Emotional Eating

girlruns

In our society, food is often a very emotional thing. Different people may latch on to different emotions that they associate with food, but most of us have one. For me, it is generally happiness/celebrations. Friday I got some really good news job-wise and decided I 'deserved' to celebrate. I went to dinner with a friend early, and had late night pizza with my husband. Saturday I was with extended family to do yard work all day for my grandma, and while the extra work I was doing required extra fuel, I know I indulged more because I was with family I don't get to see very often.

In 'normal' situations, I do really well with dealing with cravings and food choices, but there is something inside that shuts up my inner voice of reason when it comes to happy food. I've thought about blogging about this issue and some tricks to help it, but I don't know that I can claim my tricks are very helpful since it is still something I struggle with.

Does anyone want to share which emotions are their triggers and ways you've found to deal with it? Maybe if we can all get some ideas out there, we can use them the next time it comes up for us.

bryony_pie

I have similar emotional eating problems, except mine are almost always triggered by negative experiences instead of positive ones. When I get bad news, am having relationship problems, or have a really bad day, I almost tell myself that it's okay to eat more than I usually would or eat more of something "bad". It's almost like a mechanism to help "soothe" my being upset. It (of course) never actually makes me feel any better! Sometimes, if I can find enough clarity to stop and ask myself if eating is actually going to make anything better, I can nip emotional eating in the bud. There are times, though, when that too difficult for me to do.

I think positive results are contingent on consistency, and if I slip up and have one bad day and emotionally eat, I still get really upset with myself, but I know that the next day is a new day and I can make up for it. As long as I am consistently eating well and generally not letting emotional eating get in the way, everything will be okay. This understanding prevents me from lapsing into a "well I screwed up yesterday, might as well screw up today" mentality.

I also keep an excel spreadsheet of my daily caloric intake, exercise, and net calories - so I can easily spot the days where I have had emotional overeating. It seems trivial, but seeing my diet 3-4 weeks at a time and being able to pick out the high-calorie days easily is a good motivation. I don't want to see such high numbers!

gtm124

Guys have it too. Mine is also mostly based on negative input-mad at spouse, etc or it could be anxiety from watching a sporting event. I could eat everything in the house then run to the store for more. However, I have found that MFP (in particular logging my food) has kept me accountable and going on my 5th week I have not caved to the emotional food demons yet. I am not saying I am totally cured, but this has helped me tremendously.

jlroeming

I also eat based on my emotions. I eat when I am upset. I also used to eat at night watching TV and wasn't really hungry or even realized what I was eating. I usually have my laptop with me now when I am watching TV and that helps keep my hands busy. Otherwise I no longer eat out of the bag/container. I count out the portion I want to eat and put the rest away. This has helped me. Water gets boring, so I use the crystal light powdered stixs in my water bottle and sip on that while watching TV. When I really have a craving I brush my teeth. It doesn't always work, but sometime it is worth a try. Or just get out of the house and move, such as walking. Or if it is late or raining- go to a large department store and walk around.

dawnhite7778

Yeah me too. When I get bored I tend to eat which is a real problem to me and why I gained all my weight. I eat when I get frustrated and mad to but not as much as when I am bored, probable because I don't get mad much. Also when TOM is about to come I feel like I can just eat and eat. Really could use some buddies to help me through this. Please feel free to add me.

LindsayChick

I'm also an emotional eater but it mostly involves negative experiences.... especially anxiety about a certain task / work / long hours. I *think* it will help soothe me and make me feel better... but I always just end up feeling guilty and frustrated! Logging everything on MFP has definitely helped and I've tried to go play with the dogs or take them on a walk when I start feeling this way. My dogs always have a way of making me feel better. I really believe that you can't just stop emotional eating -- you have to replace it with something else. I try to pour a big glass of water, iced tea w/ splenda or crystal lite and watch TV or go play with the dogs. It has REALLY helped the last several months! Good luck!

kdsmith

In our society, food is often a very emotional thing. Different people may latch on to different emotions that they associate with food, but most of us have one. For me, it is generally happiness/celebrations. Friday I got some really good news job-wise and decided I 'deserved' to celebrate. I went to dinner with a friend early, and had late night pizza with my husband. Saturday I was with extended family to do yard work all day for my grandma, and while the extra work I was doing required extra fuel, I know I indulged more because I was with family I don't get to see very often.

In 'normal' situations, I do really well with dealing with cravings and food choices, but there is something inside that shuts up my inner voice of reason when it comes to happy food. I've thought about blogging about this issue and some tricks to help it, but I don't know that I can claim my tricks are very helpful since it is still something I struggle with.

Does anyone want to share which emotions are their triggers and ways you've found to deal with it? Maybe if we can all get some ideas out there, we can use them the next time it comes up for us.

My emotional eating sounds very similar to yours...I can be fine in normal life but as soon as friends or family get together, it is as if I give up. I am worried about this coming weekend going to my inlaws as they always have so much good food there. I desperately need to lose 7 pounds to fit into some clothing for the summer and I'm worried that all my hard work this week will be lost over the weekend!

I have heard that we should rehearse what we are going to eat prior to getting into a situation. I am going to try to mentally think about not going there for the food and keep to the meals without eating in between. Stick to green tea. I would do great if I could avoid the cake and ice cream and cookies that are always there. I'm sure going to try!!!

Kim

girlruns

I knew I wasn't alone, but it is always encouraging when you know others have similar struggles. I will occasionally over-eat when I'm in a bad mood, but not as often. And usually that is the result of "I don't want to think about the effect these doritos will have on me--I'm crabby and I want them".

I like the idea of the spreadsheet and the pre-planning for events. I think the biggest thing though will be to say "no". I can say it to myself, but I'm uncomfortable saying it to the person who is handing me a beer...maybe by practicing that conversation, it will help??

lady95

I eat only when I'm truly upset or bored.
Boredom is easier to handle, though, because I still have that desire to fight against my cravings and usually do pretty good by taking the dogs out for a walk or playing a video game.
Being upset is tougher, though, because that desire to fight back is gone, and I usually mess up.