Emotional overeating habits

hannahchalmers

I struggle with eating when I'm bored/when something tastes good and is easily accessible. It's not necessarily unhealthy food, but calorie-wise I am prone to going over my daily goals. I aim for 1400 a day, and I lift weights (albeit not terribly heavy ones) rather than doing much cardio. I'm a student, so I spend the majority of my day in a classroom (8-10 hours a day). Typically around the evening I find myself EATING like crazy. And it's not that I'm not aware of it, I make the conscious decision, but I think it's a very emotional, in the moment decision rather than a logical, rational, this-is-not-a-good-decision decision.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get out of that emotional impulse eating habit? It's easy for me to be logical and plan out my days before hand, but in the "heat of the moment" I struggle with sticking to it. Sometimes to the point where I'm eating upwards of 2000 calories a day. I'm frustrated, and I get mad at myself when I'm out of that emotional state, and I am so determined not to let it happen again, but it always seems to.

Unknown

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jseo123

I am a student as well, and I used to do exactly the same thing (occasionally still do...) so I totally understand what you're going through.

You're right that it's kind of a heat-in-the-moment kind of thing, and you're not really being rational in that moment. But I think it's really important not to get mad about it because you don't want to get more emotional than you already are because then that will probably cause more overeating because you're like, what the heck, I messed up, might as well eat more (or at least, that's what it was like for me).

When it does happen, I think you just need to accept it, calm down, and just breathe. It's already in the past, it's happened, you can't change it. So what's the point in being mad? It's not going to change anything. Be accepting of the situation and of yourself! Besides, it's really okay. No biggie. Yeah, you ate.

I've found that drinking coffee (maybe tea? but I prefer coffee especially when it's those emotional moments when I feel like eating everything) sometimes helps with hunger and when you're having those binge moments (I don't really get effected by caffeine so I can drink at night, but if you are effected, maybe you drink decaf?).

Also, I don't know if you do yoga as a part of your workout, but if you don't, I would highly recommend it. It's very helpful in that you learn to calm down and control your emotions so that you don't become overemotional. If you're a college student, there are probably free yoga classes that your school provides so take advantage of those!

I also tell myself: Control your mind, don't let it control you!

strivingfor130

I do this all the time. I have started keeping a handwritten food log of when I get a craving. I put the time the craving occurs, what I am craving, and then I try to identify what emotion I am feeling. I decide at that point if I want to give in or if I want to deal with that emotion in another way. For example, today I was craving chips that were sitting out in the open. I ate one and remembered I needed to log it. I realized I was anxious, decided to eat 2 more chips, and moved on to focusing on what I was trying to accomplish at the time. A therapist told me recently that sometimes these "emotional cravings" are an accumulation of things from throughout the day or delayed. So I may have gotten aggravated driving earlier today and by the time I get home I start to crave food. I have been logging for a few days now and have definitely seen my cravings go down.

softblondechick

Buy an air popper for pop corn. Something about having a hot, crunchy snack. It may not solve the problem, but it is better than a bag of chips. Cheaper too.

No butter!