Everyone has food habits, yes everyone including me….
Think of your mates, there are several types of eater we all notice and some that are harder to pick out but all of these stereotypes have psychological or hormonal triggers which produce various learnt behaviours or eating patterns that are repeated over and over.
These habits are a response to either a basic biological need or a psychological need/want or the worst kind possible a double whammy, the difficulty arises for most of us when we try to separate them and work towards changing them, without an understanding of all the science involved.
But the good news is you can change your habits, what you eat and how often you eat it for the better, allowing accurate triggers to produce healthier eating habits that get you feeling fantastic.
Once the changes become routine your old habits will seem bizarre and foreign to you and the foods you coveted or craved become less appealing.
So lets look at these crazy habits, you may find that you see yourself in more than one of the following descriptions, that’s normal as we all are individual, as you read through you notice that all are extreme to some degree and perhaps the best advice is to eat mind fully, exercise plenty and live life somewhere in the middle.
- Chaos eater
This person is on the hop 24/7 never stopping and cranked up on stress, they usually grab a coffee and muffin for breakfast or perhaps a ciggie and an energy drink! Load up on junk/convenience food from the machine at work or the nearest golden arches for lunch then grab a chinese/Indian/pizza for dinner.
They skip meals because they have not prepared for the day ahead and end up having to grab whatever is available. Usually high sugar+fat choices because the body is screaming for food. The trigger is a hormonal. Hunger hormones released make you crave the most calorific food possible. Come the end of the day they usually cannot remember what they have eaten.
Top Tip: Plan your day for eating, pack healthy lunches and snacks, bulk cook evening meals to reheat.
- Unconscious eater
This person is a multi-tasker, eating while working, reading, talking, driving, watching TV or cooking. The problem with this is, the food is eaten in an unappetising or hectic atmosphere leading to having no idea what or how much they are eating. Shovelling in whatever is available and typically have no idea when they are hungry or if they have exceeded their fullness level. This is again is a hormonal trigger because they have left eating to the last-minute and hunger hormones are ruling food quantity and type choices.
Top Tip: Make time to eat move away from your current environment and sit quietly and enjoy eating, savour flavours and textures notice when your body tells you your full. Plan your days meals ahead and set an alarm on your phone to remind you to eat.
Also download this picture from Susan Albers website to remind you of important questions to ask yourself before eating.
- Emotional eater
This is one of the most common and powerful traits displayed in our eating patterns. This person eats to cope with feelings, happy, sad, lonely, anxious, stressed, angry, nervous etc and often are not aware they are doing it. They often are aware they eat too much but this leaves that feeling of powerlessness around food.
We should try to acknowledge and work through any emotions first then see if we are still hungry. I am sure we have all reached for a chocolate bar or a glass of wine at some point to feel better. After we have guzzled it down we feel good briefly but end up feeling worse because we have not dealt with the issue and have also eaten something that is potentially damaging our heath, yet seem totally incapable of stopping ourselves from doing it.
The numbing effect of eating to satisfy a feeling is a learnt behaviour as a result of a psychological trigger. Eating of any kind causes a release of powerful hormones in the body which make you feel good. The choice of foods you eat will determine which hormones are released. In the typical chocolate/cookie/toast/pasta/pizza/fizzy drink binge the effects of the hormones are short-lived and will lead to more cravings, therefore eating again to replicate the good feeling over and over, I call this response the sugar trip.
Top Tip: Try to identify how you feel before eating something ask yourself AM I HUNGRY, WOULD I EAT BOILED VEG? if the answer is no step away from the counter/fridge/biscuit tin etc!
- Waste not eater
When food is around these people are like flies to shit, looking for a free feed, think family meals, weddings, parties and the all you can eat buffet, donuts at work. They will always be looking for the BOGOF deals at the supermarket and impulse buying foods.
These people will always clear their plate and push others to do the same, or offer to finish leftovers of others too. This is a learnt behaviour from a psychological trigger, often starting as a child with family encouraging them to not waste any food.
They may be thinking they are saving money but long-term but their health is suffering. If you find yourself in this boat, try to avoid situations where you cannot limit your portions.
Top Tip: Eat slowly chew your food enjoy sensations and flavours and listen to when you feel full, do not go for more!
- Can’t say NO eater
As individuals we often try to show our love through food, yet the person on the receiving end is then put in a position where it is difficult to say no. This pressure is similar to the waste not eater, the person is in a position where they can either say no to offers or encouragement or eat up through the fear of offending others. This is a common issue because food is eaten socially, another psychological trigger.
Top Tip: There is nothing wrong with saying ‘NO THANKS IM FULL UP!’
- Fretting eater
This is your classic fad dieter, obsessed with weighing, measuring and label reading. The are constantly cutting out entire food groups, and following the newest and latest celeb endorsed diet regardless that they are starving and all their hair is falling out. They swap between under eating and bingeing due to their “all or nothing” attitude.
The obsession is often rooted psychologically in the desire to find the magic pill for weight loss or optimum health, perhaps even to cure an illness. This type of behaviour can lead to more sinister eating disorders if it gets out of control.
Top Tip: Take a step back relax and moderately eat all foods, learn to listen to your body and its reactions to different foods. Stop using your scales and focus on how your body feels.
The take away message is that there are psychological triggers and hormonal triggers to crazy eating, both are extremely powerful and because eating is an essential activity we must all do we should try to be more aware of our traits.
I make all my clients write a food diary to help them understand where their traits and patterns are 1-2 weeks worth is a good starting point. Try writing down what you ate, how much, where you ate it, time of day, why you ate it, if you were alone or with someone else, and what else you were doing while eating.
Once you have identified your traits then think about how you could adapt your eating to change this. For example if you know you tend to nibble on things when you are stressed out, try to replace high calorie options with healthier low-calorie options that you can keep on you at all times.
Have a go writing a food diary and let me know what you find out, drop me a comment. If you would like to seek more information or help with nutrition, I offer training sessions to help you navigate the minefield of nutrition, understand your traits and help you plan changes to your diet call me now on 07891646667 to find out more.
Further Reading:
Evelyn Trebole & Elise Resch – Intuitive Eating A Revolutionary Program That Works
Susan Albers www.mindfully.com
www.jillconyers.com