i am an emotional eater

megancolleen

Hi everyone,So last night I realized something I am an emotional eater! I never really considered myself that overweight but I certainly wasn't skinny I considered myself average! I basically ate healthy and worked out for a week about once a month. Well yesterday was a horrible day at work (they laid off 10 people, not me... Yet :-( ) and my got put back in the hospital (she is battling stage 3 cancer) so on my way home from the hospital I stopped at the store and bought a carton of ice cream with sprinkles, strawberries in heavy syrup and some good old fatty cool whip! Then I got home and ate half the carton! Then as I laid in bed I felt so sick and bad!  I have worked so hard to loose these seven pounds why did I do that?? Now I am not posting to complain I am posting to tell you next time I want to use food as comfort I am going to take my dog for a walk and then if I still want it when I get back I will have it!

So for anyone else who is an emotional eater? What do you guys do when you want to use food as comfort?

Ps: happy first day of spring! Yeah spring means more time outside.. and o yeah its snowing here in jersey :-( figures.. Ha ha

megancolleen

Hi everyone,So last night I realized something I am an emotional eater! I never really considered myself that overweight but I certainly wasn't skinny I considered myself average! I basically ate healthy and worked out for a week about once a month. Well yesterday was a horrible day at work (they laid off 10 people, not me... Yet :-( ) and my got put back in the hospital (she is battling stage 3 cancer) so on my way home from the hospital I stopped at the store and bought a carton of ice cream with sprinkles, strawberries in heavy syrup and some good old fatty cool whip! Then I got home and ate half the carton! Then as I laid in bed I felt so sick and bad!  I have worked so hard to loose these seven pounds why did I do that?? Now I am not posting to complain I am posting to tell you next time I want to use food as comfort I am going to take my dog for a walk and then if I still want it when I get back I will have it!

So for anyone else who is an emotional eater? What do you guys do when you want to use food as comfort?

Ps: happy first day of spring! Yeah spring means more time outside.. and o yeah its snowing here in jersey :-( figures.. Ha ha

TuscanySun

Hi! It snowed here in Western NY late yesterday too...:grumble: enough with winter right??

I too tend to be an emotional eater.

I've started to force myself to acknowlege what I'm feeling when I start wanting to soothe myself with food, and try to walk myself thru the experience mentally before I eat anything. "ok, so I'm ticked off....I can eat this ice cream, but its not going to help me deal with whats wrong, its going to taste good momentarily but I'll feel horrible afterwords and I'll have to work out more to walk it off. I'll feel guilty and down and that'll only lead to more bad choices. So, I choose to walk away".

I also make sure I have fat free pudding cups on hand (80 or so calories) and also have my new favorite comfort food....toasted mini wheat pitas with roasted red pepper hummus... . YUM...warm and creamy...just what I love in a comfort food snack and two of them are only about 150 calories!

Good luck!!

bootsnspurs4horses

I consider myself average too. NOT obese, not skinny. I should work out more, and eat less !! I never heard of emotional eater until I got on this site. LOVE THE SITE !!! But I find myself turning to food when I'm upset. I used to run my guts out on the treadmill. . . I liked it when someone upset me right before I was heading to the gym. Thank YOU Ex-Boyfriend !! BUT >>> I can't live without my self-indulgent food crisis. So instead of buying Fritos. . . I buy an expensive box of fresh blackberries (MY VERY FAVORITE). . .and eat the whole box. About $5.00 a whole carton and takes about 1 hour to eat all of them. ONE BY ONE> > > contemplating my next emotional move !! Which is always STRENGTH!!! I want to get back in to the fitness center. . . I just haven't !!! Oh I've had my crisis with baked cheetos. . never finish the bag. So I guess I'm not really dealing with my emotional eating. . I'm masking it to a certain extent. . .BUT BABY STEPS> > > > It's a START !!

Happy Spring to you too !

happygirl518

Megan, so sorry with what you are dealing with. Seeing and being with someone that has cancer is a sad journey. I know all too well. I was my mother in law's caregiver when she was dying with bladder cancer, then 3 yrs. ago my mother died from lung cancer.

Many of us that are overweight, are caregivers and with that said, Emotional Eaters. Now that you have recognized and acknowledged it though you can begin to make the Better Choices. Dr. Phil all the time is saying, 'you can't change what you don't acknowledge" and that is so so true. Now that you have, forgive yourself.....learn to be your own best friend.

I think alot of us when we feel helpless and don't know how to help or make a difference in the situation that is sad that we are facing use food for comfort, and I think sometimes because we see someone else hurting we can't allow ourselves to be happy (guilt complex) and we hurt ourselves by overeating, making poor choices, trying to work through our sorrow. I hope and pray you find the strength that is within you to not lose sight of your dreams.

I have a group here in this msg. board called "let's get real", come join me. I hope you will keep in touch and my heart goes out to you. Today is a new day......forgive yourself and move on.....
Debbie

megancolleen

Thanks for the support everyone!! It really means a lot!

MyaPapaya75

Hi everyone,So last night I realized something I am an emotional eater! I never really considered myself that overweight but I certainly wasn't skinny I considered myself average! I basically ate healthy and worked out for a week about once a month. Well yesterday was a horrible day at work (they laid off 10 people, not me... Yet :-( ) and my got put back in the hospital (she is battling stage 3 cancer) so on my way home from the hospital I stopped at the store and bought a carton of ice cream with sprinkles, strawberries in heavy syrup and some good old fatty cool whip! Then I got home and ate half the carton! Then as I laid in bed I felt so sick and bad!  I have worked so hard to loose these seven pounds why did I do that?? Now I am not posting to complain I am posting to tell you next time I want to use food as comfort I am going to take my dog for a walk and then if I still want it when I get back I will have it!

So for anyone else who is an emotional eater? What do you guys do when you want to use food as comfort?

Ps: happy first day of spring! Yeah spring means more time outside.. and o yeah its snowing here in jersey :-( figures.. Ha ha

You really cant keep those types of foods around find something that perhaps is sweet but not as fattening start buying sugar free stuff for starters and then slowly move to frozen yogurt ...what I have found is one scoop of icecream with a full bowl of fruit is just as good as a full bowl of icecream...

CassieNic

i never really saw myself as an emotional eater until the other day. my husband and i arent getting along very well these days, we are talking about separating, i was finishing my second package of little debbie swiss rolls, and thought "why the hell am i eating this crap?" and i realized i walked into the kitchen to get away from him so i wouldnt cry...and saw them.

the only reason its in the house is because HE wants them for his lunch. im going to start making him keep the crap food in his truck. out of sight. out of mind.

kayovercomer

I relate to your situation in many ways and
it is stressful. NOt only are you in the middle of layoffs but family illness also. I'll sometimes be in the middle of something I'd rather not deal with and use food as a "sidetrip" so maybe that makes me an emotional eater?
Probably. A show will come on TV in the evening I really enjoy and I want to zone out from life, so I think wow, 30 minutes of bliss. But, I can't just sit there and enjoy the show, I have to pause it, get a bowl of potato chips.
For me, it's connecting food with pleasure.
I guess I'm opposite because when I'm stressed, I don't eat. But the outcome is the same. Unwanted calories.

I'm realizing that I have to develop a new habit, if you will. But the need to have something to eat with the TV show is still there so I simply choose something
with fiber instead of the potato chips.

I'll cut up an apple, sprinkle it with cinnamon
or a small bowl of cottage cheese, a Kashi bar (I keep at least ten boxes of these in my pantry at all times)

so if I DO continue in the habit so to speak,
the food is healthier, lower in fat and higher in fiber which keeps me filled up longer.

Wishing you continued success with this.
I don't actually believe in luck when it comes to dieting. I mean, how can luck have anything to do with what we do to ourselves?

But you are in the right place. The site is
wonderful. I just love it.