I am very aware I do quite a bit of mindless eating.
How can you pinpoint your emotional trigger that causes you to eat?

Consider the environment you're in when you do "mindless eating". Idle time can be a trigger for the munchies. Think about when you eat to just eat. What are you doing? If you do tend to eat more during free time, maybe try to avoid a lot of idle time by taking up an engaging activity?

I had a complete trigger day and once the ball started rolling at noon it was downhill all the way ! My DH has gone away for 9 days and although I am used to him going away , usually it is for short time frames . So today as I was trying to psych myself up for the ALONE time ( which I really don't mind being I have 3 dogs , friends and a great hobby ) I startd eating ... and snacking and inhaling .......... Alone time and moods definitely are a trigger for me ! I know tomorrow will be better though ........................

Some folks have found it helpful to keep an "emotions diary" along with a "food diary." You write down what you're feeling or what you're thinking of when you head for the food. This could help you find out whether you're eating because you're lonely, irritated, bored, anxious, or actually hungry.

Once you see the patterns, you'll have a chance to stop and evaluate whether eating is going to solve the issue. Most of the time, it doesn't--it's a temporary fix that leads to gaining weight.

The point isn't to avoid feelings--quite the opposite. It's to find out what your feelings are and feel them without "stuffing" them.

Jay

Recently I have discovered some triggers. A big one is stress (a big one for all of us) but if there is some sort of stressful confrontation then this is the convo in my brain "OMG I cannot believe that just happened, I need to eat something" Recognizing that is new. It was weird the first time it happened but now that it does, I can take a breath, step back and do something else for those 45 seconds that it would take to head to the fridge.

And alongside trying to figure out the emotions that send you to overeating (for me it was happiness, sadness, boredom, anger, relief, anxiety, and more), make a plan and stick to it.

Map out your food schedule in advance. Heck even pinpoint the times if need be. Every meal, every snack. You will eat this, this and this at so on and so on time. Make a vow, a pact, a commitment, a pledge, a something - to stick to it no matter what. No. Matter. What. It's much easier to avoid the pitfalls of emotional eating when you've got a plan in place. Also plan what you will do INSTEAD of eating at *those times*.. Reading, writing, computer, puzzles, exercise, cleaning, a hot cup of tea, a hot bath - something.

Most of my "mindless" eating has been out of habit. When I was younger and swore there was nothing to do over the summer when my friends were all on vacation with their families, I would eat for fun. I would crush those packs of Ramen noodles, pour the flavoring in, and just eat them raw. I could eat them all day because when they're raw, they're not filling at all. I would also finish an entire family-sized bag of Doritos in a sitting. They were good; why would I wanna stop eating?

I held on to that habit until a week ago, and I've heard it takes about six weeks to really break a habit. The bad part is that it's so easy to fall back into that habit, so you have to stay aware of it.Two weeks ago, I would spend the whole day snacking. I would buy a bag of pretzels, and I would spend the day munching on those. That's in addition to eating "lunch". I also am guilty of having bought a bunch of Lunchables and eating one after the other.

Now, I am refusing to let myself eat like that. It's taking a lot of self-control, but I'm hoping I can create a new habit of eating three meals a day, and a snack or two if I truly am hungry. (I've also found out that maybe I'm a little hungry, but I can sip water until I get to my next meal and NOT die of starvation.)

Often, my eating habits were tied to emotions. When I was depressed, I ate, and I didn't like to get out of bed. When I was in a good mood, I could forget to eat because I feel inspired to keep myself busy and get things done when I'm in a good mood! It took some time to admit this to myself and to truly understand how my emotions affected me. Once you understand this, though, it's much easier to change your habits!

Thank you all SO much for the great advice