As the weather gets colder, most people have a tendency to stay in as to keep warm and comfortable. A warm cozy room, with the golden fire blazing in the brick fire place, your pet curled up beside your couch, and you sitting wrapped in a thick heavy blanket reading your favorite book, with that warm cup of cocoa / tea. Right! If life were only that picture perfect!

The truth or reality for most people is way different due to the lives we lead, our past experiences and the people we interact with. These tend to effect our moods and emotions and we quite often take comfort in eating as a way of coping with or handling these situations without realizing the detrimental effect this can have on our health, self esteem and our sense of being.

Here are a few lifestyle modifications you can make to change this emotional eating pattern:

1. Eat only while sitting down in ONE designated area for meal times.
2. Eat slowly and savor each morsel of food. Enjoy the colours, textures and aromas of the food.
3. Put down your fork between bites and converse with others. Some of the best conversations we have are over our meals.
4. Encourage the family to pick out healthier foods choices – here are some examples: have yoghurt instead of sour cream, have freshly cut up vegetables with your sandwich as opposed to having potato chips, try kelp granules instead of salt, try using a combination of olive oil and butter, as opposed to using plain butter.
5. Instead of using large dinner plates, try to use smaller plates. This way you limit the portions of food to half of what you may have eaten otherwise.
6. Instead of putting out bowls of food on the table, put them at a safe distance away from the table, and if you go back for seconds, ask yourself on the way if you really need to.
7. Leave the table as soon as you are done eating or when your stomach is satisfied, you do not have to finish everything in your plate or all the food available.
8. At a restaurant, try to ask for smaller portions, limit intake from the breadbasket to one roll, and ask for the dressing for salad on the side.

Additional tips while going grocery shopping:

1. Go for groceries after a full meal.
2. Preplan your meals and create shopping list based on the meals. Only purchase what you need for the meals.
3. Limit the amount of money you take for shopping for grocery to the amount that you would need for your shopping list only.
4. Try to avoid taking kids to the supermarket when you shop for groceries for your meals.
5. Stick to the aisles that have your required food items. This way you save time and money, and have saved yourself from purchasing items that you will later regret for having in the house – sugary snack and salty chips.

Snacking too much?

1. Substitute other activities for snacking.
2. Postpone a desired snack for 10 – 15 minutes.
3. Keep a bottle of water with you when you are watching television or doing other activities.
4. Avoid snacking while watching television and other activities.
5. Stock up the house with healthier food choices.
6. Snack on fresh fruit and vegetables.
7. Try to keep all food in cupboards where it can be seen.
8. Don’t starve yourself. Treat your self to a small indulgence that you enjoy.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.