"Emotional Eating"
 

How do you rid yourself of this hideous lifestyle?
What has helped you change from a " Live to eat" person,
to an " Eat to live" person.
What works ?? What doesn't ??
I applaud those that have learned to win against this struggle,
and not continually sercome to the desire to eat for the sake of eating.
Any Shrinks out there ??:rolleyes:

Ken, this is a great topic.

With me, as with everyone, it's a transition from emotional eating to "eat to live". I used to be highly addicted to cheese, pizza, cookies, chocolate, etc etc. This was in June 2011 so not long ago.

I joined FD in the later part of July. I started logging my foods and paid close attention to my macros. After getting them under control I focused on my micronutrients. That took a few more months to bring THEM into healthy ranges. All along I was learning. It was a challenge to get my numbers "right" and it became a FUN challenge. And very rewarding too.

By the end of this process, somewhere around 5-6 months into tracking, I was in the HABIT of "eating to live". Then I discovered that I had developed a taste for these "good foods" and really didn't miss the "bad foods" any longer. And I constantly think of the bad foods as "poison". I've demonized sugar, whites, processed foods, saturated fats, etc etc. Not to say I'll NEVER eat them again, just that if/when I do it will be very limited.

So the bottom line to transitioning for me to "eat to live" is this:

1) eat clean
2) after a while, you'll be more in the habit of eating clean
3) you'll be totally immersed in eating clean, habitually, and your taste buds will change and you'll enjoy it.
4) autopilot begins, where not much thinking about deviating occurs
5) the benefits of health are what now keeps me "eating to live", and this, along with the power of HABIT (#3) are what keeps me anchored.

I started making almost everything we eat in our home from scratch. I limited how many times a month we can eat in a restaurant. I started buying "better food" because honestly, when you eat all your meals at home you save SO much money and can afford a higher quality meat, fresh fish, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit! I don't even crave or even consider fast food, junk food, any of that anymore. (it's been about 10 months since I made those drastic restaurant limitations, restaurant food in most cases is not the healthiest way to eat.)

Congratulations on your six and a half pound loss since January!! That is so wonderful!

Vito, I think we are singing from the same hymnal!

I'll take baritone, you've got soprano, sister! :D

Keep in mind that if you're giving your body less than what it could use if it had it, it will do a lot of other things to make due off of less before losing weight.

I have struggled with emotional eating for a very long time...I am still working on it but what HAS worked so far in helping a bit is setting more limits and boundaries in my life...saying "no" more often to people when they want or need something from me...working on putting my needs first, etc.

Also..I have been trying to allow myself other guilty pleasures I usually deny myself..such as shopping, taking time to read a good book for pleasure, watching a good movie, etc. By allowing myself to enjoy certain luxuries, I am less likely to overeat emotionally because I am allowing myself to "overdo" other pleasures. I really think overeating comes with being a perfectionist because when you want everything and realize you can't do it all, one can overeat to compensate for feelings of failure and dissatisfaction with oneself.

So (without replacing one obsession with another) allow yourself some other guilty pleasures and be mindful of your personal space and boundaries. Remember you come first because if you don't put your needs first you will feel cheated on that is what left me to overeating in the past. I think a lot more people do it than are willing to admit it...so you're not alone!

Overeating is primarily caused by lack of confidence and self-esteem. I went through a year of therapy only to find my main issue was that I didn't value myself enough. Once you realize you come first and that there is nothing wrong with loving yourself first, you will start to do better with this (corny but very true) :) Hope it helps.

I am still working on remembering these things but it has helped me a lot!!! If anyone else has advice who conquered this problem please share!

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!

I overeat when I'm sad, and whenever I'm happy. Any change to my mood puts food items around me in mortal danger!

Well it's a tough decision to choose whether you'd stay a 'live to eat' lifestyle or turn in to 'eat to live' especially when you have extra money to support the 'lust'. But, you know what, emotional eating really affects our lives, especially my close friends!

One of my friends gets big appetite whenever she feel stressed or depressed... the result, she gain weight! while another close friend of mine refused to eat or eat a little when facing same situations... and the result surely she became thinner than before. But, they're all okay now! Healthy and beautiful!

For me, I think I would choose the 'eat to live' lifestyle especially these disturbing days! I'm just being practical, you know it would be difficult for me to control myself more, if I focus on food that just satisfies me, but makes a sick wallet and stuffs like that!

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!

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.

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?

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

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!

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 !

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...)

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.

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!

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.

I've delt with emotional eating for years and found that the only real way to cure it is to get some real help with the depression. The food is a drug you are using to self medicate and without addressing the underlying reason it's an endless, painful cycle. Believe me ! Also get your self a good nutritionist who uses Nutrition Response Testing. They can balance your hormones and get your body on the right track for optimum weight loss. Food allergies and intolerances an also cause weight gain as well as Candida yeast overgrowth which affects 3 out of 4 women !! Good luck and stay happy !

Quote
 

good idea from you

Great question.

Here's a few tips that I learned along the way that have helped me...

- Discipline
- Focus on the present moment rather past and future
- Make the decision a "must" instead of a "should"
- Visualise yourself in your perfect body
- Make the reason to eat healthy be bigger than the reason not to
- Don't ban yourself from favorite foods, you will crave them more
- Eat smaller portions but more of them
- Exercising makes you want to eat healthy
- Exercising gives you serotonin/endorphin release instead of relying on food for your endorphin fix, reducing comfort eating.

All the best,

Emma

This helps my struggle
 

I read this: Between stimulus and response is our greatest power—the freedom to choose." This is what I focus on. When I feel like emotional eating (almost everyday), i try to choose to do something else. Anything else that can distract/fill my mind/time until the craving goes away. Sometimes its as easy as just walking out of the kitchen, most its doing something else that occupies my brain and body (reading doesn't work for me). I've cleaned out drawers, paired socks, washed floors, danced to my favorite music, exercised, and at night I just gone to bed early sometimes.
There is a psychological reason for emotional eating and it has made the cycle hard to break. But like exercise and my body its a work in progress.

Moses, the "just go to bed early" one is my helper too. That Extra sleep is so good for us!

Motivating yourself usually helps. I use many different things for motivation. For example I put up a poster of GSP (the current UFC welterweight champ.) in my room. whenever I look at him it makes me want to workout and eat right.

Also, I prepare my meals the day before. This way I don't have to just grab anything that comes my way.

Hope this helps.

Hi.i am here to talk about the emotional eating. we should not eat heavy food we should use those food in our diet that gives us power also give help for our weight lose like Pomeranian juice.

Hello, I know my biggest problem is emotional eating. I know the right things to eat, but when I am emotional all that goes out the window. Thanks for the good suggestions. I am hoping to take more charge of my eating and my health. I joined Fitday back in 2010, lost 50 lbs and now a few years later have slipped back into bad habits, and re-gained 40 of those pounds back. I loved the way I looked at 130, at 170- not so much.

I like the idea of a mantra - "food is nutrition", sounds like a good one. I also am thinking of "I choose", because every time I eat something unhealthy I am the one making that choice. I need to be aware of the choices I am making.

I know what you are going through when things got bad there were times that the only thing that would help would be my good friends Ben and Jerry, and by bad I don't mean break up I mean hard day at work. It got to the point that it felt like a self-sustaining circle. I look in the mirror and feel fat and so I head to the instant comfort in the freezer which does not exactly make me lose weight which just means that next time I look in the mirror I am not going to see anything that makes me happy. There are two things that have helped me: One is simply not having that type of thing in my house. If I am feeling particularly miserable I am willing to go as far as the freezer if I have to go farther, say to the store, I will just do something else. The second thing is yoga. It feels like I am doing something good for myself and the focus on the small things like just the motion of my breathing helps distract me from whatever has me in need of some comfort.