Emotional eating! How to stop

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neishaw
neishaw Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have any tips on how to stop doing this? I've recently realized that when I'm in a funk mentally or emotionally I tend to not care what I eat. I'm aware that I'm doing it when I'm doing it but I don't stop the behavior. Any tips on what to do other than to just stop? LOL

Replies

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    Find what ways you can cope with stress in life because there will always be stress.

    Now if you want what I do here is a list in not particular order.

    Gym
    Sex
    hookah
    Video games
    Call someone

    I was trying to think of more. I don't think I have anymore.
  • JSurita2
    JSurita2 Posts: 1,304 Member
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    That's pretty much it in a nutshell, unfortunately. You have to just stop. Try to occupy your time doing something else you enjoy (besides eating). For me, the busier I am, the less I think about food (or other problems).
  • sianlr87
    sianlr87 Posts: 72 Member
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    I did this. I found it very difficult to take control back. May sound stupid, but I read a book about mindful eating and it really helped me. I really didn't believe a book could help but I thought it was worth a go because I felt like I was out of options. I still have the odd wobble, but nothing like I used to!
  • KingoftheLilies
    KingoftheLilies Posts: 71 Member
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    I have a habit of emotional binge eating. I did it all through my teens, and it's a really hard habit to break. I have some days even now when I still struggle with stopping myself.

    Most of the time, when I feel that way & I'm able to, I get the dog rigged up and go for a long, long walk. By the time I get back, I'm invariably in a better mood. Sometimes that means the dog is getting walked 4-5 times a day, but it's not doing either of us any harm.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    I suspect that the answer to this is as individual as the eater. When I ate emotionally, it was because my emotions felt overwhelming to me and I wanted to suppress them. That feeling of feeling stuffed became synonymous in my head with being calm and comforted after a while.

    Now, I had issues of childhood sexual and emotional abuse behind my eating, and it took first dealing with those to even begin to get to the bottom of my problems with food. Then, it took realizing that I started eating to suppress my emotions as a child because I felt that they were too much to cope with because they were bigger than me AT THE TIME. Well, I realized that I'm a grown woman now and it's okay to feel crappy sometimes. It's not going to kill me.

    That was the last step. Realizing that I've lived through bad times, and come through them and things always got better and eating did nothing to get me through them. Time did.

    The work to get over emotional eating was all done with my brain and took a lot of time.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    do emotional push ups instead
  • mrsgoodwine
    mrsgoodwine Posts: 468 Member
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    The one thing that has helped me with emotional eating is expressing myself creatively. I love to draw so when I am feeling emotional I just express it on paper. Hobbies are great. Especially anything that keeps your hands busy.
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I was the world's biggest emotional eater (Not in a weight sense just in general lol)

    Food was my Yay! My Boo :( and my... I'm bored.

    Now I know that other things can be all those things. I colour. Yep I'm a 31 year old saddo who has a colouring book for the times where only food would have done. It can be done. I've managed five months so far without using my emotional crutch. I'm almost 28lb lighter for it and happier, healthier and more energetic.

    Much like an ex smoker likes to keep their hands busy, we emotional eaters must do the same. Find your alternative and work it. Try colouring. I love it ha!
  • Zombella
    Zombella Posts: 490 Member
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    I try to chew on gum.
  • sianlr87
    sianlr87 Posts: 72 Member
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    aimeerace wrote: »
    Yep I'm a 31 year old saddo who has a colouring book for the times where only food would have done. It can be done. I've managed five months so far without using my emotional crutch. I'm almost 28lb lighter for it and happier, healthier and more energetic.

    This is great! I have puzzle books and things around the house, colouring sounds like a much better idea! :)
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
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    sianlr87 wrote: »
    aimeerace wrote: »
    Yep I'm a 31 year old saddo who has a colouring book for the times where only food would have done. It can be done. I've managed five months so far without using my emotional crutch. I'm almost 28lb lighter for it and happier, healthier and more energetic.

    This is great! I have puzzle books and things around the house, colouring sounds like a much better idea! :)

    It stops me thinking about food. I'm too busy thinking what colour to use next lol
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
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    I started to journal at the beginning of my journey. When I felt upset, I'd write down how I was feeling, what caused it and came up with three ideas to help. Then, I went for a short walk. I also found new, healthy hobbies and stopped going out for celebrations.

    Now, I still journal, but I have incorporated going out as a celebration, I feel like I have more control over things.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I attribute my emotional eating to plain old wearing out my willpower, which isn't that strong to begin with. It's like over-using a weak muscle. All of a sudden it will collapse. Willpower gone, self-control goes out the window too. The worst time of day for me is right after work. So I have several strategies to forestall that old habit pattern.
    • I eat late in the afternoon before I leave work. If I'm not hungry, I won't raid the ice box before dinner.
    • I rarely deprive myself completely. If I am craving something, I try and satisfy it within my limits for the day and before the feeling is overpowering.
    • I have other habits ready like crochet to keep my hands busy.

    You might want to address the source of your feelings. Approach the root of the problem in a fresh way. Maybe journal your feelings. Dump a so-called "friend" proven to be otherwise. Create a personal vision and mission statement. Something.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/halting-a-binge-session-715131
  • davis978
    davis978 Posts: 103 Member
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    Mindfulness practice really helped me. Mindfulness helps you learn to tolerate distress of many varieties. I found that once I got some "practice" at tolerating distress, rather than trying to distract myself from it, I was much more in control. I still succumb sometimes, but I have also learned to spot the warning signs sooner. Good luck to you!
  • mojohowitz
    mojohowitz Posts: 900 Member
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    I wrote down all the foods I went to when I was stressed, depressed, hurt, etc. Inevitably, they were all linked to some of the few happy memories I had as a kid. I forget the psychological term but its classic behavior. This will sound super flaky coming from a layperson, but the general concept is that when under psychological duress we reach for foods that subconsciously remind us of times when we felt especially secure or protected as children. For me it was my dad making pancakes or bringing home donuts or pizza. I still struggle but now I tend to be a bit more thoughtful about why I am eating what I am eating.

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