By Bimbola Segun-Amao (@bimbolababs)
May has just suffered a divorce; one that stemmed from domestic violence, she is heart-broken and distraught. She has lost appetite for food and living; the days pass her by unnoticed, her body size depleting fast and conspicuously, her mind blank and cold.
Her aunt became a magician sort of, when she offered her suya one night after a crying episode and May took a bite, then another bite and another piece of the skewered meat until she finished the whole lot. No one knew whether the hot chilly yaji spice was responsible for snapping her back into life or the cold cucumber that came with the meat was the soothing balm for her soul, but she was lighter that night, and could join the family banters. And night after night, May had to eat suya; it must happen…she ‘needed’ the suya to love on. She’s turned to suya for comfort.
For Tolu, a job hunter and couch potato, life at home means the mouth has to be kept busy. When boredom sets in, we tend to snack (mostly on junks) without even thinking about our action. Lot of people look forward to a meal or snack not because there is a growling stomach but because there is a raging emotion to calm down. Conflicts, work stress, fatigue, financial pressure, loneliness…food could serve as a distraction. Then one is no longer eating for the body but for the troubled soul.
Are you an emotional eater? Do you have a strong urge towards food even when you are not at all physically hungry? Do you return to the fridge or bring out the chocolate bar after a conflict? Do you ‘wash off’ work stress with a bowl of ice-cream?
Emotional Eating is always initially an attempt at self‐help, an attempt to manage mood with food but emotional eating frequently leads to more grave consequences.
Dieticians admonish that calories consumed daily should be in consideration of calories burnt daily; that means if you are not physically active you should eat less, but is that not the time one wants to keep munching? Have you noticed that when one sits for long behind the TV screen and there’s nothing to eat or an ice-cream to keep on with, restlessness sets in? Whoever designed that cinemas be watched with pop-corns or snacks? Would the movie not be the same without these habits? I guess these habits were developed to fuel emotions and not the body; the relationship between man and food can be comforting to the body and emotions or to the emotions at the detriment of the body.
If you discover you eat not necessarily because you are hungry, you may be doing your body harm. Be intentional about what goes in to your mouth; let it not be because the food is available, or there is a lavish party, or because your friends are eating. Make an effort to eat only when you are hungry and if you like to snack time to time, you may have to fill your refrigerator with fruits, vegetables and nuts- I believe they do the body more good.
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