SHINE: Supporting Healthy Image, Nutrition, and Exercise 1

Overcoming Problematic Eating Patterns

Now that you and your teen are paying more attention to your eating habits, it’s important to be aware of potentially problematic eating behaviours, such as overeating or binge eating.

Why Does Overeating Happen?

Hunger: If you put off eating for a long time or don’t eat enough, you will eventually get so hungry that you may end up eating more than you planned.

Unpleasant feelings and events: Feelings like loneliness, sadness, boredom, anxiety, and anger can trigger an urge to overeat.

Environment: As humans, we were not meant to live in a world of fast food and video games, computers, and TV. The goal of this program is to change habits so we can live healthy in our current society.

Having an "all-or-nothing" mindset: We engage in "all-or-nothing" thinking when we describe events in "black-and-white" categories, with no shades of gray. If food is categorised into rigid categories of "allowed" and "forbidden", a person might overeat after eating a small amount of a ”forbidden” treat because they think "I blew it anyway!"

In this issue:

Binge eating

Forbidden foods

Speed eating

Mindful eating

1

SHINE: Supporting Healthy Image, Nutrition, and Exercise 2

Forbidden Foods

Forbidden foods are foods you tell yourself not to eat because you are afraid that they will make you gain weight or lose control over your eating. Often when a person eats one of their "forbidden foods" they feel guilty or bad about themselves afterward, especially when they give in to cravings for the food.

Forbidden foods become powerful because excluding them from your diet makes you think about and crave them often.

Many people have foods that they consider off-limits, or forbidden.

It is important to take the power away from these foods by reintroducing them into your diet.

Nutritional experts believe that it is important to feel comfortable eating ALL foods in moderation.

What is Binge Eating?

Binge eating is one type of overeating. People who binge eat on a regular basis may have an eating disorder.

When people binge eat they:

1. Eat what others consider to be an unusually large amount of food.

2. Eat more rapidly than normal, often until all food is eaten and when not physically hungry.

3. Eat alone because of embarrassment about how much or what they eat.

4. Feel depressed, disgusted, or guilty after overeating.

Binge eating involves feeling a loss of control over your eating. Feeling that you can’t stop eating once you start.

OR

Feeling unable to control what or how much you eat while binge eating.

What’s Special About Binge Eating -v- General Overeating?

When people binge eat, their self-esteem seems to suffer even more.

Binge eating usually leads to eating more kilojoules than general overeating. More kilojoules leads to even greater weight gain.

Binge eating may also increase risk for developing an eating disorder.

The causes of binge eating and general overeating may be different for some people.

Binge Eating

What are your teen’s forbidden foods? (How about yours?)

SHINE: Supporting Healthy Image, Nutrition, and Exercise 3

1. Sit down in front of your food (eating on the run can tempt you to eat more). Take a deep breath. Check out what you're eating. Does it look delicious? Tempted to wolf it down? Notice what you are feeling.

2. Describe your actions. "I’m excited to eat this. I anticipate that it is going to be delicious."

3. Go into slow-motion. Watch your hand move the food toward your mouth. Notice the smell and how much you enjoy eating it.

4. As you put the food in your mouth focus on the taste. Scrumptious.

5. When you swallow the food, can you feel any sensations in your stomach? Is it empty, full, or somewhere in the middle?

6. Notice your thoughts - are you thinking about the food or something else? If you are thinking about something else, gently bring your attention back to the food.

You may think it sounds silly, but mindfulness is shown to help people control their eating habits and improve their lives in other areas.

Speed Eating

Speed eating can also contribute to overeating.

The body releases chemical signals of fullness when we begin eating, but it can take 20 minutes for the brain to get the signal. By eating more slowly, you can allow time for your body to hear these signals.

Fast eaters often eat too much. During your next few meals, see if you eat faster than your dining companions. Also pay attention to the rate at which you take your bites.

Tips for slowing down speedy eating:

Distract yourself, wait 10 minutes before getting another helping (this gives your body time to digest and feel full)

Start with a smaller portion

Drink water with meals

Don't do other things while eating

Chew slowly

Put your fork or spoon down between bites

Eat mindfully – focus on the flavours, colours, and textures of food

Time to Talk!

How do you help your teen practice mindful eating?

Ask your teen if they have learned about mindful eating and pick a time to try this together .

Mindful Eating

You eat every day, but how often do you really pay attention to what you are eating? Here is a tool that can help you to slow down and enjoy eating.