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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.