So, what’s a nourishment menu?
As we learned over the last 2 weeks, we often have a reason for eating that has nothing to do with physical hunger. Now, how do we avoid eating when we are stressed, bored, etc? We nourish ourselves in other ways. A nurishment menu is a menu of choices (for you to pick from) that helps nourish you in other ways than stress or boredom eating. Create a list of actions to help nourish yourself when the unintentional eating cravings strike...Here is how:
Pick a thing before the thing!
That might sound odd, but do just that: Pick an action (a thing) that you'll always do before you engage in stress eating/snacking (the other thing).
Ideally, it's multiple actions—like a "menu" of choices for yourself.
These actions disrupt the trigger/behavior cycle. But there's more to it than that.
It’s called the nourishment menu because we're deprived of so many things that nourish us on many different levels right now.
Examples: as much fresh air as we want, social interaction, free movement.
Food is an easy way to fill some of these voids we're feeling. That's why it's important to have ideas of things that can nourish you in other ways.
For example, before deciding to eat you could:
Take three deep breaths
Drink a big glass of water
Mentally check for signs of physical hunger
Play with your pet for five minutes
Do some quick stretches
Listen to a favorite song or a few minutes of a podcast
Go for a short walk
Spend a few minutes on housework (like folding your clothes or organizing your desk)
Do your strength work out for the challenge
Climb a flight of stairs, or 2
The most effective nourishment menus include actions that line up with your goals and values. They'll be more likely to offer the same feeling of relief you were hoping—consciously or not—to get from food.
For example, if you deeply value your close friendships, calling or texting a friend could be one of your menu options.
How to try it
You might be thinking, "Sure, that sounds nice… but I won't actually do it."
And it's true: The trick with the nourishment menu is that you actually have to use it.
Here are three ideas that might help.
1. Make it as easy as possible on yourself.
Ensure the items on your nourishment menu feel doable and reasonable.
At maximum, they should take you 15 minutes to complete. For instance, a quick journaling session could qualify here.
Ideally, you want to have one or two options that'll take a minute or less. Like writing down three emotions you're feeling in the moment, or giving your partner a hug.
You'll also want to keep any materials you'll need handy.
If drinking a glass of water before eating is on your menu, always keep it at your desk (or wherever you are).
If you're supposed to write something down before you head for the pantry, keep a notepad and pen on your kitchen counter.
If you want to eat a serving of vegetables before having any other type of snack, keep washed, cut-up options at eye-level in your fridge.
2. Put your nourishment menu somewhere visible.
Post it on your fridge, kitchen cabinet, or anywhere else you're likely to see it before eating. You're less likely to ignore it if you can see it.
And if you ignore it occasionally, it's not such a big deal. The key is to get a little bit better over time, not be perfect.
So if you use the nourishment menu once every third time you want to stress eat, you're still making progress.
For the record, just doing one action from the menu is often enough to break the cycle, Cooper says.
You don't always have to work your way through the whole list. But it's good to have multiple actions to choose from for variety.
And if you try a couple actions and still want to eat? That'll happen.
But remember: You've already done some really good things for yourself in the process. So go ahead and have that snack.
Cooper's advice if you go that route: Treat it like a meal.
Portion out the amount you want to eat in a bowl or on a plate, sit down at a table without distractions, and enjoy it slowly and mindfully.
3. Keep track of how often you use your nourishment menu.
Plus, record what happens when you do (on your phone or a Post-It note).
Let's say over the course of a day, you get the urge to snack four times.
Twice, you use your nourishment menu and avoid eating.
Once, you use the nourishment menu and end up eating something slowly and mindfully.
Another time, you skip the menu altogether and end up overeating.
Why do this?
At the end of the day, you can look back and see which actions helped you stop the stress eating cycle.
Then, you can start proactively taking those actions regularly throughout your day. This is how you make progress.