How to Stop Emotional Eating
How to Stop Emotional Eating or Stress Eating - Tips for Overcoming the Cravings for Comfort Foods
Emotional eating is consuming food when you aren't hungry but have the urge or craving to do so. Emotional eaters turn to comfort foods to cope or suppress their negative emotions or at least to stop thinking about their problems or fears. The foods that provide comfort are usually those that contain high calories.
Eating foods that are sweet, salty or are fattening makes you feel better because these foods release certain neurochemicals in the brain that produce a good feeling. This is one of the reasons why emotional eaters don't succeed with diet or weight loss program.
There are several causes of emotional eating and one of them is your brain's association to foods. You may have conditioned your brain to use food to drown your sorrows. Some deep rooted issues during your childhood or adolescence may also contribute to your emotional eating problem. Another possible cause is that you don't know or don't want to use other ways to solve your problem and manage your feelings except to eat.
How to Stop Emotional Eating No. 1 - Monitor Your Stress Eating Habits
To overcome emotional eating, the first thing to do is to recognize and acknowledge that you have an emotional eating disorder. The next thing to do is monitor your eating habits.
Keep a mood and food diary. Take note each time you feel like eating when you aren't hungry. Look for the triggers. Were you feeling stressed, anxious, sad or fearful? Was it because you were feeling bored, discouraged or lonely? Identify the patterns and occurrences so that you can overcome or avoid them.
How to Stop Emotional Eating No. 2 - Replace with Different Activities
Once you have identified the triggers, you can find the solutions. If emotional eating is one of your ways to cure boredom or loneliness, what you can do is list some other alternatives. You can call a friend and talk, go out and take a brisk walk or do any other physical exercise or activities that you enjoy and will make you happy. You can also start learning and practicing yoga or meditation or engross yourself in a hobby.
By doing something different and not submitting to your cravings for food when you have the urge to eat, you interrupt your normal patterns of thoughts and actions. If you do these pattern interrupts often enough and you reward your accomplishment each time you are able to replace the urge to eat when you aren't hungry, your brain will get the message. You will gain control over your emotions.
How to Stop Emotional Eating No. 3 - Self Evaluation
If you are stressed, anxious or worried, write down everything that is bothering you. Sometimes you feel overwhelmed but do not know the actual reason or underlying issue. When you write down, you will see the actual problem.
Notice your views about life, situations and people. If you are a pessimist, you will tend to see almost everything negatively. This will cause fear, anxiety and undue stress. Train yourself to focus on the positive. Expect good things to happen and find ways to feel happy a majority of the time. One of the ways to do that is to recall or create pleasant mental images in your mind.
How to Stop Emotional Eating No. 4 - Gather Knowledge and Improve Skills
The knowledge that will help overcome your emotional eating includes gathering information about nutrition, good eating habits and emotional intelligence. The skills that are beneficial include problem solving skills and relaxation techniques.
How to Stop Emotional Eating No. 5 - Get Support
Discuss your problems with your family or friends. They'll help you spot the triggers and observe the changes in your eating habits and make you aware.
If you don't have enough willpower or the determination and persistence to overcome your emotional eating, seek counseling or therapy.
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