[Thin4Good]

I really never felt like I was an emotional eater. I have been doing South Beach for over 3 weeks now and, as today is a particularly emotional day with all of my friends seemingly MIA (so no phone support) I just keep thinking I would really like a bowl of ice cream. - I am not even the least bit hungry though.

I think I may just go back to bed.

[Spoz]

Aw I'm sorry you're feeling so low Sometimes going back to bed or just having a good cry can help. Just remember it's okay to feel and to cry, you dont need ice cream to smother those feelings.

[Thin4Good]

Thank you. I was able to take a nap (DD co-operated and took one herself) and I feel a little better now.

[Crazy Cat Chick]

Ice cream never did it for me.. I always enjoyed going out to the deli and getting a sub and a dr. pepper when i was feeling particularly low.

[ROMANS828]

Hello All
I stumbled upon this thread and it is speaking to me right now. I have often wondered what the real reasons are for emotional eating. Is it learned? I struggle with this majorly. I come from a long line of overweight/obese women. My mother always "medicated" us with food. She knew no difference herself. I have been doing well on my personal journey this time around, however; it seems when stress arises (majorly lately) I just want a pizza and my bed. How do we break the cycle? I know that the answer is to turn to the Lord. He is the only One that can "fill" us. Sometimes it just seems like I want to be destructive towards myself. I think this is the depression coming through.

[InkyMama]

Glad you were able to get a nap and feel a bit better. There's an acronym that you may find helpful... HALT - It stands for Hungry-Angry-Lonely-Tired. It's used in recovery groups, but I find it helpful in weight loss too. If you want to eat something, and it's not a normal mealtime situation, ask yourself if you have other needs that may need to be met. If you are angry/upset/sad/tired etc., then deal with that rather than 'stuff' the bad or tired feeling with food. A big glass of water and a nap can frequently change your outlook.

[sh3l5]

yer, hits hard when u do find out ur an emotional eater....
i had the cruelty of people making my life emotional so i would eat....
now, its a completely different story....

[WindyCityG]

I tend to find myself eating in stressful situations. Chocolate is usually the first thing I reach for. Try keeping chewing gum on hand, cinnamon if you can handle the taste. It seems to be working for me.

Good luck!

[carinna]

For me it's not so much that I eat when I'm emotional, it's more WHAT I eat when I'm emotional or stressed. I tend not to think much about what's healthy for me, but more what is easy to eat and right at hand. This is exactly why I try not to have bad snacks in my house. No way I'm going for the carrot sticks when there's a bag of potato chips sitting next to me.

[Tomato]

Emotional eating is my pitfall as well. I never really thought about it too much (but that was prior to be joining 3FC). 3FC really opened my eyes in this sense. Now I know I really have to watch it because my immediate reaction would be to eat (probably at McD's) when I am very happy, when I am feeling very low, etc.
I used to that a lot in the past but somehow I never saw the pattern.