Enjoying food is one of the sensual pleasures of life and comfort eating is something we all indulge in to a degree. But if you are spending all your spare time on the sofa watching television, munching through packets of biscuits and chips and eating takeaways, then you are heading for trouble. This kind of comfort eating is giving no comfort, just causing your weight to rocket.

If the highlight of your day is where the next meal is coming from, you are hiding behind food.

There are two main sorts of comfort eating. One is to fill an emotional void. No one is taking care of your emotional needs; you are not getting the support you need; or maybe in childhood, you got into the habit of using food as a fix to cheer yourself up. For whatever reason, your needs were not being met, so you ate as a substitute for the love you needed. Or maybe you are so busy taking care of everyone else that you forget to ask for what you need. To put a stop to this kind of comfort eating, you need to deal, not with the food issue, but go to the source of the problem. Ask yourself what you need; ask for help and reassurance when you need it; forgive yourself for your failings; be kind to yourself and feed yourself positive messages.

The other sort of comfort eating stems from plain, simple boredom. Is there nothing more exciting in your life than what is on the television, and what you can eat? You deserve more. You need to get to the source of this as well. What is lacking? Is it your work? Is it being at home alone with the children? Is it the wheel of life that leaves you tired and bored? Make some changes — add some spice to your love life — take up a cause — take up exercise. Only you can decide, but you need to make changes and move on to something more interesting than the highlight of your day being food.

Regular exercise is a great morale booster. Try a walk or a swim when you feel like a snack coming on. Recognize trigger foods that make you want to eat more and don’t buy them. Regular comfort eaters need to know that this is something we can all identify with. Share this problem with someone — it’s not a dark secret. Eating will not solve your emotional needs, but discussing them is a great step forward.

Recipe of the week

Orange-grilled chicken with herbs

(My recipes are intended provide healthy meals for the whole family to enjoy)

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. orange peel, grated

1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced

1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced

freshly ground black pepper

680 g boneless chicken breast fillets, skin attached

120 ml fresh orange juice

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Method

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl to make the herb mixture. Take each chicken breast and slip your fingers between the skin and flesh of the chicken, leaving the skin attached. Slide some of the herb mixture under the skin of each breast, pulling the skin back over each breast when finished. Prepare an outside grill with an oiled rack set 10 cm above the heat source. On a gas grill, set the heat to high. Mix together the orange juice, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Grill the chicken breasts for 3-4 minutes on each side, turning once and basting with the orange juice mixture, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the skin before eating.

Ask Alva

Some people say that if I take sips of water between bites while eating, I will take in more calories and gain weight. Is this true? — Maha

I don’t think that is true. In fact, if you take sips of water during your meal, you will achieve two positive things. One, you will be helping towards the 2 litres of water a day that you should always try to drink. Second, taking those sips of water may actually help to curb your appetite so that you may eat less. So far from taking in more calories, the opposite is probably true! — Alva