Countdown & Pre-Challenge Activity #5: Mindful Eating vs. Emotional Eating
hicim705
Posts: 6,012 Member
In contemplating what Pre-Challenge Activities to explore for the 2024 Winter 5% Challenge a suggestion was made to explore EMOTIONS and their relationship with food … in chatting a little further and doing a little research, we came up with the title: Mindful Eating vs. Emotional Eating.
There are lots of articles written about this topic. One article which I will reference here (you can all read the full article yourself) discusses the fact that you can (and should) honor your hunger, enjoy what you eat and recognize when you are full.. It explains differences between physical hunger and emotional hunger.
Toward the end of the article, it discusses the HALT technique which is explored and explained. Please visit: https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/nutrition/mindful-and-emotional-eating
Another interesting site ~ Food Insight discusses mindful eating and also gives you information on HOW to eat mindfully. It also offers a fact sheet called the ‘Mindful Eating Fact Sheet’ that you can download (or print to put into a prominent place where you can reference if often).
https://foodinsight.org/your-guide-to-mindful-eating/
> > > > Of course, any and all of these recommendations NEVER, EVER supersede recommendations from your healthcare provider. We are all individuals and are all at different stages of life (and health) which sometimes dictate what we can and can't eat. If you are under a physician's care and a meal plan has been recommended for your specific needs, please continue following your doctor's orders! < < < <
📓Your assignment: COUNTDOWN ACTIVITY #5: Mindful Eating vs. Emotional Eating
For this Pre-Challenge Activity ~ read the articles to help you to determine what your relationship with food really is.
?? ~ Are you a mindful eater or more of an emotional eater? If you are more of an emotional eater, consider trying the HALT Technique.
Consider visiting the second website and download (or print) the Mindful Eating Fact Sheet and become familiar with its contents.
For the duration of this Challenge, consider displaying the fact sheet in a prominent place: in your kitchen-on the refrigerator, for instance. Or, perhaps in the bathroom - near the mirror so you will see it when you get ready in the morning. Consider putting it in the bedroom on your dresser or taped to your closet door so that you will see it as a reminder of where you want to see yourself in the near future.
Use this pre-challenge activity to explore how to take control of the emotional aspect of eating and transform that into mindful eating. Consider how you will practice eating mindfully vs. emotionally. If you have a day where emotional eating becomes the focus of your day, don’t beat yourself up, instead - acknowledge it and strive to restart for your very next meal.
Feel free to add your comments to this thread outlining your mindful eating vs. emotional eating plan and incorporate that to set yourself up for a successful 2024 Winter 5% Challenge (if you blog, you may add the link to your blog here or you may simply wish to copy/paste your writing here - or do both!), but please consider sharing!!
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PLEASE NOTE: The Seasonal 5% Challenge Teams are very active. You will be expected to participate to the best of your ability.
ALL challenge weeks run from Saturday through Friday - you will be expected to record your exercise and Living the Good Life points based on weekly Challenge Themes. You are expected to record these points daily or at least as often as you can during the week but no later than 11:59 pm each Friday (your local time). In addition, you are expected to weigh in one time per week by 11:59 pm every Saturday (your local time). Your individual team leaders and/or team mates will help to answer any and all questions about where to record your points.
🔮Our individual Winter 5% Challenge Teams are currently being set up.
✉️You will be invited to your individual team soon, in enough time to get to know your team leaders and team mates. Until then, get to know some of the Challengers that will be participating right along with you.
📢Announcements will be made when invitations to your individual teams are sent. Please visit this team, the 2024 WINTER 5% COMMUNITY TEAM often as this will be the best source for up-to-date information.
Previous Pre-Challenge Activites (consider reading/participating in one or all of them):
** Countdown & Pre-Challenge Activity #1: INFORMATION and YOUR INPUT! ℹ️🔠
Here is the link:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10905347/countdown-pre-challenge-activity-1-information-and-your-input-ℹ️#latest
** Countdown & Pre-Challenge Activity #2: SET SOME GOALS!
Here is the link:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10905532/countdown-pre-challenge-activity-2-set-some-goals#latest
**Countdown & Pre-Challenge Activity #3: Meal Plan
Here is the link:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10905533/countdown-pre-challenge-activity-3-️meal-plan-️#latest
**Countdown & Pre-Challenge Activity #4: Exercise Plan
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10905535/countdown-pre-challenge-activity-4-exercise-plan#latest
Heidi (hicim705)
Overall Co-Leader, Seasonal 5% Challenges (hosted on MFP)
Overall Co-Leader, Seasonal 5% Challenges (hosted on MFP)
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Replies
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" It takes time, awareness and practice to become a mindful eater, but it’s worth the investment."
Great info from the attached HALT
article. Thank you.
I'm an emotional eater. Sticking with these challenges and practicing new habits like HALT, have been key for me.
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LOVE this article, thanks!
One of the best tactics for curbing emotional eating is to use the HALT technique. This is a series of questions to ask yourself when you are tempted to eat:
H – Am I Hungry?
A – Am I Angry?
L – Am I Lonely?
T – Am I Tired?1 -
Love the article.
I'm a mindful eater now with the change in my mindset.1 -
Another area of challenge for me....
I like the idea of the HALT technique. The problem I have is taking the action.
When I'm good, I'm good and tend to practice Mindful eating.
But if I'm off course...asking those questions are fine except, I'll answer, no I'm not hungry , yes I'm tired and proceed to eat/drink what ever it is.
I do like how it talks about learning to differentiate between physical and emotional hunger. This is definitely a work in process for me!
Learning to differentiate between physical and emotional hunger takes practice. Here are five important distinctions to help you decipher whether you’re experiencing emotional or physical hunger:1 -
Emotional eater. Practice HALT.1
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I am a mindful eater. I try to plan my snacks so I'm not "starving" and become an emotional eater. Not saying I never eat emotionally, we all do at some point. I will try the HALT technique.1
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Emotional eating has not been a problem for me for a very long time. I got over that when I got over the difficulties in my life. Or should I say when I stopped amplifying my difficulties. Like they say do not worry about the things YOU cannot control but concentrate on what YOU can control.
Mindless eating is a different thing. When you can sit in front of the TV with a bag of chips and the next thing you know you are throwing the bag away...well you see what I mean. I have done it! However I have been in the habit of measuring out what I eat while being distracted by the TV.
Mindful eating is a habit that is worth having. Track everything you eat. You might be surprised how much you can unknowingly consume. Measure your food! You might be surprised how much is in that oz or that quarter cup. Be mindful of whether it seem like you are eating to live or living to eat. Bless you all for being here!1 -
I don't believe I am an emotional eater. I'm quite deliberate about what I eat. If I want a snack I put what I believe is reasonable into a bowl and when it's done, I'm done. I absolutely don't have a sweet tooth. My husband reaches into the M&M dish or the cookie jar pretty much after every meal - I rarely need a sweet treat. But I wouldn't say I'm a mindful eater either. I raised 5 children, mostly on my own. Every meal meant I was the last to sit down and the first to have to get up - so I eat very fast and haven't been able to unlearn that habit. I do just dish up what I think I want and rarely take seconds. I hope to use this 8 week challenge to become more mindful about all things, including eating. I will track my food for at least the first half of the challenge. I have read the articles and found them very enlightening.1
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I’m a mindful eater, emotional only when VERY upset.0
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I am a mindful eater, but at times I can be a mindless eater when I am stressed out. I like the HALT approach and I will be trying to use this when emotional eating is trying to take over.1
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Eating Habit:
I know I am an emotional eater. I try to be a Mindful Eater as best I can but on occasion I end up being an emotional eater. It takes a lot to learn what kind of eater you are and to pinpoint the emotion causing you to eat. I will kind of be using the HALT approach if it comes to emotional eating. I usually ask if I really want this or if I am just being emotional. That is enough of a kick for me that I put away the food. Most of the time. Sometimes I am too emotional to care.1 -
I'm going to focus on reducing device usage during eating. At home during meals, it's easy, because we are all seated at the table together. But snacks and lunch at work (in my car) are harder for me. But if I can make that the new rule going forward, it would definitely help.1
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I like the idea of the HALT technique. The problem I have is taking the action.
When I'm good, I'm good and tend to practice Mindful eating.
But if I'm off course...asking those questions are fine except, I'll answer, no I'm not hungry , yes I'm tired and proceed to eat/drink what ever it is.
Emotional: I thought I had moved past Emotional Eating being as I had it under control for several years but when extremely upsetting and stressful events occurred I reverted right back to old habits.
I did use the H.A.L.T. method a few challenges ago and just like @itladyee, I answered all the questions truthfully, knew exactly why I was eating but continued to eat anyway.
Mindless: I rarely eat Mindlessly. I generally know exactly how much I'm eating and still track it even when bingeing due to emotions.
Mindful: Once getting serious about losing weight and getting healthy I became a very mindful eater. I usually only ate what was pre-planned and tracked. Time to get back to it.2 -
Mostly Mindful..
Sometimes knee jerk reactivity to stress..but working on getting that under control.
Helps that used to be favorites somehow just don't appeal as they once did.1 -
Mindful vs Emotional Eating
I've spent the IBC working on making at least two meals a day last for 20 minutes. It's something that I have done in the past and got away from for a while. Generally I am a mindful eater, but I know that when I am overtired especially, not feeling well, and sometimes bored, I am an emotional eater.
This is a good technique to remember at those times:
H – Am I Hungry?
A – Am I Angry?
L – Am I Lonely?
T – Am I Tired?1 -
I'm an emotional eater, particularly with stress
I'm going to try the HALT, but what I have also found useful is just having to log everything. It makes me really think.1 -
I like the HALT method.
I have to write it down.
H is for Am I Hungry?
A is for Am I Angry?
L is for Am I Lonely?
T is for Am I Tired?
I tend to eat sweets on Saturday mindlessly and after lunch during the weekdays after work (I work part time). I liked the SUGAR/SWEETS article, it gave me a lot to think about. I need to chew sugarless gum after lunch, which satisfies me. Fortunately, I don't eat sweets/chocolate after 5 pm on weekdays/weekends because I can't sleep with caffeine in my system, so it's that 3-5 pm stretch that I need to find a substitute like gum, and on Saturdays and Sundays, laundry days/computer time.
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I am an emotional eater, I too will focus on the HALT method. I think tired is the worst one for me - if I am tired and would like to nap but cant - I go for food (and/or coffee) instead. I am working very hard on sticking to just one coffee a day and then switching to tea. I drink tea black no sugar so it is much better for me than coffee with either a lot of almond milk or worse coffee mate. Now I just need to convince myself to skip the snack as well.
Great articles, thank you!1 -
Another area of challenge for me....
I like the idea of the HALT technique. The problem I have is taking the action.
When I'm good, I'm good and tend to practice Mindful eating.
But if I'm off course...asking those questions are fine except, I'll answer, no I'm not hungry , yes I'm tired and proceed to eat/drink what ever it is.
I do like how it talks about learning to differentiate between physical and emotional hunger. This is definitely a work in process for me!
Learning to differentiate between physical and emotional hunger takes practice. Here are five important distinctions to help you decipher whether you’re experiencing emotional or physical hunger:
@itladyee ~ Hey there!! If I'm totally honest, I'm a lot like you ... asking the questions and answering however and doing **all the wrong things** anyway. However, one more thing that you can/should consider is that quite frankly, the only one that you will be hurting is YOU. Learn the difference between physical and emotional hunger! I feel that you and I both struggle with this ... perhaps we need to keep each other accountable!!Heidi (hicim705)
2024 Winter 5% Challenge ~ Captain 🔴🌡️RED HOTS🌡️🔴
Overall Co-Leader, Seasonal 5% ChallengesCo-Leader, Seasonal 5% Challenges ~ ✍️🖊️📓💻Bloggers✍️🖊️📓💻!!
Co-Leader, In Between Leader Team for the 5% Challenge
Co-Leader, In-Between Challenges (IBC) 🐦🔥Phoenix Team🐦🔥0 -
📓Your assignment: COUNTDOWN ACTIVITY #5: Mindful Eating vs. Emotional Eating
For this Pre-Challenge Activity ~ read the articles to help you to determine what your relationship with food really is.
?? ~ Are you a mindful eater or more of an emotional eater? If you are more of an emotional eater, consider trying the HALT Technique.
H is for Am I Hungry?
A is for Am I Angry?
L is for Am I Lonely?
T is for Am I Tired?
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This Countdown Activity really spoke to me. I'm a F-A-S-T eater, basically it seems as if I'm always trying to finish first ~ why? I have no idea!! Any/all articles that I've read through the years is that this is the worst kind of eater to be ... the one that puts her head down and turns on the switch and eats like a vacuum cleaning the living room, LOL!! I really need to try to be more mindful and I actually **MUST** try to practice H-A-L-T as this will surely help. I probably should print this and post it everywhere!!Heidi (hicim705)
2024 Winter 5% Challenge ~ Captain 🔴🌡️RED HOTS🌡️🔴
Overall Co-Leader, Seasonal 5% ChallengesCo-Leader, Seasonal 5% Challenges ~ ✍️🖊️📓💻Bloggers✍️🖊️📓💻!!
Co-Leader, In Between Leader Team for the 5% Challenge
Co-Leader, In-Between Challenges (IBC) 🐦🔥Phoenix Team🐦🔥0 -
For the last 7 months I was consistent with IF and Keto and then came New Years weekend when I was out of town in an AirBNB with my children and grandchildren for my brothers wedding. There were snacks all over the place and we watched rival football games, I started having some popcorn and ended up eating the whole bag and having some pecan coffee cake, and having some She-Crab Soup...none of which I have been eating. And I found myself constantly hungry and looking for more snacks. In 4 days I gained 6 pounds. That has me convinced that I do not want to eat this many carbs. Certainly a lesson in how mindless eating and carbs result in hunger.
Once I got home and focused on the Healthy Keto and IF 18:6 that I had been following...my hunger dropped immediately.
So a lifetime of limited carbs is how I will stay healthy.0 -
I am mostly a Mindful Eater. I do best when I ask myself first if I have yet to fulfill a nutritional need before I reach for something empty or less kind to the body.0
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@itladyee ~ Hey there!! If I'm totally honest, I'm a lot like you ... asking the questions and answering however and doing **all the wrong things** anyway. However, one more thing that you can/should consider is that quite frankly, the only one that you will be hurting is YOU. Learn the difference between physical and emotional hunger! I feel that you and I both struggle with this ... perhaps we need to keep each other accountable!!
i love this!! i have such a different mindset this year and i hope it last...someone mentioned being "real", and you saying being ...totally honest...and I plan to be...the good, the bad the ugly! i get that in the long run...its only me that suffers...but I think I found my why....and that was my challenge. The superficial why's didn't work... for example: being able to play with my grandson. I play with him now.. we have a great time. Even at fewer pounds...I'm not sure I'm going to jump on a trampoline but we still play and it's fulfilling. So yes, keeping each other accountable is awesome!! I will confirm we are friends and we can take it further (texting) as I'm not always online if you desire!1
