People with diabetes have to learn new ways to eat ““ counting calories and carbs, controlling portions and choosing foods that are high in good stuff and low in bad stuff like fat, sugar and salt.
But eating isn’t always about being hungry; sometimes, it’s about being sad or angry or stressed and using food to manage your mood.
The Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston has this advice to help control emotional eating:
- Make a list of favorite activities (besides eating) like hiking, reading or gardening, and keep it handy. When the urge to gorge strikes and you’re not actually hungry, look over the list and pick an activity.
- Call a friend or family member who can take your mind off food. Try to steer the conversation away from ice cream (or cookies or French fries).
- Wait 10 minutes to see if the urge passes. If it doesn’t, wait another 10. If it’s still there, try to have a small portion of what you’re craving. Remember to count the calories, carbs, etc., as part of your daily intake.
- Have a glass of water or a cup of tea. Sometimes, what we think is hunger is really thirst.
- Keep healthy snacks, like cut-up fruit, baby carrots and whole grain crackers, handy, and try not to let high-calorie stuff in the house.
- Don’t deprive yourself. It’s easy to go overboard when you’re trying to lose weight by eliminating all of your favorite foods. But it’s alright to indulge a little on occasion. The key is learning portion control and remembering to plan for your treats.
- Depression and anxiety are real diseases and they need real medicine, just like diabetes. If you think you’re experiencing more than a bad mood (or a loved one keeps mentioning it), talk to your doctor.
