Emotional Eating...has anyone actually overcome it?

amunet07

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mistiblake08

I have. I've just been working at being better and not indulging in the high calorie foods that I absolutely love. I LOVE Cajun boiled peanuts, but even the smallest cup is way high in sodium and calories. I've had to drop it. I have picked up protein bars in place so that I can get that little extra kick in the day, especially while I'm at work. So far it's helping. I had one bad day and that was last Sunday, but I've more than made up for it this week.

Something else that helps me is the dry erase board I have hanging on my fridge. I see it daily, morning and night. I drew out all of the things that motivate me to be better: my dogs, my graduation from college next month, size 6 pants, etc. I really helps to push me in the right direction each day. Also, I find that when upset, turning to the Internet or working on my novel in progress is very soothing and helps me to calm down.

DucklingtoSwan

Food is my best lover and my worst enemy... but as others have mentioned here, holding myself accountable is making a big difference. I may never fully get over the urges to turn to unreasonable amounts food in times of crisis (or even in happy times of extreme excitement) but I am very slowly learning to rise above them. Might take a long time of hyper-vigilance, and some falls (had a bad few days last week), but seeing success on the scale and finally wanting, REALLY wanting, to take better care of myself as opposed to the neglect and self-loathing are very powerful motivators.

edited to add: Everyone, THANK you so much for posting your stories. It gives me hope that my efforts will NOT be in vain if I don't give up and let the occasional slips turn into avalanches.

grrrlwonder

I hope I can one day say that I have overcome this, but for right now I can just say I've gotten much better. Like many have mentioned, being really aggressive about tracking my food here helps a lot. When I know I have to own up to what I eat, before I even open the package, I tend to calm it down a bit. (Although, three weeks ago, I sure did sit down and eat 7 servings of trader joes gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Why you ask? Because I was depressed I wasn't losing enough weight :face palm:) Measuring out my food and making sure I'm eating the correct serving sizes, has also helped. Now I know what a binge looks like when I put it on my plate. I also try to only buy my comfort food in single servings, because, for real, I can and will eat whatever amount of chocolate is put in front of me. If I can't do that, I throw the rest away. It's wasteful, but I know that if I have it in the house-even in the freezer- it will talk to me until I eat it. One of my proudest moments this year was coming home on a Friday, after a long hard week, and prepping a box of brownie mix. I stood in the kitchen, griping to a friend and ate three huge spoonfuls of the batter. I then realized that if I put it in the oven, I was just going to eat the entire pan, so I rinsed it all down the sink. Binge over. I've also started, when I'm stressed out at work, taking a break and walk a few blocks to 7-11 to buy a can of diet coke. Between the exercise, the fresh air, and the sweet carbonation, my stress fades away and I don't end up on the couch late with a pint of ice cream.

I don't know if any of those will help you, but thanks for posting this thread. It always helps to know we're not alone!

Rissyroo513

I'm struggling now. I actually just posted a thread asking for help so thank you, all of you for the stories you posted here. I find that I have a lot of excuses as to why I can't make the change I want to make. I'm starting to realize that I probably don't want it as much as I've been telling myself. OR at least I don't want it as much as I want the pint of Ben and Jerry's AND the medium sized bag of peanut butter M&Ms.

I've been working on my therapist with identifying the positive choices and events instead of looking towards the negative. I've nowhere near perfected this skill, but I find that my eating is better on days when I actively look for the good. Below are some of the notes that I have posted around for myself so that there is something to remind me that food shouldn't play the role it has been occupying for me.

Not everyone around me is supportive of healthier choices (they like having a fluffy buddy), but I do have some people that would support me if I asked them. So ask!
I like healthy food (granted it's not as good as ice cream, but it's still yummy), so there is no excuse as to why I don't always eat it and I can have more of it.
I don't like how I feel after I binge on an entire box of cereal (an unfortunate breakfast choice), I love how I feel after a workout followed by a big healthy meal that I can eat entirely guilt free.

I don't think there will ever be a point in any of our lives where we can say that we are fully recovered from emotional eating or binge eating or any kind of addiction. It will always be a little bit of a battle, but as with anything you get better with practice. I'm told you eventually adjust to your new normal and although there may always be temptations, you build skills to make better choices.

Now to go and listen to myself...