Friday Q&A: binge eating; probiotics; talking to teen boys about food; & the Mediterranean diet
You ask the best questions!
It’s Friday Q&A time!
This week is all about nourishing our bodies and minds. (Next week is about gut health!)
Check out this week’s newsletter about what adverse childhood experiences teach us about our relationship with food.
Tune into this week’s podcast with the co-founder of Whole30, Melissa Urban, about recovering from addiction through creating healthy boundaries around food and substances. You can also find it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Don’t miss my recent Q&As on:
The first question today (about restricting and bingeing) is for all subscribers. The remaining questions (about probiotics and gut health, concern about my son’s relationship with food, and the best diet) are for paid subscribers.
Click here to submit your questions (about anything) for future Q&A posts!
Let’s dive in!
QUESTION #1
I am trying to work on my relationship with food. However, I frequently get urges to binge or restrict. These urges often feel overpowering and I don’t feel like I can control them. How can I manage these urges?
-Stuck in a Cycle
Dear Stuck,
You are not alone. So many people find themselves inadvertently using food to avoid difficult emotions or to get a quick hit of Dopamine, the “pleasure hormone.” It's great that you recognize your urges to binge or restrict. The next steps involve connecting the dots between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around food—then carving out agency where able. Here are some strategies that help many of my patients regain control of their relationship with food:
Identify triggers: Is it a certain emotion or situation that makes you want to binge or restrict? For some people, it’s shame, fear, or feeling out of control that triggers them. For other people, it’s a certain place or person that triggers difficult emotions.
Practice mindfulness: Recognizing that this will be difficult (indeed some of our thoughts are the very ones we’re trying to avoid!), try to be more present and aware of your thoughts and emotions in the moment. When you feel an urge to binge or restrict, take a few deep breaths and observe the urge without judgment.
Distract yourself: Remember that no feeling lasts forever. Feelings wash over us like waves on a beach. Sometimes, distracting yourself with a non-food related activity can help you ride out the urge. Try going for a walk, cuddling with a pet, or calling a friend in order to mentally “change the channel.”
Practice self-compassion: Remember that it's okay to slip up sometimes! Be kind to yourself and try not to beat yourself up if you do binge or restrict. Instead, focus on learning from the experience and moving forward.
Seek professional help: If you find that these urges are persistent and interfering with your daily life, consider seeking help from a therapist or healthcare professional who can work with you to develop a personalized plan for managing these urges.
QUESTION #2
Do probiotics work to restore gut health?
-Kathy
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