Tips + Tools That Actually WORK! A Dietitian’s Best Emotional Eating Help

Summary

In this insightful video, Colleen, a non-diet registered dietitian, offers a five-step guide and three tools to navigate emotional eating. She emphasizes allowing oneself to eat, increasing emotional awareness, meeting biological needs, assessing personal needs, and reflecting on choices. Colleen also shares her personal strategies, such as journaling and painting by numbers, to manage stress and emotions effectively. The video encourages self-reflection and experimentation to find what works best for individual emotional well-being.

Takeaways

• 🍽️ Allow yourself to have the food you desire as restriction can lead to a stronger desire and potential overeating.
• 🧘 Increase emotional awareness as it's crucial for understanding and navigating emotional eating.
• 🏋️ Meet your biological needs to reduce the pull towards comfort foods, especially when you're calorie or nutrient deficient.
• 🤔 Assess what you are needing when experiencing certain emotions to understand if it's a craving for food or a need for something else.
• 🚶 Reflect on your choices and their outcomes to learn how to manage emotions effectively and constructively.
• 📝 Use an emotions reflection tool to identify and process emotions, which can be done through journaling or apps.
• 📚 Reflective journaling helps to manage emotions by assessing and taking action on what you need to feel better.
• 🎨 Experiment with different self-care activities to find what helps you manage stress or emotions effectively.
• 📊 Keep a weekly recap to assess your emotional management and self-care practices to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• 🔄 Continuously test and assess different emotional management tools as what works for you may change over time.
• 🌟 The video emphasizes that managing emotional eating is a practice that improves with time, reflection, and self-awareness.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is emotional eating and how to navigate it with the help of five steps and three tools.

Who is the speaker in the video script?

The speaker in the video script is Colleen, a non-diet registered dietitian.

What is the first tip Colleen suggests for dealing with emotional eating?

The first tip is to allow yourself to have the food you desire, as denying it can lead to a stronger desire and potential overeating.

How does Colleen explain the psychological impact of allowing oneself to eat desired foods?

Colleen explains it by comparing it to not thinking of a pink elephant or being trapped in a Chinese finger trap, where the more you resist, the stronger the desire becomes.

What is the second tip for managing emotional eating according to the script?

The second tip is to increase emotional awareness, which involves identifying and addressing uncomfortable emotions rather than avoiding them.

Why is it important to meet biological needs to prevent emotional eating?

Meeting biological needs is important because if the body is not getting enough calories, macronutrients, or other physical necessities, it will be drawn towards high-fat, high-sugar foods, increasing the likelihood of emotional eating.

What does Colleen suggest doing after identifying emotions in the process of managing emotional eating?

After identifying emotions, Colleen suggests assessing what you are needing, which may involve finding ways to alleviate the emotions or addressing the root causes.

What is the purpose of reflecting on the emotional eating experience?

Reflecting on the emotional eating experience helps to assess whether the chosen action was helpful or not, and it aids in learning what to do differently next time to manage emotions more effectively.

What are the three tools that Colleen introduces to help with emotional eating?

The three tools Colleen introduces are an emotions reflection journal, a reflective journaling tool for action and assessment, and a weekly recap for overall assessment and course correction.

How does Colleen use painting by numbers as a self-care activity to manage stress?

Colleen finds painting by numbers helpful as it allows her to zone out, concentrate on something else, and not have to make decisions, which provides a soothing break from stressors.

What is the significance of the weekly recap tool mentioned in the script?

The weekly recap tool is significant as it helps in looking back on the week to assess emotional management, self-care, and overall mood trends, which can assist in making adjustments for better emotional health.

How can the app that Colleen created assist in managing emotional eating?

The app assists by providing templates for emotions reflection, food movement, and self-care, allowing users to record, reflect, and assess their emotional eating experiences and self-care activities.