What do ice-cream, pasta, chocolate, cookies, bread, chips, cheese and crackers have in common?
They’re all comfort foods that we turn to in times of emotional upheaval, boredom or loneliness. When we eat our favourite comfort food, we feel great for a little while. Until discomfort sets in.
Any time we eat for reasons other than hunger, we are most likely attempting to escape uncomfortable emotions. Very early we learn to equate food with “comfort”. As life goes by, however, things happen that threaten our sense of comfort. We get nervous, lonely, bored, scared, tired, irritated, depressed, disappointed, angry or even excited. Given that we’d rather feel good than anything else, it is easier to head to the refrigerator to find something to fill up that uncomfortable emotion inside us.
We eat to feel better but very soon we start feeling bloated, tired or wheezy. Or maybe we just start craving more and more food. Guilt and remorse usually complicate the picture.
Eating when you are not hungry in order to make yourself feel better is like pumping air into a leaky tyre again and again, rather than finding the holes where the air is escaping and patching them. It’s an attempt to deal with the symptoms of the problem (uncomfortable feelings) instead of the root cause (emotional hungers). So, the truth about comfort foods is that there is not much comfort associated with them.
Follow these simple tips to avoid comfort food:
Question yourself before eating
Ask yourself whether you are truly hungry. If you realise that you don’t actually feel hungry, accept it and address the issue right away. May it be because of your anger or unhappiness? Try looking for options like going for a walk to release your emotions. Not only is this a healthier way to get rid of the negative emotions, it is also a good exercise that will leave you feeling satisfied and happy with yourself.
Try Mindful eating
Eat only when you can give your full attention to the food you are eating, instead of grabbing bites when you are in the middle of urgent work or watching TV. Eating only when seated at the table is a good rule to follow in one’s family and office as it inculcates mindfulness about food.
Keep temptation out of reach
You might find that despite your best efforts, you cannot help but turn to comfort food. In that case, ensure you do not keep any such food around you. Clean your store or fridge or wherever you keep comfort foods in a stock. Replace it with something healthy to force yourself to turn to healthier alternatives. Like instead of chips, cookies keep bowl of fresh fruits.
One thing’s for certain. There isn’t a comfort food in the world that will patch those leaks. Finding true comfort by getting curious about the underlying driving emotion, seeking deep connection, love and security with a firm belief on your inner power to sail through the uncomfortable times are the only ways out.
The writer is a weight loss specialist
