But Do I Really Need It?
The conventional wisdom used to be that if you craved something, your body needed a nutrient found in that particular food.
With the possible exception of chocolate, which contains the feel-good brain chemical called serotonin, Spangle disdains this explanation. "Many people would rather blame their physiology instead of doing the work of sorting out their emotions and taking care of those needs," she says.
If eating carbs makes you crave more carbs, Spangle says, this may be partly due to your physiological makeup. But to stop eating the extra carbs, you need to examine the reason for the emotional eating.
So take a look at the food you're holding in your hand, and ask: "Who do I want to chew out?" "What's missing in my life?" Or just: "Why am I eating this?"
The answer could help you stop eating when you're not hungry -- and put you on the road to dealing with your feelings in a more productive way.
Published June 16, 2003.
Medically reviewed by Charlotte Grayson, MD.
Sources: Linda Spangle, RN, MA, author, Life is Hard, Food is Easy: The 5-Step Plan to Overcome Emotional Eating and Lose Weight on Any Diet. Jane Jakubczak, RD, LD, student health center dietitian, University of Maryland, College Park. Linda Spangle's web site, www.foodiseasy.com: Beware of the risk of "emotional eating" by Lori Silverstein.
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