[sunback]

It has been a crappy morning. First off, I'm PMSing, so of course that makes everything seem ten times worse. Our plans fell thru this morning so we've been stuck in the house all day; my son (almost 2) has been having major tantrums all morning, which include lots of whining/crying and throwing of random objects, along with trying to bite me; my cat has puked twice so I've had the lovely job of trying to clean that out of the carpet (while making sure my son doesn't play in it). Just lots of random little things, that probably seem silly to others but in my state of mind are beyond irritating and have already brought me to tears more than once (I warned you... PMSing!!). Anyway, all I can think of is how badly I want to drown my emotions in FOOD. Pizza, french fries, cake, cookies, cheeseburger, nachos. Anything high-fat and disgusting. That's what I used to do and I still have the urge every single day to eat one of those horrible things. I'm proud to say I haven't TOUCHED any fast food in over 5 weeks (except for 1 Subway sandwich, which totally doesn't count!). Anyway... my question is, will that feeling EVER go away?? Will I ever get thru a bad day without wanting that stuff?? I have always been such an emotional eater.... how do I get over that for GOOD?

[Taylor86]

For me, my emotional eating will always be my "tick"

However, I know - and so do you - that working out is a great way to release that stress.

I don't know as of right now if I will ever get over being an emotional eater. That's my thing - the though always enters my mind. But when that thought comes around I ask myself "How will eating solve this problem?"

Will a burger stop your cat from puking? Probably not.

Will nachos make your son calm down? Unlikely.

Will eating french fries make you feel better? No


I have always said that being addicted to food and being an emotional eater is worse than any other addiction because you need food to live - but what you don't need is food to fix your problems.



You control the food it does not control you.


You have made so many improvements by not eating fast food in 5 weeks. That is SO huge!!!

And you know the old saying, "If you do what you have always done, you get what you have always gotten.

[shrinkinglizzy]

that's a really good question -- will it ever go away? i agree with everything taylor already said. i've spent a lot of time thinking about how the food addiction is SO hard. But, like she says, it totally does not solve the problem! The other little thought I can add is that eating only takes away the feelings WHILE i'm eating. I don't about you guys, but once the food is down my gullet and there's nothing left to put in my mouth, i feel just terrible. Like, the second I'm done. So, unlike heroin or cocaine or pot or any other drug, the high doesn't even last! If I can remember that, it sometimes helps to keep me away from the grub.
By the way, I'm writing this while shovelling fistfulls of FiberOne into my mouth. Emotional eating, YES! But this is AFTER I measured the points on the potato chips in the drawer that my boyfriend bought, saw 4 pts per ounce, put those away, and grabbed the cereal (0 pts) instead. Small steps, small steps...

S

[bjeweled]

i support you sunback! i am such an emotional eater and when i do slip and eat crap to make me feel better i feel just as bad as i did about whatever was bothering me PLUS i screwed up on my commitment to be healthy. double crappy!

you can get through this crappy day to a better one. as my grandma says "when its really bad just think it cant do nothing but get better" dont sabotage yr goals just wait for the "get better" part.

and to answer yr question... i dont think emotional eating is something you get over i do think it is something you can control by being proactive and asking yrself questions like taylor mentioned

[jayohwhy]

you know, i think that you've already taken the first step by thinking about it! if it were the past, you would've already eaten the bad food without giving it a second thought! now, you can be proud that you are teaching yourself better eating habits by stopping and thinking first!

[sunback]

Taylor - THANK YOU!! Your words were awesome and exactly what I needed to hear. I'm going to remember to ask myself that whenever I'm feeling down and want to eat.

Shrinking - You are absolutely right. I would have felt HORRIBLE if I would have actually eaten any of those things. And on the FiberOne instead of the chips!!

Bjeweled - Thanks for the support! I am going to keep reminding myself about what your grandma says and this day WILL GET BETTER!!

Jayohwhy - You are SO right. Before I would have just eaten all that stuff and not even thought about it. Thank you!!

You guys are AWESOME!! Think I'll have myself a little snack of popcorn and then take my son outside to play with bubbles!

[orthodiva]

I think it's great you haven't turned to fast food in 5 weeks. That's awesome!!! And the fact that you only thought about the food but didn't actually get it is willpower - YAY!!! I've been going through the same thing myself recently, staying away from the emotional eating for 7 weeks. My cravings have definitely decreased. I'm currently in a 2 week stressful time and ordinarily I would be coming home with some takeout right now. Instead I am sitting here, full in my stomach from the strawberries I ate with a fridge full of yummy things I've learned to cook. Learning to cook healthy versions of the bad things I usually crave has really helped me and made eating fun rather than emotional, such as eating oven baked fries at home instead of deep fried ones and making my own noodle stir-fry instead of getting the chinese take-out. These days I find myself craving my homemade pizza when my co-workers try to convince me to go to the greasy pizza place!

Have fun with your son and I hope the cat stops puking!

[KatieLeighVOLS]

"Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels"
~My Weight Watchers leader


Keep remembering that!!!!

[net knee]

I have the same problem. I have depression and emotional eating which turns into eating just about everything in sight- doesn't matter if it's edible or not!! I try to show myself how my emotional eating has effected my body. When I want to dive into a whole package of double stuffed oreos I think of what I see in the mirror or just take a look under my shirt at my belly... and think d*mn those oreos!! Sometimes I cry instead of eating or vent for hours... I'm still trying to figure out how to decrease my emotional eating cravings. I've tried not getting so upset about things like dirty dishes in the sink that no one else in the house seems to see but me so that means i'm the one who should do them?! I also have bored eating... I'm bored so I go straight for the fridge... I've started drinking a glass of water every time I end up at the fridge b/c i'm bored. It helps because no matter if i'm hungry or not if i walk away from the fridge empty handed i feel let down or disappointed and think about it until i go back and get something...
Or i'll get on here instead of going to the fridge when i'm bored... it's a HUGE help!! I love this place!!