5 Tools to Stop Emotional Eating!
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Hi Beverly! I journal about what triggers my mindless eating and I keep my little notebook on the table. There are a few things I can usually tell will be hard to avoid, they are stressers surrounding meals, noises and unavoidable things. It seems that all I have to do is be aware of how those things cause me to start eating faster or feel deprived, worried, angry and this ( just observing how I'm affected ) in itself can sometimes bring back a calmness so that I can pause and breathe or just stop eating until I get calmed down. I was surprised at how this awareness set me in a more stable place mentally and is helped a lot.
I'm also happy to see more people writing posts in the EE group.
Thanks
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Mindful. Will be my word of the day.2
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Emotional eating is a behavior that we have the power to change. The key to getting past destructive eating habits is learning how to nourish your body, mind and soul.
It doesn’t matter if you eat emotionally once a month, just on the weekends, or every single day. These tools will make it less likely that you fall susceptible to emotional eating and it‘s aftereffects.
Food should nourish, comfort, and delight us. Eating a meal can be a joyous and celebratory experience when these five steps are implemented.
1. KNOW YOUR TRIGGERS, Know Yourself - Know your triggers and your “stress times”. It is important that we separate ourselves from triggers and stressful situations before we sit down to eat. This tool is listed as number one for a reason: without this tool, all the others listed will be very difficult to implement with success.
Try to come up with a delightful way to separate the stress that you may have experienced throughout the day and your eating time. This is especially important prior to dinner, when overeating is most common.
Some great examples are: short walks, deep breathing, dancing to your favorite tunes, a hot bath with essential oils, yoga, or jumping on a mini trampoline. It could also be reading your favorite poetry, walking your dog, or cuddling with a pet, partner or child.
The fifteen to thirty minutes it takes to relax before eating will be well worth it.
If you have triggers, honor them. If you cannot watch a movie while eating without eating mindlessly, then don’t do it. If taking phone calls while preparing dinner puts you in a frantic state of mind, don’t take calls while you’re making dinner.
Remember that your behaviors are trying to tell you something, and that you must listen closely and honor them in order to heal and live the life of your dreams.
2. Don’t Compromise - Make sure that you love your food. Do not eat nori in your salad if you hate it simply because you need B12 and sea minerals. You can get those things from a supplement if you are deficient in B12 or certain minerals.
Many of us have completely lost touch with what we truly desire and enjoy in our meals. It’s time to get back to what delights us!
If you want chocolate chip pancakes for dinner, then you should eat them. There are high quality, whole grain options for everything, so there is no need to settle for a salad if what you are really desiring is something warm and fluffy with pure maple syrup drizzled on top. Always honor your desires, while also honoring your body and health.
3. Eat Whole, Organic Foods - Much of emotional eating is due to undernourishment from eating foods that are processed and lack nutrition. When we eat a whole foods diet rich in produce, our body will desire more of these healthy foods, not the junk! Even when we overindulge in whole foods, the negative effects are not nearly as devastating as they are when we settle for their processed counterparts.
4. Personal Pleasure as Priority - Sometimes we emotionally eat not because of stress, sadness, or food addiction, but because we have forgotten to fit pleasure into our day! The result of this is only having food to look forward to. My friends, this is unacceptable!
If you feel unsure of what brings you pleasure , think back to what brought you joy as a child. Incorporate that into your life as often as possible. This is a priority for your health. Never forget it.
5. Connect - It is very important to take time to connect with yourself every day. Meditation is a wonderful way to do this. Try it out and see how it changes your outlook. Another option would be to stretch to your favorite music, or utilize any of the other options given in tool number one.
When healthy eating, personal needs, pleasure, and connection are attended to, the need to eat emotionally begins to vanish. When we understand our body to be the temple that it is, we nourish it with nutritious foods and nourishing lifestyle practices that empower us. This transforms us into the amazing people that deep down we already know we are.
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Thanks vivian! good to reread this again. 0
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I really like this. I need to work on meditating more. I get too anxious and mind starts going all over the place.0
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Vivian, Love this... thanks.0
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My problem lately has been that a whole lot of stuff is happening in my life over which I have no control. So I slip onto overeating instead of accepting the situations as being out of my hands. Today I have begun to work on the acceptance and realized I don't need control, I need inner peace. If I'm ok with everybody and everything around me, I don't need to escape into overeating. A small start but I'm grateful for the consciousness of this, its a beginning.4
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Thank you for the list, it's very helpful. Triggers are definitely hardest to overcome.0
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Peppermint candy helps me when I'm wanting something sweet after I finish my meal.1
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I've used peppermint oil to help fend of seeet cravings during the day. Try it and it doesn't use up your carbs2
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@christalbwise Do you just sniff it?1
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I stumbled upon this post yesterday. So helpful. I had just eaten a bunch of Boom Chicka Pop, so yummy, but I can't just eat a portion and then polish off the bag. I decided, after reading this thread, to stop when I am craving and wanting to eat junk, stop and think about what I am feeling. Am I happy, sad, bored, tired, stressed? Why am I feeling this? Then I made a goal to write down the feeling and my theory about why I am feeling that way. Then, I will reason through and not resort to candy or Boom Chicka Pop...(my main weakness--candy and any sugar).
Today, I packed tons of veggies for work. I am feeling a bit hungry and bored and a bit sad. Nothing cherry tomatoes won't help;)
Fingers crossed!3 -
I really liked the ideas on doing something I enjoy instead of eating. I'm trying to learn violin at age 75,
only for my enjoyment, not to play for anyone. (am a piano teacher). I could do this when I start wanting to snack.
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Great post. I printed it out and will keep a copy posted at work, at home and in my purse. So well written. Thanks.1
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I read a very good book: The Diet Trap - Judith Beck. This really helped me zero in "what" my issues are and how to deal with them. Very good.4
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Anyone that have any tips for angriness? Just realized it's one of my triggers.0
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Be Happy.
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So glad to be in the same boat. We're certainly not alone thats for sure1
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The more I acedmically research and learn about this topic, I can't help to understand that for many, including myself, "emotional" overeating is tied to brain chemistry. Interesting.3
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Hopefully,someone will reply to this.Anyone else get up and mindlessly eat in the middle of the night?I will wake up,when something i have been eating ,falls to the floor,or i start to choke.Sometimes i'm aware of what i'm doing but not always the case.0
