anyone overcome/trying to overcome emotional eating????

thesexybitch

this is SO hard. i never realized how much i eat just because of emotions... what can i do instead???

thesexybitch

honestly, it would be great if i could be one of those people that DONT eat when they are dealing with emotional issues. lfkja;sfaskfjas;fjas;f i try listening to music ( i love music ) , painting too.. but wtf i cant deal with my emotions so i eat eat eat, and always finish my plate clean no matter what it is. wtf..

bsweettt

i'm on the same boat!- it's uncontrollable and sucks! let me know when you get some reasonings!

rnroadrunner

I am working on this myself. Try and find a substitute for food as your comfort. long walks, taebo whatever. buble bath even. learn to pamper yourself with out food. easier said than done. good luck

thesexybitch

haha yeah last year i lost 20 pounds in two months... didnt give food one though... because whenever i felt emotional i went out and bought stuff... that left me broke and still harming myself.. hahah I CANT WIN. jk, its not that hard, i just have to really focus and make this a habit..

RachM

I find if you just keep your hands busy - doing a craft, a puzzle, I play wii sometimes 9burns some calories too!) or as mentioned above going for a walk. Call a friend, clean a drawer, do you nails - once their wet you can touch anything!

garedds

I have the same problem, though often out of boredom and emotions. It's frustrating! I am slowly learning better behaviours, reading in bed (where I won't eat), playing a game with my kids, ect.

theseus82

I''ve read that when you're craving a specific food a heck of a lot, that's probably a sign that you may have emotional reasons for eating. If you're so hungry that just about anything sounds good, then you truly are hungry.

I read an interesting article that said we really should try to rate our hungry on a scale from -10 to positive 10. 0 is neither hungry nor full. Negative 10 is completely starving and positive 10 is completely stuffed. You should shoot for a 2 or 3: content and satiated. If you're too full, then you've eaten too much. If your starving, then you have gone too long without food.

In terms of health, your ability to keep your blood-sugar levels steady is a sign of good nutrition. Too much sugar and your insulin spikes and your blood sugar crashes, making you hungry again. Eating sweets doesn't keep you full for long, because your sugar levels will spike and this will release insulin, which in turn makes you hungry again.

If you HAVE TO HAVE ice cream or a donut, that is a sign that you are having emotional cravings.

That doesn't mean to NEVER give into temptation. Health is about life-style changes, sustained over the long term. It's not about never reaching for pumpkin pie during the holidays again. Nobody is here because they indulged in pie once or twice a year. We're here from sustained poor nutrition and exercise.

That's not to create guilt, but to encourage us to forgive ourselves when we make occasional lapses. It's OK to eat poorly at times, as long as we get back on program the next day and the day after that.

adstevens

I got off this diet about the time my job was really stressing me out and then began to gain weight when I lost my job. Once i was aware that stress was the reason I engulged myself with food I pushed myself to get back to dieting before I ruined what I've worked so hard for. The first step is to realize why you're eating more and then work your way from there.

thesexybitch

so true, ive realized my problem for a while though.. but i have also realized that i have been emotionally eating ever since i can remember.. i have never been overweight and im not overweight now, but i could definitely afford to lose 10 or 15 pounds.. i think its become a long habit after almost 20 years of eating in place of my emotions. i've thought about going to therapy but id really rather not. i know i can do this myself, hah at least i know what im doing wrong andhow to fix it... its just actually getting there that remains the hardest part

bmmadden

My weight gain is probaly alot to do with emotional eating and boredom and of course thats when you crave the most fattening foods also

theseus82

Emotional eating is a hard thing to overcome. Food addiction is as valid as any other. Food can provide release and escape from our stresses. It sounds like if you've lost your job that you definitely have cause for stress.

The best advice I can offer is to create a list of things you can do to relax that don't involve food. Post it on your fridge and elsewhere and remind yourself that there are other ways of relaxing.

Try listening to music, surfing the Internet, writing in a journal, talking to friends, taking up a hobby or craft. Do something with your hands. Consider things that will give you pleasure or entertain you. Avoid snacking while watching TV; it's easy to lose track of calories when you do this.

Try to develop coping activities that provide release/escape without resorting to food. Emotional eating involves using food as an escape. Try to find something more positive to escape with.

raindancer

If I have something upset me. Say a disagreement with hubby. I am instantly starved. Even if I had already eaten a meal.
I can't get full. I just keep eating.
Last year I had a new boss who had a real dislike for me and made it known. After losing 60lbs before he came. I stayed so upset I gained 35 back.
He got fired. I'm back on track again...Hopefully no one else rocks my boat.
I not blaming him for my weight gain. It is all me. I just never learned a way to cope with stress.

I am trying to overcome this:embarassed:

crissi66

Im in the same boat but i realized i was a emotional eater a long time ago. Angry and sad for huge amount of reasons, so i ate and cooked to make myself and others around me happy. It really just took me looking at myself one nite with a lap fully of chinese food, munching away full a long time ago, to realize i was killing myself. I have a great core family and my bf loves me, but i hated myself. as the fall started we joined a gym together. He always worked out, one of those people naturally active with stamina out the ying yang. After a few weeks of exercise alone i lost a few lbs but nothing special. My brother told me about this site and ive been using it since the middle of october. Once i really started tracking everything and realized the effort it took to burn off those chicken wings everything became really clear to me. I needed to stop pleasing everyone else and worry about myself.
I stopped eating chinese food(sadly) and italian food as well for now, unless it is one of my lean cuisine.
I cant tell you how amazing i have been feeling. If you ask some of my friends and family i might be a little *****y or distant BUT IAM HAPPY!! I dont hang out all nite with a bag of chips on my lap at friends house and I refuse to eat something that i know is bad.
Gym seems to be my therapy lately. I go with my bf or by myself and its my time to release my bad energy.

myricksmom

It is a constant battle to overcome emotional eating. When I am mad , sad or bored I used to really chow. Now I pop on the Wii and use Gold's Cardio workout and exercise away the anger when i am mad. Boredom ...I find something to clean or some household project that needs to get done...sure chases boredom. I burn calories and I get a cleaner house. Woohoo! Sad..I pop on the Wii and do some other type erxercise like step aerobics where I can just blindly walk and think about what is bugging me, how to fix it it or how to learn to deal with it. Each time I want to emotionally eat I get mad...I swear out loud at my impulse to eat and I curse it to hell and back! I have to yell at myself - I say soem pretty mean thngs - and I announce that I am not going to let my emotions control me. Weird ~ I know!!!! I figure I would rather be weird and fit than sane and unfit! (-;

ppiinnkkmmoonn

big supporter of therapy and OA i go to a meeting twice a week!

Jennplus2

I try to write in a journal if I have eaten a healthy meal and still feel the need to munch. That helps some of the time. Gum and or brushing your teeth also helps a bit. I try to drink a glass of water real fast and that works for me sometimes as well. My issue is mostly at night so if I feel it is a losing battle I try to just go to bed. That works the best for me, but can't always do that one...

Sparklewolfie

There is a thread for binge eating I have the same problem, emotional eating, but not looking overweight so nobody knows. Sometimes I will eat until I dry heave because my stomach can almost not hold the food I ate. Try keeping healthy snacks around such as veggie sticks, water flavors, etc. that you can eat mindlessly without breaking the calorie bank.

I know it doesn't sound like a great solution, but it was the only thing that worked for me when I was binge eating. Otherwise, get out of the house and don't bring enough money to buy snacks. Leave the CC at home! Of course, the best solution is the figure out exactly what is triggering and solve it. Easier said than done

You can also try distracting yourself like others suggested, but it really didn't work for me

lindasain

I know exactly what you are talking about.. for my meal planning including snacks can be helpful. I tend to do this at work I work 24/7 a week then off a week. I work with speical needs adults and its so hard when everyone finally goes to bed and I don't have much control what is in the house to eat... hang in there.

amysambora

MFP has really helped me overcome this! Having a set goal to stick to makes it easier for me. I hate that feeling when I see I've gone over...when I'm tempted to overeat, I try and stop myself and think "What is going to feel better? Eating this piece of chocolate, or sticking to my calorie goal and seeing results?" That normally works for me We all slip up from time to time though, and that's ok. You've gotta go easy on yourself, it will take time to overcome bad habits!

MzBug

honestly, it would be great if i could be one of those people that DONT eat when they are dealing with emotional issues.

It's not all it's cracked up to be. I lived this way for years and I GAINED weight. I was eatting maybe 900 cals a day, some days I didn't eat food at all. I existed on coffee with cream, trail mix, apples, and a sandwich when I got home from work. Work was my problem, huge amounts of stress, a boss that hated me, working 10-16 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, and maybe 4-5 hours a sleep a night. I was always tired, I would fall asleep at red lights! I was smoking up to 2 packs of cigarettes a day. My back hurt, my knees hurt, my ankles would swell up every day. I even had chest pains on occasion. During the holidays I would be at the store from 7am to midnight every day. I was supposed to have an assistant manager, my boss wouldn't assign one. My life was a wreck! I finally pissed him off enough he lost his temper and fired me. It was determined that it was without cause, and I could have gone back to work. I chose not to!

I went on unemployment and went back to school. It took my doctor and dietician months to get my health back on track. I had to set a timer to make myself eat consistantly. This is something I will be working on for a long time.

turbojanem

i am an emotional eater. pretty much done with it, but it will always be something that i battle (just like an alcoholic or drug attic has to fight the urge to drink/use.)

for me, when i realized my eating was an addiction and that when i got stressed, lonely, happy, sad....i was able to work on my emotional eating. i did not attend any, however i do know that there are over-eaters anonymous eaters groups that work on the emotions of eating. for me, i personally focused on my faith/walk with Jesus. when my focus and daily walk is aligned properly, then i am able to take my emotions to Jesus and not have to carry issues alone.

i pray that you find the source of your emotional eating so that you can live a healthy lifestyle. today and always.

cheering you on!

samanthad2u

I have struggled will emotional eating my entire adult life. Still have not overcome it.