How to Stop Bingeing, Unconscious Eating And Diet Relapse: What the Research Says

Tom,

This is a great article. I passed it along to all of my girlfriends to see since a lot of the same thing was going on with my own friends.

Thanks!

Corina

I think that people don't give this emotional eating idea as much credit as they should, so I'm glad to see you writing about it in such an honest and scientific way. Thanks for always providing good, true information Tom!

Tom, once again, a great article! I have also forwarded to my work friends! I have always promoted food journalling and since I am preparing to compete, it has become more important! I, too have struggled with emotional eating - the food journal totally kept me on track!

Hi Tom,

Excellent article. You just began following me on Twitter, and my program for healthy living and weight loss is very much about consciousness. Your ideas are very much like mine.

However, I'm a Clinical Hypnotherapist my approach with clients is through that lens. In addition, I help my clients...when possible...connect with their Spirit Guides or inner wisdom.

I'm featuring my client, Susan Miller, on my website:
www.whyweighttolose.com with on-going videos of her progres. Just launched the website. Check it out.

Nice connecting and sharing information.

Jennifer

Tom..
This really hits home to me.. I have been struggling over this for sometime now. I have a very stressful job and over the years have learned to leave it at work and not bring it home.

But I see now that is where the binge eating comes in. When I'm at home at night i just can't stop eating. I crave the sweets and salty things. I just gave up smoking (for the 2nd time) after 30 years. The first time I quit I gained 50 LBs. so I am afraid of repeating this. I know I should focus on one addiction at a time but i can't afford to add more weight. I do have a membership to the gym, but having back surgery last year, it is very slow going. I'm a relapser... I find motivation and lose it.

i get tired of the same old foods. (except junk food!)
my 30 year reunion is next year, so that my big motivation this time. I see I need to fix whats inside as well as my outside if I'm ever going to acomplish my goals.

Thanks...I appreciate your honesty and all that you do for everyone.

Hi Tom! Great article, as usual! I've always poo, poo'd the emotional column on food journals, but over the last year I've been taking special note of my mood changes. In the past, I've either been really, really up or really, really down and not much in between. Now I notice that when my macros are higher in carbs than protein and fat, I am in a wicked mood the next day. I feel like ants are crawling under my skin and the smallest irritation can set off undo rage. I'm a mom of 3 little ones and that behavior is unexceptable. I've had to put myself in time-out more than once. Now that I've finally realized what the true source of my mood swings are, I am able to keep them at bay by simply eating correctly(I cycle 3 days of 40P 40F and 20C and one day of 40P 40C and 20F), doing my weights and doing 60min of cardio a day. Cardio is my prozac, lol. I also started doing HIIT, but I still "need" my fix of uninterrupted, 60 min session. I finally feel like the calm, cool, collected and fit person that I've always invisioned myself to be.

Dear Tom

Thanks a lot for this newsletter. I always read your letters with great interest.

This one has made me aware of my 2 kg weight gain after maintaining mine for 2 years.I am under stress and I eat soothing foods more than I ever have. Thanks for the wake-up call.I will be vigilant now . I want to be a maintainer and not a relapser. thanks

regards
jasmin

Has there been any studies done regarding the affect of stress on the appetite? I'm not denying that I have used food to cope, soothe and/or entertain myself, but I had the adjustable gastric band (LapBand) for 18 months, and my appetite was greatly reduced.

With the band it became much, much easier to differentiate between physical hunger and emotional hunger, and I found my desire to overeat virtually disappeared. There were a few ocassions where I was definitely NOT hungry but still wanted to eat, but they were infinitely more rare than I had expected.

This leads me to believe that my appetite is the biggest problem that I face in my struggle with excess weight - not my emotions. It was such a blessing to finally be relieved of that constant hunger! I experienced the same results with Meridia.

Unfortunately I had to have my LapBand removed due to erosion, and I have regained the 100+ lbs I had lost with the band in the three years since removal.

It is very frustrating.

Donali wrote

Has there been any studies done regarding the affect of stress on the appetite?

Yes, lots of it: in psychology and physiology journals

People under stress simply eat more:

for example, the Oliver study, "Stress and food Choice" published in the journal "Psychosomatic Medicine in 2000.

this study said stress may affect your health not only through its direct biological effects but also because it changes health behaviors (such as binge eating) that affect your health.

the researchers found that when stressed, people increased their consumption of sweet, fatty fods.

IN terms of physiological effects of stress directly on appetite: One study from the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology (Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior)

this study suggested that stress may influence eating behavior and they found that high cortisol levels caused subjects to eat more total food and more sweet food.

Another paper was published by Dallman in 2003, "Chronic Stress and Obesity" was a rat study, which looked at the complex endocrine mechanisms that cause stress eating and they propose that their findings extend to humans.

Theres a strong psychological component. in fact these researchers called it a "psychophysiological rsponse" to stress.

Bottom line is, you must develop coping strategies for stress that work for you.

Tom V.

Great article Tom and very apropos, I might add. I've just recently overcome my propensity for binge eating, and my desire to mindlessly nosh. It was hard work, no doubt, but well worth the time and introspection. With me, it all boiled down to mind over matter.

I felt that if I could harnass the power of my mind, for my benefit, that I could literally reprogram my brain to not expect, nor crave, certain types of foods, at inopportune times. It was rough going for the first few days, but once I had established a routine of following a consistent meal plan, it became visceral behavior.

As has been said many times, your mind is your strongest "muscle," and can become your biggest ally, or foe. I try to always maintain positive thoughts and energy, and if I find myself slipping, I take a few minutes to meditate and envisage what I want my body to look like. That "elixir" has been paying dividends thus far, to the tune of 3.75 inches shed from my waistline and 17 pounds lost, over just the first month!

I truly believe that "if you think it, you can be it." People's realities are often times the manifestation of their thoughts, so by reprogramming their minds, they can overcome large obstacles. It just takes a willingness to explore their psyche, and to desire to effect change.

Nice one Tom! Glad to say that I'm one of the maintainers. It's sometimes a big hassle being conscious of everything, especially the types and amount of food eaten and how you feel and look, but it keeps me on my toes and definitely prevents any unwanted and unnecessary relapses.

Sometimes I get more laid back (gotta live a little) and gain a pound or two, but that's the most I go before I work hard to get back in shape =)

Great article Tom. Regarding the effect of stress on appetite, I get Jillian Michael's newsletters and one of the topics was the effect of a bad night's sleep on leptin and ghrelin hormone levels. I know from experience that stress causes me to toss and turn which then affects my appetite. Her newsletter stated that just two nights of bad sleep causes leptin levels to decrease by 20% and ghrelin levels to increase by 30% (not sure if these numbers are totally accurate). Obviously, that could definitely trigger one's appetite. Since I have a very stressful job, I've focused on getting quality sleep which has been a huge help not only from an appetite standpoint but also from a general energy standpoint as well. It really helps alot.

Amy

I totally agree with Amy's comments about sleep and appetite. I am much more successful with my eating program when I simply am well rested. Part of me will think it's about discipline with food, but it's really about discipline in getting to bed.