GET TRIGGERED

Trigger foods, what is meant by this?

A trigger food is a specific food that sets off a course of overeating where control is lost. 1,2. The most common trigger foods are calorie-dense, highly palatable foods that are often combinations of sugar and fat (e.g. ice cream, cookies) or fat and salt (e.g. nuts, crisps, French fries).

If you are going to overeat it is likely to be on foods that match the above description. Ask yourself, what foods set you off? Think Pringles, “Once you pop, you can’t stop!” Back to point 1, the combination of salt and fats, ADDICTIVE.

What to do if you have been able to identify a specific “Trigger” food. Do you exclude it entirely? Do you try to moderate its consumption? This is going to be a decision you must make.

I have in the past realised that I have various Triggers that lead to episodes of mindless eating, Cinnamon & Raisin bagels with Jam and Peanut Butter being one killer combination for me!

The first step to dealing with these trigger foods is to identify them, once you have done this you can look to deal with them, decide, do you try to moderate them, or do you need to fully remove them for a period?

Personally, I have taken the approach to eliminate my triggers for a while. Why? Just because I know that I have nothing to stop me from going in and demolishing an entire box of cereal or a full packet of crumpets.

Control Your Environment

If you have trigger foods make sure they are not easily accessible, don’t have them in the house. If it’s not there you can’t eat it, it’s as simple as that.

Evaluate Your Goal

If your goal is important enough to you there isn’t a trigger food in the world that will break your resolve, so also think about that!