Submitted by the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team | Aug 29, 2019


Hunger is the drive to nourish, fuel and energize our bodies for survival. However, for us humans, physical hunger is not the only reason we might eat, and sometimes it’s not even the main reason. People eat when they are stressed, depressed, bored, or for any number of other emotional reasons. There are also behaviours and rules related to food that people may have learned since childhood. Sometimes these eating patterns can turn into problematic eating, which can be very challenging to overcome. People feel as if they have no control over their eating and feel guilty for giving into their cravings. Our current food environment certainly does us no favours, with a food industry that is more interested in selling their products that the health of its consumers.

The cognitive-behavioural model states that our thoughts, emotions and behaviours are all inter-connected. If we were to compare our eating pattern to an iceberg, the physical action of eating would be the tip of the iceberg. Invisible to the eye is the rest of the 90% of the iceberg. Beneath this iceberg are our thoughts and emotions, which we may not even be aware of at the time. Yet, what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling can have a powerful effect on what we’re eating.
Problematic eating is linked to our thoughts and emotions, and therefore becoming more aware of our eating “triggers” and actively working to deal with these triggers can help us become more in control of our eating patterns. Craving Change™ is a renowned program that offers solutions and strategies to help participants identify their triggers and offers practical tools, activities and strategies to address the universal struggle to change problematic and emotional eating behaviours. It is a thought-provoking approach that focuses on the “why” of eating behaviours and what to do about it.

Craving Change™ is being offered at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team in September 2019. Facilitated by Saman Shaikh, Registered Dietitian, this four-week program will be run once a week, on Tuesdays at 1:30pm to 3:30pm, from September 17th to October 8th. Please contact the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team at 613-279-2100 to register today.

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