I am an emotional eater
 

how do I not overeat when I am mad, upset, angry or sad.

Some days it overwhelms me and I eat out of guilt.

I dwell alot on past hurts.

It totally frustrates me and I get upset about it.

Any ideas or suggestions?

What do you do to help yourself not overeat/snack too much?

I'm struggling a lot as well. I haven't found anything that actually works for me consistently yet, but during my research the one that seems to always be suggested is distraction. When you feel those things, instead of picking up some ice cream or chips push yourself into some type of activity. It gets you to stop dwelling on the emotions as well as takes your hands away from grabbing something to eat.

I'm currently attempting to teach myself how to play piano. I'm able to feed my thoughts into concentrating on that rather than eating or dwelling. I also occasionally write on a blog. It helps me to get my emotions out in writing rather than eating. The problem for me is that I have a hard time sticking with anything. If I ever work out this motivation problem then I'll have triumphed over dieting. But for now i'm still struggling like you are.

Not sure if this helped. But if you're struggling to make it through those momemnts just try distraction. Good luck!!!!

I'm right there with you. I just rejoined 3FC after about a year of struggling alone. I think finding things that substitute for the act of eating (what that is remains a mystery to me) is the answer. I've found that when I want to eat, I tend to go online so maybe 3FC is a good distraction. For awhile I kept saying I'm going to do X when I lose 10 lbs, I'm going to do Y when I lose 20, but I've now started to try to do those things at my current weight. I'm hoping that enjoying life a little more now will take the obsession off of the food. Maybe that will work for you, too.

Good luck on your journey. I'll be traveling right next to you!