THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FOOD

FOOD PSYCHOLOGY – IS YOUR PSYCHE HOLDING YOU BACK?

When we eat, chemicals are released into our brain and thus cause our mood to change (generally to feel happy and content), this leads us to associate certain foods with positive emotions. In this instance we find ourselves ‘needing’ these foods, not to stave off hunger but to invoke a desired emotion just as a drug addict feeds their addiction of a ‘high’, you to may have an addiction to an unhealthy food group.

It becomes evident that the taste of our food is linked to our emotions, furthermore, the appearance and smell may entice one to consume as our brain connects an image with a desired emotion or experience that can only be induced by eating the particular culinary delight. As a test, do you remember a particularly delicious dinner, desert or meal; the colour, the texture, the flavour the aroma and who you may have dined with, when and where? – I’m sure you can look back and remember one experience. This information stored in our subconscious and may sit dormant for many years but a similar aroma or image may cause it to awaken. I’m sure you have experienced the drive to cook a particular dish or consume a particular food, not dissimilar to the ever-changing, extravagant and sometimes unusual cravings of a pregnant woman.

These cravings and food memories are normal but if you find yourself in a rut so to speak you may seek out these foods to improve your mood, this again is relatively normal but for many people they are stuck in an eating cycle, heavily consuming to continue a false sense of happiness. There is a fine line between binge eating (see my binge eating post for more) and emotional eating, in my opionin the difference lies in the reasoning (or lack there of) in your eating pattern e.g. a binge eater may finish dinner and look down and say ‘wow, did I eat all that’ i.e. what they have consumed is a surprise to them, not necessarily depressing but surprising. An emotional eater looks at all their leftovers and thinks ‘that’s what I needed to feel happy’, inturn they may feel depressed because of the quantity consumed and therefore seek more food to be happy again (this is a vicious cycle) i.e. they are aware of the quantity they have consumed and are proactively eating as opposed to a binge eater who may be on autopilot.

In order to prevent the above and stop yourself from not only picking up weight but to reduce the likelihood of heart disease, liver failure, kidney problems, diabetes, cancer, etc.. A level of self control is required; you must be accountable for your actions and most importantly work on remapping your eating patterns by altering your subconscious. Its your brain sending messages to your taste buds coupled with brief moments of happiness that can only come into full force by filling the desires that are forcing you to over eat, to seek out unhealthy options, to continue to eat after you are full and worst of all you may be finding ways to justify these actions by saying ‘it’s only once’ or ‘I’ll do some exercise tomorrow’.

Put some thought to when and why you eat, so that you may begin to understand what subconscious associations you may have formed over the years. After pinpointing these associations you will be able to deal with them in a more appropriate and effective manner as you will be going to war with a plan and knowing what you are dealing with – no one wants to charge into the abyss unprepared. To prepare yourself, keep a ‘food diary’ but also make notes of any emotions that you were overcome by that pushed you to eat any particular food. When you read over your diary at the end of every week you may find it quite confronting but more importantly you will be able to see exactly what is going on. Then sort out your eating times, figure out what your going to eat and when, find healthy, lean options to replace your usual unhealthy meals but also remember to allow some treats – keep treats on to weekends and have them during the day but don’t ‘go wild’ – ‘be mild’.

Tips you will find throughout my posts are to drink plenty of water, have 5 – 6 small meals a day, do regular exercise (30 minutes a day or break this into three 10 minute blocks), look at what you are about to eat – should you eat it? Eat slower and wait at least 10minutes after you’ve finished your meal before you go for ‘seconds’, you brain takes a while to send out the ‘full’ message.

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*Always remember to consult your GP or health adviser with regards to your particular circumstance. The above information is for general purposes and is my interpretation from research and experience; hence, it is open to debate.

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