I've had a problem with emotional eating for a very long time. I've read plenty of books and articles, but nothing seems to help.
I was wondering if anyone has suggestions or tips? What stops you when you get the urge to eat for emotional reasons? I know to identify why I'm eating, but I still go ahead and do it anyway!
I know I'd feel much better about myself if I could lose weight and get healthier.
when i am feeling very emotional and upset and want to eat, i go sit on the porch or go fishing. if possible just leave the house. if you cant leave the house, call someone and just BS for awhile. maybe talk about why your feeling emotional.
personaly, i want to eat with every emotion. happiness, sadness anger. all of em. sometimes the urge to eat because of an emotion is terrifying. because it is so strong. it takes allot of inner strength to not eat when in a highly emotional state, but in time you will begin to find a way to not do it. you just need to believe that you are stronger than any urge.
Mysticpoet said pretty much how I approach the issue. The thing that you can really leverage is that emotional eating is something you can control. Think about it. A lot of us eat emotionally because of all the things we can't control, job, co-workers, family, friends, strangers, the weather, whatever.
But eating is one of the things you truly can control. No one is making you pick up that fatty whatever or overeat but you. It might not seem like it but once I realized it was all about choices I was doing, losing weight became much easier. The desire to change has to be more then the habits. Also I realized that eating is such a temporary pleasure and being fat is a 24 hr a day thing, so that really made me want to change my habits. I also think a good place to start is finding healthier food choices as subsitutes as you are trainsitiong to eating less. Pretzels or baked potato or baked natcho chips instead of fried snacks. Rasins instead of chocolate etc, etc. And yes 'aware' eating is always good and eating slower.
Anyhow with so many things you really can't control, how old you are, how tall you are, the lotto numbers that were drawn, isn't good to know that eating truly is the one thing that WE CAN control? DO NOT pass on that control it is there for the taking.
Sherry the guys both made some very good points. I personally like to write in a journal. Sometimes putting your feelings on paper not only helps with the eating but with what's bothering you too. I also keep a notebook with a lot of positive sayings and stories that I sometimes read when I need a boost.
Finally I keep my current book (I love murder mysteries) and my crochet close at hand. Anything like this that you can do with your hands will usually keep you out of the cookie jar.
DO SOMETHING!!! Anything, that's what I try and do. Get busy. Doesn't matter if it's exercise, cleaning, E-mailing, something to get me away and occupied!!
I too am totally an emotional eater. That's my bniggest battle. MysticPoet - Glad to see you here!!!!
I find something else to do with my hands... and proportion control!!! I have my favorite snacks packed up in 2 point portions... and I hide most of them. I find if I take only the portion, and leave the rest behind, I don't blow it quite so badly.
I've also picked up cross stitching - it keeps me from eating while I watch tv!!
i have found that when i binge eat or emotion eat its because i dont have anything better to do really. once i get my hands and more importantly my MIND busy on something else, the urge to eat leaves. but since i lead a SUPER boring life, that doesnt happen all that often
Emotional eating..what a curse. What do I do? When I can fight it, I have to find something to do. Or I calmly ask myself if the cake or cookies is REALLY going to make me feel better. They never do. That helps sometimes. But emotional eating gets to the best of us.
a tough topic. and it's harder because different emotions demand different foods.. sometimes it's the soft comfort foods, sometimes the hard crunchy ones.. and on and on and on.
i pretty much stopped the emotional eating thing a number of years ago [hard to believe, given my weight history, but a true statement nonetheless]. and there were lots of strategies, not the least of which was to keep my hands busy!!!!! needlework. extra hours at the office. a walk. anything.
but what i also found was key in preventing the emotional eating was a serious examination of what i was reacting to and why i couldn't deal with it without food. yeah. i'm talking therapy here.
but this examination doesn't always need therapy. it needs quiet time with oneself, and an honest appraisal of what's going on.
i actually had to ask myself many many many times a day the following questions:
what am i feeling right now???
why do i feel this way???
what can i do other than eating???
what would i rather do???
and then, the really tough question: what do i want right now?????
often, the answer would be a cup of tea and some peace and quiet. other times, it would be a walk. or a nap. or a talk with a good friend. i was even willing for a time to substitute shopping for eating because at least then i wasn't eating!!!
All of these are excellent suggestions...thanks, everyone...I needed reminding of all this, too!
It helps EMENSELY to get busy. When I can't seem to stop obsessing on the food, I leave the apartment. I am blessed to have my best friend only a block away, so I've been known to walk over to her house and walk in with a giant "HELP!!! ringing throughout her house!
Another thing that helps (maybe as much as leaving) is coming here and reading and writing posts. You are all so helpful and caring that I can't let you down!
Good luck, Sherry. You can do this...WE ALL CAN...NO,WILL...!!, NO, ARE DOING IT!!!
what stops you from emotional eating?
