Emotional Eater

amandadwaller

Good day...Looking for some help please. I'm such an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy and I eat when I'm sad. Good food just heals the soul. However, I'm eating way to much. Any suggestion on how do I choose a better path. Looking for motivating friends to add. Enjoy your day.

ahoy_m8

Your description makes sense to me. I’m an emotional eater, too. The first step is recognizing the urge to eat vs. actual hunger. For actual hunger, having a plan for what to eat that’s at an appropriate calorie level first and foremost (and secondarily, with macronutrient levels that optimize satiety for you) and then actually sticking to that plan can minimize hunger. Some hunger is ok, not the end of the world or cause for alarm. For some people, it’s just a matter of getting used to it.

Managing the urge to eat apart from hunger is more nuanced. Here are things I try.
- for boredom, finding something to do. Getting busy is really effective for derailing an eating urge.
- For happiness, doing something physical (quick walk/run, going outside, yoga) can be a satisfying distraction.
- For sadness, doing some kind of self care (yoga, bath, connecting with a friend) or for a serious upset spending time with the feelings, actually feeling them vs. stuffing, and maybe writing about what’s going on can help dislodge & release them.
- stress, for me, responds best to rigorous exercise and taking action that directly mitigates the stressor.
- Google “urge surfing.” I’ve been meaning to try it (ETA so I can’t comment first hand).

Joyce Beck “how to think like a thin person” describes several CBT-based strategies for dealing with urges, breaking bad habits and forming new habits.

Best of luck to you!

Gamliela

There are a few support groups here on mfp : Overeaters Anonymous, OA and an Emotional Overeaters group as well.

CJKopp

Ahoy_m8 That is very good advise ! The main thing I do for my emotional eating urges is to just get up and move. The more I sit - the more I want to eat. I have realized when I started walking on the treadmill at a moderate pace, that it takes my appetite away because I am drinking a lot of water as I walk. Stay Hydrated and you might feel a big difference. Good Luck!

ahoy_m8

Thanks, CJKopp, and I very much agree that just moving really helps. Even if it is standing to file paperwork or walking something down the hall or starting an activity (even something dull like folding laundry), really anything to stand up and divert my attention long enough to let the urge pass. Also accomplishing a task usually has its own little flicker of positive reinforcement.

swim777

I’m an emotional eater also. It is so frustrating. I see the pattern but sometimes I just give in to it. We just went through a period of no power for 8 days and even though I stayed active, I craved junk food. Thanks for all the suggestions.

maureenkhilde

I too have had the tendency to be an emotional eater. But since starting my journey to lose weight. I decided I had to change lots of different things. And one of the big ones was junk foods. So my new rule I put in place for my self, was if I broke down and had to have something to eat. It had to be a raw vegetable. Sounds goofy I know, but it has pretty much worked. I also no longer keep my go to chocolate or ice cream in the house. So if I really think I need it I would need to leave the house. Guess what I do not.
Also I went back to a craft, I had not done for years as a way to keep busy. Good Luck.

pogiguy05

I think the first thing is knowing that you are an emotional eater. I think many of us are as is myself. Usually late night is my weakest.

If you dont have one get an app that tracks calories and get a food scale. Log EVERYTHING and keep track of your calories in. It is a huge eye opener when you see how many calories you are actually eating. Dont deprive yourself of some things just eat them in moderation. Meaning have what you like just dont eat the whole damn bag or container. You are gonna have bad days just dont let them get you off the path. Just mark it as a bad day and get right back to it the next.

peggym4640

I, too, am an emotional eater. Therapy has helped a great deal on a macro level. The more I started to unwind the many feelings and experiences (anger, sadness, happiness, excitement, etc) the easier it was for me to not emotionally eat. In the moment, I do many of the things mentioned above, go for walk, drink water, talk to a friend/co-worker, try and identify the feelings and dissipate the energy. And my commitment to myself is to log everything. It helps reestablish the routine of healthy habits and forces me to take responsibility for my actions.

amandadwaller

Thank you everyone for your comments. Let's keep one another accountable. My fitness ID is anandadwaller. Add me..

rhartung5058

I fight the same battle with emotional eating. Agree with maureenkhilde about the raw vegetables. Might try loading some small baggies with some Broccoli, carrots and celery. When urge overtakes, grab a baggie of veggies from the fridge.

brenn24179

If I am sad and eat it wont help, I will just be sad and fat. If I am frustrated I will just be frustrated and fat if I eat.
I was on the internet and found something on weight loss hypnosis don't sabotage myself and it helped a lot. Taught me to not distract myself with food and feel the feeling and find a healthy way to cope like others have mentioned, drink water, talk to a friend, get busy doing something. And nothing good comes from overeating, just added calories which make you fat and the next day you feel guilty and disappointed. I hate that feeling

Kimmotion5783

I completely understand- always been an emotional eater as well. That's how I ballooned up to 355 pounds; I was depressed and angry at my lot in life. Whenever I was down, I would binge on junk food and takeout. When I was feeling up, it was a feeling of celebration and "let's have burgers and cake" mindset. There was no in-between because those foods would often feed a vicious cycle: the bad foods tend to be high in carbs and sugar (amongst other things) which causes a spike in blood sugar followed by a crash. So I would eat these foods when I'm feeling low, get the temporary "high" only to crash again and need more "uppers" foods, and so on. A Princeton University scientist just did a study confirming that sugar is just as addictive as as drugs (https://www.princeton.edu/news/2008/12/10/sugar-can-be-addictive-princeton-scientist-says ). I'm not implying that we're all "drug addicts" per se (thank God we aren't) but the process is very similar.

So my recommendation is this: if you are having major sugar cravings that seem out of control, try upping your protein intake. I find that eating a high protein breakfast keeps me full until lunchtime. This really helps me fight off the sweet tooth, big time. Also whole grains are a great way to stabilize blood sugar- you won't get that spike and crash. Vegetables can also help you feel satiated, especially dark leafy greens- I like a good sauteed broccoli rabe or spinach with garlic.

If you feel like you absolutely have to have something sweet everyday, that's fine. You can always allot for it in your calories and meal plan. Like everyday at 2pm, I always feel like having something sweet with my favorite Stash decaf mint chocolate oolong tea. Mint is great for helping stave off a sweet tooth. With the tea, I'll either have an apple, a Fiber One 90 calorie brownie, a Chewy reduced sugar granola bar, or the aforementioned Powercrunch Choklat bar. Those are great because you get to have your chocolate and eat it too- 110 calories, low fat, low sugar and 5 grams of protein. And they're tasty!

The most important thing to overcome emotional eating is to not beat yourself up if you've had a bad day. It's going to take some experimentation to find what works for you. Be gentle and good to yourself; criticism never wins the battle, it only makes you feel even worse which gives more negative energy to the problem. The key here is to just forgive yourself and move forward. Fall down 9 times, get up 10. Just as long as you keep trying and keep at it, you will overcome your obstacles. It may not happen overnight, but that's okay- it's how we learn. The best thing you can do is try your best and you will eventually succeed.

Kimmotion5783

One more recommendation I can make (sorry my responses are rather long- this happens to be a topic I know a lot about)

Instead of turning to food to work through your problems, try other things first: talking to a friend or family member about whatever is upsetting you.

Finding a hobby that relaxes and de-stresses you, be it a craft, activity, sports, walking in the park... I like a good workout at Planet Fitness followed by a nice long hydromassage. Coloring while listening to my favorite tunes works like a charm for me. I love to read, too. Books are a great diversion from reality.

Meditation. There are some great guided meditation videos on YouTube that can help you deal with stress. There's a bunch by TheHonestGuys that are very relaxing.

Yoga. Another good one; very relaxing. Again, YouTube has lots of great beginner yoga videos. I like Yoga With Adrienne, she's great and very no-pressure approach to beginner yoga.