Eating when happy, not stressed

BigDuck25

I am an emotional eater but I tend to do it when I am happy, not when I am stressed. The problem is that I am happy a lot...not that being happy is a problem but it makes it hard to have will power. Does anyone else have this problem and what do you do to get through it?

danielletogether4health

For me Happy sometimes equals Celebrate Good Times ... with lots of special celebration foods and drinks. I have had to try to find other non food ways to celebrate. It's not always easy -- but one step at a time habits can be changed. This year since my kids are well beyond trick or treat -- I'm going to either not come home in time to pass out treats or shut off all the lights and pretend I am not home. Halloween Candy is a good time food for me.

redscylla

I'm dealing with that this week. I am not usually a happy eater. I usually eat when I'm down, but I do like to celebrate. When something good happens, it seems like a great excuse to go out and splurge! Last week, I got some amazing good news. News I have been waiting for over a decade. The kind of news you break out bottles of champagne to celebrate. Except I was right in the middle of a personal challenge to go 30 days without eating added sugar. So there I was with this mindblowing good news, and I was going home to eat roasted chicken breast and veggies. Yaaaay.

So I did the only thing I could think of--I scheduled a massage and bought new nail polish. Because darn it! I deserved a celebration. So I gave myself a pedicure, and went to my massage, and felt like a princess. And I didn't binge celebrate. Now tomorrow, the first day after my 30 day challenge, I suspect I'm going to eat some indulgent food, but I held on for 2 weeks without caving in.

I guess that's my advice. When you're happy and you want to eat, go do something else that makes you feel happy or celebratory.