How to curb emotional eating??? Suggestions???

shannishan05

Hope this gets replies... I truly need help.

Here goes... Recently my mom has been placed on hospice. Though she's had cancer for a while... I just wasn't ready for THAT news. Nonetheless, I'm determined to enjoy each day.... My issue is with everything going on, I literally can't stop eating!!! I just can't get a handle on this mindless, emotional eating.
Any tips on how I can reel myself back in?
How do you curb emotional eating?

Thank you in advance

emdeesea

Let me first say I am very sorry to hear about your mother. That must be very hard for you.

I only had two suggestions. The first was to just be aware of your eating and your emotions. I am also an emotional eater and it's very hard to get a handle on that because it's a very bad habit to break. What usually works for me is to ask myself, am I really hungry or am I bored/sad/anxious/etc. If I can step back and logically think about it I usually find I'm not actually hungry.

My other suggestion is this: maybe you might want to eat at maintenance level until your life is not quite as stressful. You won't be losing, but you won't gaining either. You've got enough stuff going on, maybe put this on the back burner for a while and come back to it when you're ready.

Good luck.

SaintTawny

Track it as best you can. I find just thinking about how what I'm about to eat will impact my goals for the day makes me tend to eat less.

Sometimes, however, you just need some chocolate. I picked up a bag of miniature chocolate chips from the baking aisle (itty bitty adorable little chocolates). I weigh out around 14g, which is 70 calories, and make myself eat them one at a time. I may throw them back quickly but there are so many of them, and the chocolate flavor lingers in my mouth for just as long as if I were gulping down a candy bar.

Sorry to hear about your mom.

brenn24179

Geneen Roth has a good book on emotional eating. I think being aware is the most of it. I have to remind myself this is stress, it is not hunger and food wont help.

shannishan05

Thank you so much for your replies! I will definetly try to really what about the reason why I'm eating before putting something in my mouth. Eating for maitance was also something I hadn't realty thought of...

shannishan05

Excuse the typos...autocorrect strikes again!

Jennloella

I drink hahah. Just kidding. Well I'm not kidding but I"m kidding about suggesting it for you. What about running or boxing? Or just planning ahead and not bringing crappy snack foods into the house, just good snacks. Then when it hits, you won't have a choice but to nosh on the good choices you made while in a clear mind set......

lschaal1

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, I can imagine I'd be in the same mindset as you!
I also tend to eat more (or at least more unhealthy) when I am stressed out. What helps me is when I'm feeling a snack attack, I ask myself if its my stomach that's hungry or if I'm just bored/stressed/whatever. I will chug a big cold glass of water & wait maybe 5-10 minutes to see if I'm still feeling "hungry". My stomach will usually let me know after that if I still need something else to fill me up. Not sure if that's good advice or not, but for me it's trying to be mindful of my emotions & triggers. Hope that helps

eldamiano

Eating.... emotional eating. Just dont eat. Without sounding patronising, there are several processes prior to actually putting the food in your mouth. Just stop yourself any of those processes.

After a while, your body will program itself to do it more naturally.

23kat23

Very sorry to hear about your mom. Something that may help is getting rid of most of the junk food and unhealthy stuff from the house so when the mood to eat strikes, there's really only healthier options to choose from. It sucks at the time when you really crave junk food but is good in the end.

CiciRoscoe

Very sorry to hear about your mother. That has got to take an emotional and physical toll on you! Good vibes, and prayers her way.

I think identifying triggers will help you. When you feel the urge to indulge step back and say to yourself "Why am I upset? What is bothering me right now." sometimes I have found if I acknowledge it, or write it out (what is bothering me) the urge to over eat subsides, and sometimes it doesn't. Possibly you could try something else..... maybe chewing gum, eating mints.... drinking water until the urge stops.

Emotional eating is stressful and can be very difficult. I know it too well.

Cortneyrenee04

Oh no that's such terrible news.

I'm an emotional eater, too. I do gaze into the cupboards a lot still, but I just have to tell my feet to please redirect me to something else.

I was doing this last night and realized I don't have anything "good" in my house anyway so I can't do much damage. (I had a graham cracker and some milk- woohoo!) so it's best for me to not have tempting things around. I also tell myself that it won't make me feel any better. I've also tried doing my squats or stretches when I find myself wandering into the kitchen.

amycoopersc

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother. I was in the same situation earlier this year with a family member. I agree with emdeesea. Try to maintain.

Also, I found eating healthier helped relieve some of the stress. When I snacked on junk food, I was tired, irritable, and more emotional. When I ate fruits/vegetables, I was able to enjoy the day and count the small blessing. Please remember to take sometime (even a minute) for yourself each day.

Keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

lumatokyo

Do something soothing for yourself. Relax, give yourself a foot massage, paint your nails (can't eat when your nails are painted), put on a face mask, take a bath, drink a big cup of tea (fills you up, no calories), distract yourself by taking quizzes online until the urges pass. What you're going through is not an easy battle but with the right tools, you can make it through anything.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

IvyLuci

I'm sorry about your mom, it must be very hard on you.

Staying within maintenance levels will probably work best. Try to plan out your daily meals as much as possible. Maybe prepare raw veggies in tupperware containers so if you have to snack at least it's low calorie?

What trips me up most is when I get time to think, that is when most unplanned snacking occurs. Go for a walk if you can (leave your wallet at home). Doing something with your hands can be soothing (any kind of craft, cleaning, rearranging things). Try to get some sunlight if there is still any in your part of the world.

Lian98

I honestly still struggle with this. I have a few things that have helped though. First off all, I tell myself that I'll eat everything I want AFTER I brew a pot of tea. Surprisingly, after I drink the tea, I calm down and feel safer (weird but the tea is super comforting) and don't want to eat anymore. If I still feel anxious or sad, I call my best friend. It's really important to talk to someone you trust, even you just hear their voice, knowing someone cares about you really helps. She is really understanding and even if we don't talk about anything important, the stress is released and I feel better. Lastly, I don't beat myself up over it. This sounds really cliche- but it's true! You WILL have a binge every once in while. So just drink a little extra water afterward, and tell yourself you'll do better tomorrow. DO NOT restrict yourself the next day, though. You will just set yourself up for disaster. Try to have a normal day and go back to the tips to prevent a binge from happening. Hope I helped (even just a little). ;-)

shannishan05

Lian98 I love tea! Definetly think this could work for me. Plus it gives me an excuse to go to Teavana! I love that store!!!
To everyone... Thank you so much for your support and advice.

GaleHawkins

shannishan05 wrote: »

Hope this gets replies... I truly need help.

Here goes... Recently my mom has been placed on hospice. Though she's had cancer for a while... I just wasn't ready for THAT news. Nonetheless, I'm determined to enjoy each day.... My issue is with everything going on, I literally can't stop eating!!! I just can't get a handle on this mindless, emotional eating.
Any tips on how I can reel myself back in?
How do you curb emotional eating?

Thank you in advance

shannishan05 this has been my life long problem. Three months ago the rheumatologist asked me to research Enbrel to manage arthritis pain that has grown worse over the last 40 years and the cancer risk got my attention when doing my research so I said "later" to Enbrel but read more about uses of coconut oil and that lead to studying about nutritional ketosis.

After 90 days my arthritis pain has really declined. I am finally off of sugar/carbs and taking 5-10 tablespoons of coconut oil daily. Now that I am in a constant state of ketosis my unreal carb cravings have greatly reduced and the nice thing about a high fat diet is I seldom ever really get hungry like when I was on a high carb diet.

I am sorry to hear about your mom's health and I am sure that is very stressful.

When I learned could get cancer from trying to manage my pain (that is at least in part is due to sugar/carbs, that I could develop Type II diabetes, die from a stroke or heart attack like my grandparents did in their late 60's (I am 63) if I did not address my 'nervous' eating I think that gave me the will to Google until I found options that might work for me. I do not know what would work for you but work Google hard and filter through the trash and she what you might find to try that might fit you.

Best wishes for you and your mom.

ponycyndi

It helps me to remember that the emotional eating is about the emotion, NOT the eating.

Sometimes all I have to do is distract myself (sometimes I read, workout, or just start cleaning when I go in the kitchen, since something always needs cleaning) depending on what the mood is that I'm feeling.

Other times it helps just to validate my feelings, by calling a friend or remembering I'm allowed to cry, be angry, etc.

Patttience

eliminate the foods that trigger your eating and get counselling. I can't stress the latter enough. If you are struggling and its causing you to overeat your seratonin levels are down. They may not be down enough to warrant medication but you need to get yourself up to a happier place.

Also eat a wide variety of interesting and healthful foods especially lots of vegetables.

if you binge, avoid your most problematic foods. I've written at length on this in the diet and nutrition section. One how to manage your out of control sweet tooth.

Anyway please get some supportive counselling. You need to vent to the ears of a professional.

assthetik

if eating is a coping mechanism for you, you have to reset your thinking and find ways to address the problem in a healthier way. I'd strongly suggest reading books on Cognitive Behavioral therapy for starters

lizzyrose418

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom.

I think what everyone has suggested is spot on! Emotional eating is a deeper issue and the solution isn't "just don't do it." Remember to be kind to yourself during this stressful time, and take time out of your day to do something nice for yourself (take a walk, take a bath).

I have found that drinking water helps me A LOT! If I'm chugging water, I'm too busy or too full to munch.

Annahasababy

Meditation (dhamma.org) or exercise.