How do you prevent emotional eating?

Gerkenstein

I'm really struggling with this as I've been through a lot the last few months with no end in sight. Really it's just been a rough year (great time to try to get my life together, huh?). Any advice or tricks that you use to keep yourself from emotional eating would be greatly appreciated. It's the hardest when I'm at work and there are always treats and snacks available.

tigerblue

This won't help when you are at work, but getting out and walking or running helps me. Maybe you can hold off til after work, and then get moving.

Nina74

I used to carry around a small notebook (instead of MFP) to write down everything I ate. I would write what I was going to eat BEFORE I ate it and how I was feeling (hungry, not hungry, famished, upset, etc). The time it took to write things down made me evaluate if I was REALLY hungry, or it was just emotional eating. Also, I kept a lot of carrots and things to munch and crunch rather than go after the chips, etc.

It is really hard and if you have a lot going on in your life right now, just do the best you can and most importantly, don't beat yourself up!

deloresAcox

Seriously, I pray about it, then I get on here and look at the success stories. They are awesome, I love the before and after pics. Good luck to you!

ct1986

I chew a lot of gum at work. My job is very high stress and there is always plenty of free food (all the snacks and stuff we keep on hand for the kids are fair game for staff). Not a good combination but having my food planned out and bringing my own lunch/dinner/snacks helps. I also make myself add food before I eat it as a general rule so I can see the effect it's going to have, sometimes I decide it's not really worth it. When I have to be in the kitchen area for a while though gum has been great, usually mint.

bbygrl5

I've so struggled with this and am still learning to cope with it, but basically, I don't give in. This has led to some nights of frustration and crying, but I feel so strong for dealing with and facing the emotion instead of medicating myself in a bad way with food. That being said, for sanity's sake, allow yourself splurges now and then and savor every bite when you do, lol.

I'm also addicted to working out, which I don't know is healthy either, lol, but better than food. I so look forward to my runs because it's in the beautiful outdoors and gives me an emotional high. Good luck in your journey with emotional eating and know that some of us struggle right with you.

FunkBunny

Are you sure you're eating from emotional stress, or is it out of boredom or unhappiness i your job? To me, if your job is your trigger, then you need to evaluate what it is about your job that causes you to eat.
If it's stress, then stress management will help wth this. if it's boredom, then you may need to think about adjusting your job responsibities so that you have more engaging work to do (I know it's not always possible though).
If you have too many responsibilities, you should talk with your supervisor about finding ways to organize the work in a better way, either between co-workers or how he/she thinks you could improve your handling of the work load.
If it's just because there are treats there just begging it be eaten, then you need to trust yourself that you don't want or need the treat that is there. Keep your desk stocked with healthy alternatives, go for a walk, workout in the morning (you'll be less likely to waste your earned calories if you've already burned some off working hard)

Emo eating or not, it boils down to self control and ownership of your difficulties. I hav the same issue with drinking and have recently quit smoking, so I'm coming from experience here. You have to want it enough to do what it takes to succeed.

EDesq

Yes, when you are in "hard times" that's a great time to get your Life together. It lets you know that you are a person that can function WELL under stress or when you have a lot going on. It tells you something really positive about yourself.

I think the first step to change is recognizing the negative thing you want to change. I did not know that I ate My "stress" or emotional eat until recently. For years I thought I handled stress, pain...well, FOOLED Myself. Now, I ADMIT what I am anxious about and CONSCIOUSLY refuse to allow Myself to eat for relaxation or as a relief after it is over. I Deep Breathe and focus on My breaths, I also repeat Affirmations (that I have written for different situations.) In the end it is all about recognizing what you are doing and REFUSING to eat your way through it!

big_sheila

One of my favorite tricks is going a few yoga stretches before work in the morning. My job is incredibly stressful and there are times where I literally can't concentrate until I've eaten even though I'm not hungry. Having a minute to relax before work makes me more thoughtful of my decisions during the day. This also can be done real time as well. Go into a conference room if you can and do a few stretches then make yourself a fresh cup of tea. By the time you're done with this mental break, hopefully the urge has passed.

oreganoqueen

I find just being on here helps. I make myself log everything. Generally my main method of avoiding the chocolate binges seems to be trying to displace my craving for that towards fruit or tea (normally tea... tea solves everything). Also just going on the internet and bothering my friends for hugs over msn after a bad day helps make the world seem like a better place.

Sheepdoglady

That is soooo hard and not at all fair. At home you can control what's in the cupboard and I go through phases of not having anything tempting at all so when I really fancy something, it's not there, so I can't have it - end of! But when you're at work, oh goodness - don't know if I could resist either! Hang on - I KNOW I couldn't resist it! He he! Personally, I find if I have my breakfast as late as possible, like 5 minutes before going out the door it holds off the hunger that bit longer. Also, diet coke/pepsi fills you up with gas which also helps and a pot of raisins to keep nibbling on every time I think about that snack someone else has offered me . . . it's really hard though! Good luck x x

NeuroticVirgo

I play around on MFP and get distracted in other peoples questions, and sucess stories. So far I've been doing ok for about a month, with only ONE real incident of binge eating because I was upset. I think you just have to pay attention to what your doing, and really decide if what your about to eat is worth it....and then say no its not...(Cause I've actually asked myself, is this worth gaining back 5lbs...and then says...HELL YES IT IS....no no no...very self destructive...then I just eat more because I'm upset that I ate the stupid candy bar or whatever....not good)

Good luck! I think this is a really hard habit to break.