The Huge Tub of Ice- Cream

“I am enjoying a relationship with two men simultaneously. The first is called Ben, and the other, Jerry.”

-          Bridget Jones

Have you ever watched one of those cute yet cheesy romantic comedy movies where the usually female protagonist gets her heartbroken, and in order to soothe her pain she sits in front of the television with a huge tub of ice-cream. Usually this is a sign that she really couldn't care less that she is taking in a ton of calories, because who would care if she picked a couple pounds. She no longer has anyone to impress and she is hopeless. She is upset and the ice-cream is somehow “comforting” her broken heart...

This is an example of emotional eating. According to MedicineNet.com emotional eating is described as: the practice of consuming large quantities of food- usually “comfort” or junk foods- in response to feelings instead of hunger.

 The feelings we are responding may be hunger and even boredom, and for many students right now who writing their final exams the biggest culprit is stress.

And with exams come all-night cram sessions, sitting 3 hour papers, and coffee and of course the nasty anxiety and stress that comes along with them.

I have been there( I still am there): sneaking to the kitchen way past my bed time to devour a big bowl of cereal, or a toasted cheese sandwich. Chocolate is always there for us when we have had a bad day, and who cares if food does not actually solve our problems. It numbs the pain. And if you tend to be an emotional eater occasionally, maybe it would help to try some foods that might be just as comforting but with half the calories!

So instead of the tub of ice-creams try these snacks instead:

Frozen Yogurt

Plain/ Flavored Yogurt

Sorbet

Homemade Ice Lolly

Dark Chocolate

Coffee

Air-popped popcorn

Fruit salad

High- fibre cereal

Fruits

Almonds

There are so many other foods you can try whenever you feel like you’re in a slump. The most important thing is to put healthy nutritious foods inside your body, and it will make you improve the way you handle situations. If you’re going to overindulge by eating junk food because you’re having a stressful day, you are only shooting yourself in the foot.

You are not dealing with the challenges you are facing, in fact you are creating more problems in the future because how many more “stressful” days are you going have?

Are you going to overindulge whenever you have a bad day?

If you’re going to overindulge, at least do it in a healthy and responsible way. Your body will thank you for it.

** Ben and Jerry’s is an ice-cream brand 

Imani Dlamini