Understanding & Controlling the Chemistry of Emotional Eating

The Holidays can ignite an array of emotions that is unique to each of us. Spend a minute now and reflect inward to recognize the emotions you have felt lately. Has the Holiday Season triggered any out of the ordinary feelings for you? As you undergo this exercise, it is important to remember not to classify emotions into good, bad, positive or negative because no emotion is “bad”, it just is and validating your feelings is healthy! Often times feeling a heavy heart is caused by something positive, such as missing a beloved family member and love is always a treasured gift no matter how long or short your relationship. And even though heartache is never easy, trials and triumphs create a stronger character and increase our compassion for others that can only come from first hand experience. So embrace those challenging feelings with open arms!

Now why are we talking about this? The average person usually gains 8-12 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s and much of it is caused by emotional based eating. Whether it be nerves, the blues, or unstable blood sugar from sweets or alcohol, many people tend to overeat at this time of year. Now spend a minute and identify any recent changes in your eating habits, behavior, or overall disposition that perhaps was caused by our personal reaction to the Holidays.

The more you understand how your emotions can effect your eating habits, the better you will be able to fully experience the upcoming holidays without drowning in fudge. Whenever eating is the result of an emotional reaction, where we substitute chocolate for a conversation, ice cream for a relaxing bath, or chips for a punching bag, it isn't about willpower it is about chemistry. Food not only fuels your body but it feeds your mood, at least temporarily, by affecting Brain Chemicals that provide the foundation for why and what you eat.

Our ancestors ate to survive, but we often eat because we're angry, bored, stressed, frustrated, depressed, watching a movie, too busy, not busy enough, getting together with friends, need a distraction or irritated.

Knowing how your emotions can steer your desire to eat will help you resist your cravings and, ideally, avoid them altogether. Sugar is the widest used food as a drug because it stimulates the release of serotonin, our feel good brain chemical that temporarily improves our sense of pain, boredom, anger, or frustration. And at this time of year, Holiday goodies fill the break room at the office, and gifts full of treats for your family keep arriving at your door! Your goal: Keep your feel-good hormones level, so you're in a steady state of satisfaction and never experience huge hormonal highs and lows that make you search for good-for-your-brain-but-bad-for-your-waist foods.

Here are three tricks to try:

1. Use foods to your advantage. All foods have different effects on your stomach, your blood, and your brain. Always incorporate lean proteins in every meal and snack to balance your blood sugar. Choose turkey to cut carb cravings. Turkey contains tryptophan, which increases serotonin to improve your mood and combat depression and helps you resist cravings for simple carbs. Choose salmon to curb blue moods. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in certain fish (including salmon, canned tuna, halibut, and mahimahi), have long been known as brain boosters and cholesterol clearers, but they've also convincingly been shown to help with depression. Depression contributes to hedonistic and emotional eating.
2. Savor the flavor. If you're going to indulge in something, enjoy it, savor it, roll it around in your mouth, and DO NOT FEEL GUILTY! We suggest taking a piece of dark (70% cocoa) chocolate and meditating as a healthy stress reliever and as a way to reward yourself with something sweet. Indulgence is a good thing in moderation!
3. Go to sleep. Getting enough sleep can help with appetite control. That's because when your body doesn't get the 7 to 8 hours of sleep it needs every night to get rejuvenated, it has to find ways to compensate for neurons not secreting the normal amounts of serotonin or dopamine. It typically does that by craving sugary foods that will give you an immediate release of serotonin and dopamine.

Here is a quick reference of how important Brain Chemicals make you feel, and Healthy Tips to keep them in optimal balance over the Holidays:

• Norepinephrine: This is the caveman fight-or-flight chemical. It's what tells you to tangle with a saber-toothed tiger or hightail it to the safety of your hut.
  Healthy Tips: Manage and reduce stress, so don’t sweat the small stuff, exercise daily, sleep 7-9 hours per night, and increase your protein intake with Lean Meats, Milk, Eggs, Fish, and Beans.
• Dopamine: This is the brain's fun house. It's a pleasure and reward system and is particularly sensitive to addictions. It's also the one that helps you feel no pain. Dopamine levels are depleted by stress, alcohol and drug use, poor nutrition, too much sugar in the diet, caffeine, and poor sleep.
  Healthy Tips: Increase the creation of Dopamine by eating Almonds, Avocados, Bananas, Lima beans, Pumpkin and Sesame Seeds.
• Serotonin: This is your feel good chemical, your “Happy Hormone”.
  Healthy Tips: Practice Yoga, take 10 deep breath daily, eat complex carbohydrates, avoid high processed foods, laugh, get a massage, and do some vigorous cardio!
• GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid): This amino acid is the calming or "peacemaker" chemical in the brain. GABA induces relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, and increases alertness.
  Healthy Tips: Eat complex carbohydrates or “good carbs” to increase the creation of GABA in the brain, such as Almonds, Broccoli, Brown Rice, Lentils, Whole Grain Oats, Spinach, Oranges or other Citrus Fruits.

We hope this topic resonated with you and provided valuable tips to help you have a Strong Body… Clear Mind over the holidays!