4 Things EVERY WLS Patient Needs to Know about Emotional Eating
From the July 1, 2008 issue of Barbara Thompson's WLS Center Newsletter.
http://www.barbarathompsonnewsletter.com/july1_2008.htm
Four Things EVERY Weight Loss Surgery Patient Needs to Know about Emotional Eating
This is a very interesting article on emotional eating that was submitted by Melissa McCreery. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Four things EVERY Weight Loss Surgery Patient Needs to Know about Emotional Eating:
By Melissa McCreery, PhD
It's very possible to be an emotional eater and not know it.
Emotional eating isn't always as straightforward as feeling a feeling ("I'm anxious") and then choosing to eat. Here's the tricky part. Over time, if you've learned to use food as a way to cope with certain feeling states or situations, your brain may stop identifying that you are eating for emotional reasons. For instance, if when you're stressed, you reach for a snack to comfort yourself, over time, your brain may stop telling you, "You are stressed and you are going to try to cope with it by eating a cookie."
Over time, your brain may stop identifying the emotion and move directly to interpreting that stressed feeling as physical hunger. You might not even realize that you are feeling stress. Your thinking will go like this: Something stressful will happen and you will start wanting a snack. You might even feel physically hungry. Food, not stress, will be the central thought in your mind.
If you are someone who feels hungry "all the time," emotional eating could very well be playing a hidden role.
Emotional eating and self-blame, shame and guilt travel together.
If you are feeling "out of control with your eating," odds are that emotional eating is happening. The problem is, if emotional eating goes unrecognized, or if we don't take it seriously, it's easy to fall into a trap of guilt and self-blame for not being able to "stay in control" of your eating.
Shame and guilt are never helpful when it comes to long term weight loss. They tend to breed isolation, negative self esteem, decreased hope, and ultimately more emotional eating and self-sabotage. If you are struggling with emotional eating and you don't learn the tools you need to cope with the feelings, the odds are that you will continue to feel out of control with food.
If you don't take control of emotional eating, it can take control of your weight loss plans.
Research studies of individuals trying to lose weight find that people who eat for emotional reasons lose less weight and have a harder time keeping it off. A recent study concluded that successful weight loss programs need to teach clients how to cope with emotional eating in order to improve the clients' ability to lose weight and not regain it. The risk of weight gain is not the only reason that emotional eating is important to address. Failure to address emotional eating--using food to cope with feelings and needs and cir****tances other than physiological hunger--can also contribute to difficulties with cross-addictions after weight loss surgery.
If emotional eating is something that you struggle with, it's important to know that no diet and no weight loss surgery will fix that for you.
Taking control of emotional eating requires learning new effective ways to cope with your emotions--this part isn't about the food.
It's also important to know that learning new tools to cope with emotional eating can be one of the most rewarding and life-changing gifts that you can give yourself. Learning new ways to cope with life issues and feelings allows you to tackle life head-on. When you do this, food becomes simpler, and your life grows bigger, and ultimately, more rewarding.
Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and the founder of Enduring Change Coaching. She helps her clients create and live the life they crave. She is also the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox (TM) 28-day Program for Taking Control and Moving Beyond Dieting. Sign up for her free 5 part Self-care Package Audio Course, learn about upcoming WLS teleclasses and programs for emotional eaters, or contact her at http://www.enduringchange.com.
http://www.barbarathompsonnewsletter.com/july1_2008.htm
Four Things EVERY Weight Loss Surgery Patient Needs to Know about Emotional Eating
This is a very interesting article on emotional eating that was submitted by Melissa McCreery. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Four things EVERY Weight Loss Surgery Patient Needs to Know about Emotional Eating:
By Melissa McCreery, PhD
It's very possible to be an emotional eater and not know it.
Emotional eating isn't always as straightforward as feeling a feeling ("I'm anxious") and then choosing to eat. Here's the tricky part. Over time, if you've learned to use food as a way to cope with certain feeling states or situations, your brain may stop identifying that you are eating for emotional reasons. For instance, if when you're stressed, you reach for a snack to comfort yourself, over time, your brain may stop telling you, "You are stressed and you are going to try to cope with it by eating a cookie."
Over time, your brain may stop identifying the emotion and move directly to interpreting that stressed feeling as physical hunger. You might not even realize that you are feeling stress. Your thinking will go like this: Something stressful will happen and you will start wanting a snack. You might even feel physically hungry. Food, not stress, will be the central thought in your mind.
If you are someone who feels hungry "all the time," emotional eating could very well be playing a hidden role.
Emotional eating and self-blame, shame and guilt travel together.
If you are feeling "out of control with your eating," odds are that emotional eating is happening. The problem is, if emotional eating goes unrecognized, or if we don't take it seriously, it's easy to fall into a trap of guilt and self-blame for not being able to "stay in control" of your eating.
Shame and guilt are never helpful when it comes to long term weight loss. They tend to breed isolation, negative self esteem, decreased hope, and ultimately more emotional eating and self-sabotage. If you are struggling with emotional eating and you don't learn the tools you need to cope with the feelings, the odds are that you will continue to feel out of control with food.
If you don't take control of emotional eating, it can take control of your weight loss plans.
Research studies of individuals trying to lose weight find that people who eat for emotional reasons lose less weight and have a harder time keeping it off. A recent study concluded that successful weight loss programs need to teach clients how to cope with emotional eating in order to improve the clients' ability to lose weight and not regain it. The risk of weight gain is not the only reason that emotional eating is important to address. Failure to address emotional eating--using food to cope with feelings and needs and cir****tances other than physiological hunger--can also contribute to difficulties with cross-addictions after weight loss surgery.
If emotional eating is something that you struggle with, it's important to know that no diet and no weight loss surgery will fix that for you.
Taking control of emotional eating requires learning new effective ways to cope with your emotions--this part isn't about the food.
It's also important to know that learning new tools to cope with emotional eating can be one of the most rewarding and life-changing gifts that you can give yourself. Learning new ways to cope with life issues and feelings allows you to tackle life head-on. When you do this, food becomes simpler, and your life grows bigger, and ultimately, more rewarding.
Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and the founder of Enduring Change Coaching. She helps her clients create and live the life they crave. She is also the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox (TM) 28-day Program for Taking Control and Moving Beyond Dieting. Sign up for her free 5 part Self-care Package Audio Course, learn about upcoming WLS teleclasses and programs for emotional eaters, or contact her at http://www.enduringchange.com.
Take Care, 
Jamie Ellis RN MS NPP
100cm proximal Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh Albany, NY
320(preop)/163(lowest)/185(current) 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery)
Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King www.albanyplasticsurgeons.com
http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/jamiecatlady5/
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"
Jamie Ellis RN MS NPP
100cm proximal Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh Albany, NY
320(preop)/163(lowest)/185(current) 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery)
Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King www.albanyplasticsurgeons.com
http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/jamiecatlady5/
"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"
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