1. Weight Management Food Cues
What are your personal triggers?
Food triggers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. To help us loose weight we need to understand the
reasons why we eat or overeat. It has been said if you consume an extra 500 calories a day you gain 1
pound a week. That could be 3-4 pounds a month or 36-48 pounds a year; finding your personal triggers
are extremely important for your weight loss goals.
The six food trigger this focuses on are:
Emotional triggers (1’s):
The way we think and feel no matter if it is happy or sad is a trigger for eating too much. Some people are
emotional eaters, they eat when they are stressed, upset, depressed, or wanting a reward for something.
The first step in dealing with your emotions is to find what emotions are your triggers.
Mindless Eating triggers (2’s):
This is just eating to eat. You could be bored with nothing else to do so you just eat. It could also be eating
in front of the television or computer and not paying attention to how much food you are consuming.
People triggers (3’s):
Other people in our lives can be triggers and affect our food intake. They can affect our food choices by
the way we eat, what we eat and how much we eat. An example could be eating with a big eater;
sometimes you eat more just because they are.
Portion Distortion triggers (4’s):
Many people overestimate how much food they should serve themselves. Part of the problem is the larger
dishes and wanting the food to fill the plate or bowl.
Sensory triggers (5’s):
These are the cues that people can get from their five senses; sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste.
Everywhere you go ads and food items bombard our senses. They’re on televisions, in newspapers, on
billboards, even from driving past a restaurant and smelling food.
Special Occasion triggers (6’s)
Special occasions are the perfect place for people to overindulge on food. When we attend parties, go on
vacations and holidays, or even get-togethers with friends the extra calories can add up fast.
Created by: Teresa Kobza RD, LD (3-15)
2. Now that you know the different food triggers let’s find out what your specific triggers are.
Please put a check mark next to each situation that completes the following statement for you.
I usually get the urge to eat, or overeat, when……
(5) ____ I smell food
(3) ____ I see someone else eating
(1) ____ I am worried or stressed
(2) ____ I read
(4) ____ I load my plate up with food
(6) ____ I am going to a party
(1) ____ I am bored
(5) ____ I see a billboard for food and buy the
product
(4) ____ I don’t know what a serving sizes looks
like
(2) ____ I am watching television
(1) ____ I feel overwhelmed
(3) ____ I am with a co-worker
(6) ____ I am on vacation
(2) ____ I am working
(3) ____ I visiting a relative
(4) ____ I tend to eat all that’s on my plate
(2) ____ I’m using the computer
(5) ____ I shop for groceries
(2) ____ I go to the movie theater
(6) ____ I am going out with friends
(4) ____ I tend to approximate how much I eat
instead of measuring
(1) ____ I am lonely
(6) ____ I am going to a holiday feast
(3) ____ I am offered food
(4) ____ I don’t know how many servings of
food items I should have a day
(5) ____ I walk by my favorite restaurants
(1) ____ I am happy
(5) ____ I see food ads on TV or in
Magazines
(6) ____ I am going to a sporting
event
(3) ____ I am with a certain friend
Now tally up the check marks for each number and record below.
Emotional/Number 1= ____
Mindless Eating/Number 2= ____
People/Number 3= ____
Portion Distortion/Number 4= ____
Sensory/Number 5= ____
Special Occasion/Number 6= ____
Created by: Teresa Kobza RD, LD (3-15)
3. Now that you know what your personal triggers are, the last step is to come up with a
plan to overcome these. Try and come up with a couple ideas for the ones that apply to
you:
Emotional triggers:________________________________________________________
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Mindless Eating triggers:___________________________________________________
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People triggers:___________________________________________________________
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Portion Distortion triggers:__________________________________________________
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Sensory triggers:__________________________________________________________
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Special Occasion triggers:___________________________________________________
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Created by: Teresa Kobza RD, LD (3-15)
