Emotional Eating is holding me back

tmdugger

Hello, My name is Tracy and I am an emotional eater. I like to start my day with my favorite foods and end that way....Which means pancakes and waffles to start and ice cream to end....I was able to continue this in moderation to lose most of my weight, but now I've stalled out

Without these comfort calories I feel deprived. I quit for a month rather than face really trying to lose the last 20 lbs...now I'm back after 3lbs crept back into my life....but I'm still facing the same issue.

I can't eat what I want and get where I need to be. Before I didn't want to get beyond Good Enough....Now I want to get to Healthy and happy. But there are still the demons telling me that pancakes are better than cereal and life without ice cream isn't worth living.

How have you kicked these issues to the curb?

sarah307

Hey! I'm Sarah and I'm an emotional eater too

I'd like to find a way to kick this habit to curb also

adrianneboyd

Don't deprive yourself! I was an emotional eater, but I also found that I eat when I'm bored and not hungry. Give yourself one treat a day...Try Fiber One 90 calorie brownies. Only one. It gives you that sweet chocolatey treat you crave without extra guilt.

If at first you feel that you need something sweet, first ask yourself if you are really hungry or just bored. If you're NOT hungry, try to do some simple exercises. Excersise induces the release of endorphines which makes you happy.

I've also done well with just grabbing a glass of water first. If I drink the water and wait 30 minutes and I still feel like I need a snack then I will get one. But most of the time I feel better and don't crave that snack anymore!

wyndesnow

I am an emotional eater as well. I would find myself standing in front of the pantry, refrigerator or freezer looking for something to eat. I had to find the reason "WHY". I was on the phone one day and realized the person I was talking to was making me feel bad so I turned to the pantry. Same thing happened the next day. I had to separate myself from this person and some of my emotional eating stopped. Now the big challenge for me is that I know I do this, when I catch myself, I stop and say "why do I really want this?" Is it because I'm hungry or is it because something is bothering me. If something is bothering me, I step away and pick up my journal and write about it. Usually the need to eat passes. If it doesn't then perhaps I am truly hungry and check the time to see when the last time was that I ate.

It has not been easy, everyday is a challenge!

Good luck!
wendy

sarah307

I am an emotional eater as well. I would find myself standing in front of the pantry, refrigerator or freezer looking for something to eat. I had to find the reason "WHY". I was on the phone one day and realized the person I was talking to was making me feel bad so I turned to the pantry. Same thing happened the next day. I had to separate myself from this person and some of my emotional eating stopped. Now the big challenge for me is that I know I do this, when I catch myself, I stop and say "why do I really want this?" Is it because I'm hungry or is it because something is bothering me. If something is bothering me, I step away and pick up my journal and write about it. Usually the need to eat passes. If it doesn't then perhaps I am truly hungry and check the time to see when the last time was that I ate.

It has not been easy, everyday is a challenge!

Good luck!
wendy

i journal a lot too!! this helps me.

StrengthIsBeautiful

Tom Venuto's book "The Body Fat Solution" talks a lot about emotional eating. Check it out at the library, it might help!

ewennin

Hey, I am an emotional eater as well. I have struggled with my weight all of my life. Here are some things that I have implemented into my life to help me not eat so much.

First, I turn to food for comfort. I tend to eat foods that give me the most comfort possible. It is usually the foods that I grew up eating. I am also addicted to soda. I have struggled with drinking soda and sometimes I cannot go one day without one.

Second, you probably need to figure out your triggers (or things that cause you to become emotional). Becoming aware of your emotions is key in controlling how much food you eat. I know that when I am stressed out, or sad, I want to eat McDonalds. That for me is what I want to do. I would suggest that you sit down and write out all the foods that you turn to and think back to when you are tempted to eat them. Then, ask yourself if you see any patterns, such as I eat extra waffles when I have a bad night of sleep... ect.

Now, I have found that journaling or keeping a diary about yourself is a good thing. It will help you get your emotions out and will help decrease the desire to eat when your emotions run high. I would suggest to do that daily just to try it and to see if you feel better. (or if not, find something else like drawing, singing, writing, ect...) Something to get your emotions out of your body.

Furthermore, take that list of foods that you find comfort and see if you could modify them to make them more healthy (e.g. lower calorie, less fat, whole gain, ect...) Like baking french fries instead of going to fastfood, or getting 100 cal packs so you can monitor how much you are eating because it is portioned out for you. If you like yogurt, there are so many flavors out there that will help you with your sweet tooth. I like dannon lite and fit. Eat foods with more protein in them because you will stay fuller longer. Eat light soups and reduced fat foods.

I would suggest that you do not take your favorite foods completely out of your diet. I have found that if i do that then i will gorge on them later. Eat them in moderation. Like if you want waffles then maybe eat them once a week as opposed to everyday. If you want ice cream, get sorbe or frozen yogurt. Freeze grapes and when you are needing a sweet frozen fix try that.

Lastly, give yourself GRACE!!! It is going to take time to relearn how to eat. It is not just a quick fix, it is a lifestyle change. You can do it!!! It is a process and processes take time. Allow yourself some room to mess up. If you become so stringent on your diet and do not give yourself grace then you might give up. what I like to say is, It is not about how many times you fall off the wagon, but it is about getting up and getting back on is the key!

I hope this helps.... I am learning and on this journey as well. I hope that you succeed in this new journey to a healthier life.

Beth

judykay05

I have been an emotional eater for a long time, here's how I broke it. Check out my blog. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/judykay05

I realized through great soul searching, that I gave a different meaning to food. Food is for energy, and that's truly how most people see it. For those of us that over eat, well we see it differently.

Also, here's another thing that helped: Eckhart Tolle says never deprived yourself, but, eat your favorite foods slow, enjoy every bite, eat it and notice everything you feel and everything around you. How do you feel? How does it taste? How does if feel when it touches your tongue? How does it feel in your tummy? How do you feel before hand and how do you feel afterwards?

Eating it slowly and methodically, kinda gives you so much satisfaction, that it allows you to not eat it all the time, it's like you give yourself permission to go a day or two with out it. You learn you can postpone eating it, always knowing that you can have it anytime you want.

Then finally there's pure logic. The amount of calories, fat and carbs plus anything else you add to it, tells you that it's not healthy to have every day... the same thing goes for ice cream. Therefore you have to choose between a healthy, slimmer, leaner your or pancakes and ice cream... Your choice!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/judykay05

cba4994

I have always been an emotional eater. I have recently had to admit that journaling really does have a profound effect when wrestling with overly upsetting issues. I haven't thought to try grabbing a pen instead of a snack when I get the munchies. Thanks for the suggestion.