Day 20: End Emotional Over Eating

Food Affects Your Mood

Over the years, you may have heard many food mantras: you are what you eat is the one I heard most often. But a Girl Scout tip has stayed with me the longest and has been applied to many aspects of my life: Preparation is Not Lost Time. The primary reason I chose to blog with you for 21 days BEFORE the holiday season was to help you PREPARE for the social and emotional attacks that all too frequently bombard us at this time of year. If you have not already done so, please review each of the blogs. Give special attention to the suggestions for activities; review your lists of emotional triggers; practice mindful eating and meditation. Remember that there is a Higher Power who helps you in every situation. I have already detailed the many reasons why you should avoid sugar – which is a primary component of alcohol. Now let’s focus on developing good eating habits and being aware of nutritional foods that positively affect your mood.

Recent research helps illuminate the role food plays in influencing your mood.

What to Do
There’s more to mood maintenance than eating the right foods. The framework for good mood hygiene begins with implementing some basic nutrition strategies:

• Eat often enough. According to research reported by NBC News, you should eat every four to five hours to keep your blood sugar levels steady. Eating at regular intervals helps to ensure that your body has a continuous source of fuel, and this may assist in keeping your mood stable. If you feel like your blood sugar might be dipping frequently, talk to your doctor, since this could be a sign of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is a health condition that causes people to need to eat frequently.
• Don’t skip meals. Though it may be tempting to rush out the door without breakfast, Psychology Today reports that starting the day without fuel–or bypassing any meal–is a mistake. If you keep yourself from getting too hungry, you may be able to avoid a bad mood.
• Know what to avoid. Before you can eat mood-boosting foods, it’s important to know which foods to leave off (or limit) on your shopping list. The biggest bad-mood culprits are refined carbohydrates, like sugar. The simple sugars that are in junk foods like candy and soda–as well as in everyday foods like fruit juice, syrup, and jams–can cause your blood sugar to go up and down like a roller coaster. Refined white starches such as white rice, white bread, and crackers can have the same effect. Blood sugar spikes and drops can leave you with a short-lived burst of energy followed by a tired, cranky feeling. For best mood results, you should also avoid alcohol, since it’s a depressant and can disturb your sleep.

What to Eat
Here are some of the best foods to eat to stay healthy and happy:

• Protein. Adding protein to your meals can help slow the absorption of carbohydrates in your blood, which may improve your mood for several hours after eating. Eggs, poultry, seafood, tofu, and low-fat yogurt are all smart protein choices.
  

  How Much Protein Is Enough?http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/how-much-protein

  Adults in the U.S. are encouraged to get 10% to 35% of their day’s calories from protein foods. That’s about 46 grams of protein for women, and 56 grams of protein for men.

  It’s not hard to get this amount if you eat two to three servings of protein-rich foods a day, according to the CDC.

  • A small 3-ounce piece of meat has about 21 grams of protein. A typical 8-ounce piece of meat could have over 50 grams of protein.
  • One 8-ounce container of yogurt has about 11 grams of protein.
  • One cup of milk has 8 grams of protein.
  • One cup of dry beans has about 16 grams of protein.
• Vitamins. There are a few specific vitamins that research has suggested can be helpful for mood. Research reported by NBC News shows that vitamin D may help relieve mood disorders, such as seasonal affective disorder. Studies have also suggested that the vitamins folate and B12 may help ease depression. To get your daily dose of vitamin D, try low-fat milk, egg yolks, and soymilk. Many doctors also recommend adding a multivitamin that contains vitamin D. Broccoli, lentils, oatmeal, and oranges are high in folate, while cottage cheese, lean beef, and salmon can provide vitamin B12.
• Fiber. Foods that contain soluble fiber–such as brown rice, barley, pears, and peas–can slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, decreasing mood swings.
• How Much Fiber for an Adult? : You should have just the right amount of fiber in your diet to help with regularity, stabilizing blood sugar, absorbing nutrients and keeping your cholesterol in check. In general, men should get 30 to 38 grams of fiber every day, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine suggests. Women need 21 to 25 grams daily, except during pregnancy and while breast-feeding, when you have to increase your intake to 28 to 29 grams. Your specific needs might be different, though. http://www.livestrong.com/article/286817-the-recommended-daily-fiber-intake-for-an-adult/
• High-Fiber, Low-Sugar Foods: a picture is worth more than 1000 words

Get More Fiber With Fruits

A medium apple, 1/2 cup of blackberries, a medium banana and a medium orange each contain between 3 and 4 grams of dietary fiber. Mixing berries into cereal or yogurt to up your fiber intake. After meals, serve fresh fruit salads instead of cakes or ice cream for dessert. When you are hungry between meals, reach for some grapes or a fresh apple or pear instead of potato chips or cookies.

Make Legumes a Staple

Legumes, or beans, peas and lentils, are high in dietary fiber, and they also supply protein, potassium and iron. One-half cup of cooked navy beans provides 9.5 grams of fiber, while 1/2 cup of cooked lentils, split peas, garbanzo beans and pinto beans each supply at least 7 grams of fiber. Add beans to chili, make four-bean salad as a side dish or make a bean burrito with brown rice to incorporate more beans into your diet. Cook dried beans in unsalted water or select low-sodium canned varieties to limit your sodium intake.

Putting It All Together
There’s a clear relationship between food and your state of mind. When you combine strategies for eating regularly with foods that may have a positive effect on your well-being, you can plan meals that may help you to feel better. Plus, you can also avoid foods that may make you feel worse. Now that’s something to be happy about! http://www.healthline.com/health/mood-food-can-what-you-eat-affect-your-happiness#2