Tallahassee Memorial Diabetes and Bariatric Center seminar From Emotional Eating to Mindful Eating session reveals how emotions can lead to careless, harmful eating habits.
TMH’s dedication to wellness and education is demonstrated through educational sessions and support groups that act as a platform for individuals to address eating concerns and receive helpful advice from trained medical staff.
Bariatric Counselor Shari Lindquist leads this support group and shares helpful tips about managing emotional eating. Contrary to popular belief, emotional eating does not always occur in the state of sadness.
“Using food when you’re not hungry is emotional eating. From the time you’re born emotional eating is reinforced,“ Lindquist said.
To reverse the cycle of emotional eating Shari Lindquist suggests implementing an eating plan using the 5 P’s of Appropriate Eating. This system ensures that one achieves healthy weight loss and an overall healthy lifestyle.
Plan
Before beginning your week, prepare a menu and shop for groceries once a week. Look up nutritional information before eating out. Ask the server to bring a to-go box at the beginning of the meal.
Portion Control
Use smaller plates; place all food on a plate. Never eat out of a package. If you do have snacks buy small portion size bags instead of large bags.
Proportionate
Use the Plate method. Your plate should consist of ½ non-starchy veggies, ¼ starch and ¼ protein.
Proper Place
Eating with distractions such as the television or computer can cause overeating. Sitting around the dinner table removes distractions and may make for an interesting conversation about your day.
Peaceful
Slow down and enjoy the site, texture and tastes of your food. You may be the next great tester of our time! It takes 20 minutes for your brain to signal to your stomach that you are full.
Among the attendees of the diabetes was Karen Southwell, a librarian at Florida A&M University, who walked away with at least one thing she will implement into her daily routine.
“I will ask ‘Am I hungry?’… This was really a reality check and that’s the most important part,” Southwell said.
Sessions such as this often provide way for address they’re eating habits and to simply realize that there are others who deal with the same issues, may it be weight loss or adopting a healthy lifestyle.