3 Simple Questions to Stay on Track When Comfort Food Cravings Hit

​I love fall. The sun feels softer, and soon the leaves here in New Mexico will turn that rich orange that looks so vivid against our deep blue skies.
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But what I don’t love? How easy it is to slide into emotional eating and end up with way more comfort food than I planned. I’m all for cozy meals, but falling into a food spiral and watching the scale creep up is not fun. Staying on track with my healthy habits during this season requires a simple, intentional strategy.

The Pre-Empt Strategy
Here’s the method I use to keep things in check. I call it The Pre-Empt Strategy, and it’s just three quick questions:

1️⃣ When am I eating too much?
2️⃣ What’s triggering it?
3️⃣ How can I pre-empt it?

For example, if evenings are when the extra food sneaks in, you could:

• Have a small snack after work so you’re not ravenous at dinner.
• Put a healthy, tasty meal in the slow cooker so it’s ready when you walk in the door.
• Or maybe the real issue is that you’ve been under-eating during the day, so dinner becomes a free-for-all

The key is spotting the pattern and making a small adjustment that changes the outcome.

The Top 3 Triggers I See for Comfort Food Overeating

From working with women on their eating habits, these are the most common triggers that lead to “oops, I ate way too much” moments:

• Stress — grabbing food as a quick fix when your brain feels overloaded.
• Boredom — eating just to fill the space, not because you’re hungry.
• Nostalgia or habit — reaching for that mac and cheese or hot cocoa because “that’s what I always do when it’s cold outside.”

Recognizing these triggers makes it so much easier to pre-empt them with a different plan.

A Note on Winter Blues & Movement

Fall can also bring shorter days and the start of the winter blues. If you’ve ever felt like exercising is harder when your mood dips, you’re not alone. I wrote a post all about how to exercise when you’re depressed that shares strategies for keeping movement doable when motivation is low.

🩷 Your Turn:
Think of one time you overate in the past week. What’s one small change you could try next time to make it easier to stay on track?
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This is just one of the tools I teach my clients to help them get unstuck with food and fitness. If you’d like a step-by-step plan that actually works in real life, take a look at my programs at claradepont.com.