I just saw a video from Jimmy Kimmel of an annual prank where he encourages parents to video themselves telling their kids that they ate all of the kids Halloween candy. I must admit it was funny to see the kids have such expressive (sad, mad) reactions. It also made me think of the torment some of us experience after the kids go Trick or Treating and now we are faced with lots of candy in the house or left over candy bought to give out to the kids. This situation can be really difficult for anyone with emotional eating issues. Just having the candy in the house can lead to overeating, obsessive thoughts (“do I eat it or don’t I”) and wondering how we can hide that we ate the candy.
Emotional eating means we eat to help ourselves deal with emotions, and some emotions can revolve around the fear of having candy in the house. We can become sneaky and shame ridden when we do eat someone else’s Halloween candy or eat more than we think we should. When I was a child, I remember taking some of my brothers Halloween candy. He would ask who took it and I did not tell the truth. He then started to count the candy and then I could not keep taking it without being caught. I felt ashamed that I engaged in that kind of behavior and did not tell the truth about it.
I consider Halloween as the start of the holiday season, which can be very challenging for emotional eaters. Sugar can often be the go to choice when emotions arise. Now we are done with Halloween, but not with the candy. There is a full bowl of it in my house and it is now not a concern for me. If you struggle with this like I have (read more on my Halloween story here), let me give you some tips to get through it.
I like to tell myself, “It is not mine to take or eat.” That thought keeps me out of my child’s candy. Think up a statement that you will tell yourself which can help redirect you or use mine.
Do you really need that much candy in the house? Local dentists collect (and sometimes pay for) candy which they send to the troops. Engage your child (if it is their candy) in the idea we have plenty and we can share or make it a rule that we only keep a certain amount and the rest we give away. It is nice to give others a sweet treat.
Ask yourself why you really want the candy. Sounds simple, but some moments of questioning ourselves, our feelings, and our desire to have the candy can help use become more mindful of our decisions.
These tips can be very effective in the short term process of managing the thoughts and behaviors around sweets. Since this is the start of the holiday season, really consider a plan of action for yourself for the next 2 months. Developing an understanding of your emotional eating and a plan of action is a great way to start the holidays. It is possible to have an enjoyable holiday without the struggle over food.
Have some tips about how you handle leftover Halloween candy? Let us know in the comments below.
Kim McLaughlin, MA is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in helping people with eating issues and eating disorders. If you are concerned that about overeating, weight or your use of food in general please contact her here. Sign up for her FREE Top Tips to End Emotional Eatinghere. Check out her website at www.FeedYourSoulTherapy.com.
In a previous blog post I talked about Understanding Emotional Eating. Now that you know the definition it is time to explore what to do to end it. Emotional eating is eating when you are not physically hungry and it is used to calm or push down emotions. Many emotions can trigger emotional eating: sadness, loneliness, boredom, or anger. Some signs that you could be emotionally eating are when you are looking for food after a stressful situation or some triggering event, or you are eating and getting overly full often. In order to determine the emotion, it takes a little detective work. I call it getting curious. Ask yourself, “why am I wanting sugary food when I am not hungry; what could be going on?” Then get silent for a moment and check inside. I like to take a deep breath at that point in time. Then ask yourself, “how am I feeling?” happy, sad, mad, scared, or anxious. Then ask yourself, “What can I do right now to handle this feeling?” Some ideas are:
Walk around the block. If you are at work, walk to the bathroom. The point is, just move.
Write a little in a journal that can be in the form of a binder, little tablet in your purse, or on your phone (I have a phone app that lets me write in a journal).
Talk to a trusted person and let them know how you are feeling.
During this process, I like to tell myself that I can have the food if I really want, but only after I figure out what is going on. Generally, by the time I figure out what I was feeling I am no longer hungry. Those food cravings are really a call to look deeper at what is going on inside of you. When you do not take that opportunity to consider the emotions underneath the food craving, you are reinforcing that overeating is a solution. The problem is that the food is not the solution to your feelings. It does not really solve the issue and can make it worse, because you end up feeling overfull, guilty that you overate, and possibly depriving yourself of food at your next meal.
Emotional eating is actually helpful, because it is a call to check back in with yourself- as long as you use it that way. If you do engage in emotional overeating, just move forward. Check in with yourself to understand what happened and what feeling you were trying to subside and move on. Guilt can be your worst enemy and lead to additional overeating. Be kind to yourself and begin to understand your emotional eating. It can help you put food back in its proper place as nourishment for your body.
Do you have tools that help you end emotional eating? We would love to hear them. Let us know in the comments below.
Kim McLaughlin, MA is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in helping people with eating issues and eating disorders. If you are concerned that about overeating, weight or your use of food in general please contact herhere. Sign up for herFREE Top Tips to End Emotional Eatinghere. Check out her website atwww.FeedYourSoulTherapy.com.
Binge eating disorder has been officially recognized now in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V- (DSMV). The DSM is a manual used by clinicians to classify mental health disorders. Binge Eating Disorder has been renamed as an actual disorder, rather than the generic catch all term Eating Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) from the DSM IV. According to the DSM-V, binge eating disorder is characterized by these behavioral and emotional signs:
Recurrent episodes of binge eating occurring at least once a week for three months
Eating a larger amount of food than normal during a short time frame (any two-hour period)
Lack of control over eating during the binge episode (feeling you can’t stop eating or control what or how much you are eating)
Binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:
Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
Eating much more rapidly than normal
Eating alone out of embarrassment over quantity eaten
Feeling disgusted, depressed, ashamed, or guilty after overeating
In addition:
Marked distress regarding binge eating is also present
Binge eating is not associated with frequent inappropriate compensatory behavior, such as purging, excessive exercise, etc.
Binge eating does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa
This change in DSM classification is significant since it brings to light the problem we have with acknowledging binge eating as a disorder that needs treatment. This is not about someone who over eats occasionally. This is part of a psychological process that can have a severe impact on someone’s life in ways other than the issue of weight, particularly one’s self-worth and self-esteem as well as the accompanying shame and guilt.
What should you do if you think you meet the criteria for a Binge Eating Disorder?
First, know that there is a solution. Seek services from a reputable clinician who is trained in Eating Disorder Treatment. Choose someone you trust and feel can help you. Make sure you feel comfortable with them. If the person is not a good fit for you, try someone else. Ask them for a consultation and ask them how they can help you. Beware of a one size fits all package; your needs might be different from another’s.
The DSM’s recognition that Binge Eating Disorder is a distinct mental health issue is a step in the right direction. This classification makes this illness more recognizable and I hope it will decrease some of the negative associations with binge eating. This new classification will give the community the option to get more information and services to help stop it.
Kim McLaughlin, MA is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in helping people with eating issues and eating disorders. She provides counseling in the Roseville and greater Sacramento CA area. If you are concerned that about overeating, weight or your use of food in general please contact herhere.
mental health disorders. Binge Eating Disorder has been renamed as an actual disorder, rather than the generic catch all term Eating Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) from the DSM IV. According to the DSM-V, binge eating disorder is characterized by these behavioral and emotional signs:
