Found yourself snacking more than usual lately? Are you eating more and worried about putting on the so-called “COVID 19” (pounds)? It could be that you’re not actually physically hungry, but looking for a way to quench an emotion—a common issue for GIThrive® members working with our Health Sherpas® and dietitians.
It can take a little work to learn how to identify the specific, emotional triggers that drive us to walk to the kitchen when we might not be experiencing physical hunger. Vivante’s Health Sherpas and registered dietitians use an acronym for the most common emotional states that can lead to unhealthy snacking behaviors, and provide members with some strategies to address each one.
Overall, we recommend keeping this acronym in mind when the urge to eat hits: HALT/BSSS:
- Hungry
- Angry
- Lonely
- Tired
- Bored
- Scared
- Sad
- Stressed
If you find yourself heading for the cookie jar when you’re not hungry, use the acronym to think through which state you might be in before you eat. “When you find yourself reaching for food, remove yourself from whatever situation you’re in,” said Erin Commons, AVP of Care Management. “Consider setting a timer for 15 minutes to give yourself the time and space to identify what’s driving you to eat.”
If you missed our April 30 webinar When Emotions Drive Hunger: How to Cope, be sure to click here!
Hosted by Vivante Health’s SVP of Commerce Paul Elsass and Erin Commons, this webinar dives deeper into some of the reasons why we tend to use food as a coping mechanism when dealing with emotional situations. Our GIThrive Care Team dietitians and Health Sherpas (wellness coaches helping guide behavior and lifestyle changes) walk through each letter of HALT/BSSS and share insights and helpful advice similar to what GIThrive members experience when they work with our program.
Want to know more? Good news: in less than 30 minutes you can check out the entire webinar here. Be sure to let us know if you have questions or want more information about how GIThrive can help employees manage digestive health.
Stay tuned. Details about our next webinar are coming soon! (Teaser: We’ll take a deeper dive into one of the letters in the HALT/BSSS acronym. Which one…? You’ll just have to come back to find out!)
