Comfort eating (Pulse Contributor’s Opinion)

The practice of eating to make oneself feel happier is called comfort eating. Comfort eating is perhaps the go to solution in handling stress for people who do not drink or smoke.

In times of uncertainty, people often resort to comfort eating. The most common reason for comfort eating is stress. People use comfort eating to process fear, grief, anger, sadness, loneliness and anxiety.

But comfort eating is only a temporal solution to a permanent problem. Clinging to the familiar(food) just buys you comfort today at tomorrow's expense. Food has a way of temporarily calming your anxieties and then piling up on your body as fat.

Comfort food usually contains high calorie or carbohydrate level. Eating when you are not hungry or when you're full causes you to pile up weight. Sometimes being thirsty can lead you straight to drinking that coke when you open the fridge, when what you actually need is water. Perhaps if you stopped comfort eating you could lose a lot of weight. Besides numbing the pain with comfort food doesn't make the pain go away.

Here's how to manage comfort eating!

1. Stock your fridge with only healthy items. Wheat bread, almond milk, fruits and vegetables, that way anytime you decide to eat comfort food, you know you're snacking healthy.

2. Channel all your energy into some project when you're stressed.

3. Get a social support system that will help you stay sane and keep their numbers on speed dial, that way you can have that long convo that will keep you in check.

4. Avoid stressful situations. If picking that fone call is going to cause you stress and make you eat comfort food, try returning the call later when you're in a midst of people.

5. Keep a grateful journal. Having a reminder of all the good things God has done for you can help you to deal with the stuff that's not working for you.

6. Love yourself for all the imperfections. It is only then that you can accept your failures flaws and all.

7. Do more of what makes you happy. Read a book, dance to your favourite tune or alternatively, listen to some good soothing music. This can help to calm your nerves.

8. Adjust the way you think and challenge irrational thoughts. You are more than that situation that is sapping the life out of you.

9. Make a list of the things that stress you and confront them. Your problems will not go away just by eating. Confront them head on so your conscience can be free.

10. Making certain lifestyle changes is the best form of relieving stress.

Contributor: Brenda Lutterodt

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