you’re making in your eating habits, and give yourself credit for making changes that will lead to better health.
Sweetener problem is a double whammy
Barbara Intermill
Elaine L., who reads this column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, writes, “I am diabetic and also get a very dry mouth frequently. Sucking on a hard candy helps my mouth, but I really don’t need the sugar. I have searched for sugar-free hard candies, but every one I have found contains sugar alcohols, which greatly upset my stomach. Are there any sugar-alcohol-free, sugar-free hard candies in existence?”
You may have me stumped on this one, Elaine. Sugar alcohols are the primary ingredient in most low-sugar candies. If there are any products without them, they didn’t come up on my radar. Here are some other considerations, however.
I don’t know your health history, but dry mouth is a common problem for people with diabetes. It can be related to high blood sugars or certain medications. A thorough check with your health provider might help you find solutions.
As far as sugar alcohols — collectively referred to as “polyols” — they are chemically similar to sugar as well as alcohol (but not the type found in booze), according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With names like mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, erythritol and maltitol, they are commonly used in sugar-free products for a couple of reasons.
Because they are not completely digested (hence the problem with diarrhea if consumed in excess), they contain about half the calories of regular sugar. And dentists say these sweeteners may actually help prevent tooth decay.
Sugar alcohols occur naturally in some fruits, vegetables and mushrooms. But when they are processed into individual compounds, they are classified as sweeteners. You can easily find out if a product contains sugar alcohols since the FDA requires it to be listed on the Nutrition Facts label.
The American Diabetes Association states that sugar alcohols and other sweeteners “may be an acceptable substitute” for sugar “when consumed in moderation.” But not all sugar alcohols have the same effect on all people.
Several reliable sources suggest that people have fewer digestive issues when they limit their intake of sugar alcohols to less than 20 grams a day. And some studies report that erythritol and xylitol may be easier on the GI tract than sorbitol and mannitol.
Yet there may be other concerns. Although sugar alcohols are “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA, in 2023, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that people with higher amounts of the sugar alcohol erythritol in their blood were at a higher risk for a heart attack or stroke.
Incidentally, Elaine, diabetes educators like myself see you as a “person with diabetes” instead of “diabetic.” Just like there is more to sugar alcohols than meets the eye, you are definitely more than your health condition.
Southwest Montana Health Care Directory
