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-   -   "Emotional Eating" (https://www.fitday.com/fitness/forums/weight-loss-tips/6823-emotional-eating.html)

meetscottewart01 05-13-2012 11:42 PM

I experienced those struggles too snafuken. But after noticing that i had gained certain pounds ( I wouldn't put in numbers it'll be embarrassing lol) my wife decided to help me trim down my food intake. so she literally put my meals on a cup. (i was devastated at that time). But of course with the help my family, i was able to get on with it.. and alls well!
Just keep yourself motivated and it'll keep you goin' goodluck!

heavyman26 05-23-2012 09:16 PM

Replacing old habbits with new ones. I started drinking green tea everytime I get a craving instead of doing something like pigging out on doritos. I have only been at it for a few months myself but I have managed to stop over eating. When I get in that mood I do something else. Anything but picking up a bag of chips or cookies.

judyjonesjudy 08-01-2012 03:38 AM


Originally Posted by Lckyman (Post 80241)
I've struggled with emotional eating for a long time as well. For me, I had to go so far as to stop carrying cash and credit cards with me so that I wouldn't buy food while I was on the road or at work. That helped. Also, as others have said, buy things that you have to prepare, or that take time to consume. For example, get nuts still in their shell, or any fruit with a tough peel like an orange.

The bigger problem for me, though, was learning emotional regulation without turning to food. That's more of a psychological problem, but you can help by finding different things. Carry a pocket game with you, like a small book of sudoku or other puzzles, something to get your mind off of food when you are stressed. Also, write down 5-minute activities that you can do throughout the day to relieve stress or anxiety you might have. Whenever you feel an urge to soothe with food, pick something off of your list and do that instead. Hope that helps!

Lucky - I liked your idea to carry pocket puzzles, etc. This thread is a bit old, but if you're still there, could you please share some of your other 5 min. activities with us, too?

botoepfer 08-01-2012 05:20 AM

Wow I can spend a lot of time here!
 
I am an emotional eater!, I like to cook!,, I work hard at both of my jobs an d when frustration get me I turn to food,! maybe comfort? maybe a safe place? I am not sure. however in my latest and hopefully final attempt to gain contraol of myself I am here and have found FD, here is what I have changed, I never eat icecream and don't miss it, I have replaced it with fresh berrys and low fat yogurt and crunchy cerial,

I snack on apples and bananas and other seasonal fruit,

last night I was in the shop cleaning up a mess and the day was begining to get to me, I came inside worked on a other project and found myself getting hungry so the old behavior was creeping in,, I found it and grabbed an apple , I have a rotational peeler slicer old time looking thing and I ate the apple chips and it hit the spot!,, but I had to fight not getting in the truck and getting something I would really not want to eat

thanks for listening

4.a.healthier.me 08-01-2012 08:15 PM

Help
 
I'm definitely an emotional eater, and I just found out that my uncle died today:(. He's been in ICU since 7/1, but all the Dr.s and nurses said that he was greatly improving, so I was still surprised that he passed.

So far I have "lost" 13#s since 6/20...I would really love to not "find" them again! Any suggestions to keep my hand out of the cookie jar (tub of ice cream, chocolate cake, etc) would be greatly appreciated!

botoepfer 08-02-2012 06:13 AM

give in to fresh fruit! get the temptaions out of your hse/ life!,, your body will begin to crave the good stuff,!

and I am sorry to learn of your loss !

Kathy13118 08-03-2012 02:31 AM

Recognize that stess can come from good events or bad events. A death in the family (I'm sorry you lost your uncle) causes stess. An exciting birthday party causes stress, too, even though you don't feel it the same way. It's still there.

When you recognize that, then do things that soothe or relax you and help you to deal with that stress. Just managing the time in your day can be a source of stress, so getting better at time management can help lessen that.

When you are better at managing stress, you're better at taking control and making good choices when it comes to food.

Exercise and more physical activity can help you deal with stress, too! Just doing something physical and allowing yourself to enjoy it, or choosing something you enjoy doing, is a stress-reliever in itself. Doesn't work as well if you use it as another source of stress (I'm bad at this activity, why can't I do more, why can't I be better...)

mscarrieh 09-11-2012 02:34 AM

Make a mantra
 
To fight emotional eating, I repeat a mantra as I pick out what I'm going to eat. When peering into the cupboards or refrigerator for something to feed my inner beast, I repeat "Food is for nutrition." When driving by McDonald's on the way to work, I fight the urge to turn in for one of those delicious sausage biscuits and hashbrowns with the same thing "Food is for nutrition." And when I gaze longingly at the chips and candy in the vending machine, I repeat "Food is for nutrition." With that baseline principle in mind, I am being mindfully aware as I determine what to eat. It takes tremendous discipline to remind myself that my emotions aren't hungry, but that my body is starving because it wants me and others to respect it and make it better with nutrition.

You see, I too have always had the habit of using comfort foods to stuff my emotions all the time, and it is a constant battle to keep it in check. (I joined this site first in 2004, and here I am back again today after letting myself go wild and crazy again and feed my feelings instead of my body over the past 4 years--blah--but thanks to fitday because I do have a place to come back to regroup!)

I started back "seriously" into caring for myself with discipline and a good attitude on Labor Day--setting into place the mantra "food is for nutrition" and 3 simple rules that will allow me to succeed:
1. No more than 2 diet sodas/day. (I set the bar low on this, but since I was drinking 25-40 cans/week, this is serious progress.) Aim to replace with water or tea.
Accountability Report: Since Labor Day, only 3 cans consumed total.
2. Eat at least 3 vegetables/day. (Again, a low bar, but something I can meet.) If I'm eating vegetables, I figure it will be in place of something else.
Accountability Report: Since Labor Day, success on all days. 3 vegetables is a minimum so far. Because I'm eating veggies, I'm not eating "junk"
3. No deep fat fried foods at all 'til after Christmas. I know that saying "no" can be a trigger, but I'm seeing this as a personal "lent", where I'm giving it up as an effort to prove to myself that I am in charge of my choices. Hopefully, I never want a deep fat fried friend back as a first choice food. This rule also keeps me from eating out much at casual dining places, which keeps me away from temptations of giant portion sizes and beers with the chicken wings and cheese sticks and breaded fried everything platter.

When things aren't calm and happy in my life, I developed the coping mechanism to grab junk food to stuff it all down and back. And not just any food, all foods and lots of varieties--I didn't just want chocolate, I also needed chocolate with peanut butter, cheesy chips with way too much sour cream dip, fruity chewy candy that was sweet and fruity candy that was sour, and then I'd also want the deep fat fried bar snacks with cheese sticks, chicken wings, onions rings, and beer. And then I still wouldn't stop there--'cause there's nothing better than a full plate of pasta with cream sauce and meat and cheese, and then dessert pastries and ice cream too. Sadly, I don't have a few favorite foods I crave, I just crave lots of tastes of all of the worst ones. So...facing that kind of craving monster staring at me every morning as I face an ever rising tide of negative emotions brought on with work stresses and crazy roller coaster bipolar husband. It takes discipline to do it every day because junk is so alluringly convenient and always suits the immediate gratification need, but I remember that the long term matters more and that "Food is for nutrition." It's a fuel, like gas is for a car--you wouldn't put sugar and sour cream in your gas tank and expect it to run, would you?

Maybe someday it will be easy, but for now, it's mindful, it's conscious, it's control, it's discipline, it's daily struggle, and it's choice--and I'm in charge, not the marketing agents who make that bag of Doritos look and smell so good...

Here's to hope and making today the best it can be.

tandresen 09-17-2012 10:15 AM

Additional ideas to cutoff the urge to emotionally eat:

Go for a 5 minute walk
Walk up and down stairs for 5 minutes
Drink a glass of water (preferably w/ lemon or lime)
Go to a quiet area & take 10-20 deep breaths
Get a wonderful smelling lotion or essential oil & apply it, then breath
The quick puzzle is a great idea
Go clean something, anything (preferably outside the kitchen)

Lastly - if you need to give in, it's not the worst thing in the world. Emotional eating is a learned coping mechanism that is sometimes helpful. The point isn't to stop it all together, but to reduce the number of episodes. GOOD LUCK!

SteviaHall 09-24-2012 11:45 PM

Generally people eat more when they are sad or happy. Emotional eating can lead to unhealthy eating. To prevent overeating you can eat 4-5 times in a day and add control by using healthy snack options.


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