Cravings can be difficult to resist, especially when they involve sugary drinks and chips, cheese, and fatty foods. These foods trigger specific pathways to reward centres in the brain.
Instead of sugary candy or pastries, try a piece of fruit, and for soda, replace it with sparkling water and a squeeze of fruit juice. Keeping healthy, high-protein snacks on hand is also a good way to keep cravings at bay.
Emotional eating
Emotional eating occurs when you eat for reasons other than hunger. It can be triggered by big life events, like losing your job, or small hassles, like a long drive home from work. It is often a cover for emotional discomfort and can lead to food addiction. Emotional eating is often associated with high-calorie food choices and binge-eating. It can also interfere with making healthy decisions and achieving a healthy weight.
Identifying emotional eating is the first step to changing it. Keeping a food and mood journal can help you find patterns and triggers that influence your emotional eating. Write down what you ate, what happened to upset you, and how you felt before and after your eating episode. This will help you discover the root causes of your emotional eating and find new ways to cope.
Psychologists
Psychologists are health care professionals who specialize in helping patients make behavioral changes that aid in weight loss. They may work independently or as part of a team with physicians, dietitians and other health care providers.
In sessions, psychologists help patients identify and understand the psychological factors that influence their behaviors around food. They can teach patients how to stop using food as a reward or punishment, for example. They also encourage patients to practice “mindful eating,” which involves paying attention to their hunger levels and making healthy choices while they eat.
As health care professionals, psychologists must pass a medical exam and complete a four-year residency program. Garrin said psychiatrists, who have medical degrees, are licensed to prescribe medication for mental health issues including anxiety and depression. They are trained in counseling and have advanced training in the administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological testing. Unlike psychiatrists, psychologists have graduate-level education in psychology and conduct scientific research.