Emotional eating habits...

toots99

I am noticing something different...there used to be a time when, if I was feeling stressed, I'd feel better with food. Ice cream, chips, anything comforting.

Over the last few days, I've been pretty stressed out, but I don't seem to have any appetite at all. Like right now, food just sounds so unappealing to me. I'm going to have to force myself to eat something just so I don't get shaky and jittery.

Before this past year when I started eating healthy and losing weight, I was the exact opposite.

Has anyone else noticed this about themselves?

colombiana444

Sure have. Anytime I felt down, food was a big comfort. I guess after all the hard work... Eating for comfort just seems like such a waste. In fact, when I'm stressed... Hitting the gym always seems to help me relax ... Love the change though. But don't starve yourself if you are stressed either. Always eat right no matter what emotional roller coaster you are in .

vhardwick

I've noticed that I'm not starving all the time lately, like I usually am, but I think it is because my alergies are acting up.

toots99

Sure have. Anytime I felt down, food was a big comfort. I guess after all the hard work... Eating for comfort just seems like such a waste. In fact, when I'm stressed... Hitting the gym always seems to help me relax ... Love the change though. But don't starve yourself if you are stressed either. Always eat right no matter what emotional roller coaster you are in .

It's weird how our body just starts to naturally react differently. Forcing myself to eat something is a completely new experience! :laugh:

squoozyq

I find if I'm a little stressed, I eat. If i'm a lot stressed, I don't eat at all. Doing this whole calorie watching thing has also made me feel guilty about food.....and that's not healthy either. Ugh, why does it have to be such a struggle??
:explode:

CasperO

I do Ok with the emotional stuff if I'm not at home. If I'm out at work or running an errand or whatever then it's no problem, 'cause I have enough self control to not stop somewhere and take the wallet out and,,, This is partly 'cause I'm a real cheapskate, and partly 'cause I hate to sit in a restaurant alone.

However,,, if I'm home alone and bored and have time to kill it's a real struggle. Yesterday morning was an epic crapfest in my world - but I go thru it. Did the work thing, and that was Ok. Then got home still a little depressed and had close to 3 hours to kill 'til my wife got home. We like to work out together, so I didn't want to exercise 'til she got home.

I started dinner about an hour before she was due home. Just the whole evening was struggling not to stick something in my mouth - trying not to taste what I was cooking (again, and again :blushing: ). I went out in the garage and fooled around with that stuff for a while, took the dogs out a lot. I go through it without doing too much damage, but it was tough.

Next time I'll just go work out - and when she gets home I'll just do it again. I survived boot camp, I think I can do 30-day shred twice and live to tell the tale.

Kath712

Here is something I heard a long time ago, and I still find it to be very true: "If you have a problem, and you eat over it, you now have two problems." (i.e. your original problem, and now a sore tummy and guilt about over-eating)

I'm happy to say that I rarely eat over emotions anymore (I did it ALOT in my 20s). And even if I do anymore, it's like one cookie instead of the whole bag. If I start to eat over emotions, I hear that phrase in my head, and I say to myself, "How is this food going to fix what's wrong?" That usually gets me back in line, so I stop eating and go do something else.

Glad to hear others are having the same kind of progress - it's great, isn't it? :flowerforyou:

toots99

Here is something I heard a long time ago, and I still find it to be very true: "If you have a problem, and you eat over it, you now have two problems." (i.e. your original problem, and now a sore tummy and guilt about over-eating)

I'm happy to say that I rarely eat over emotions anymore (I did it ALOT in my 20s). And even if I do anymore, it's like one cookie instead of the whole bag. If I start to eat over emotions, I hear that phrase in my head, and I say to myself, "How is this food going to fix what's wrong?" That usually gets me back in line, so I stop eating and go do something else.

Glad to hear others are having the same kind of progress - it's great, isn't it? :flowerforyou:

I like that saying, I'll keep it in the front of my mind. I usually repeat a different phrase to myself. "Don't give up what you really want for what you want right now."

hhca

Yup -- see the same.

I think a small part is physical and about how the body changes

More of it is will power and my mind set. When I finally get my head around the fact that the focus is controlling calorie in take to meet my goal .... not gain weight and lose right now

tammietifanie

When im stressed i don't eat and i find myself very stressed out daily so i struggle with eating period i eat around maybe 800 -1200 calories a day depending on how stress full my day is.. before i started dieting i would go for candy or chips but now i just don't get hungry any more when im stressed out..

Lisa0711

I've noticed that change too. Before when I was at my heaviest I just wanted to eat when I wasn't emotionally content, but now I just find other ways to deal with it like doing something I actually need to do. I'm so glad my body's reactions to getting healthy are finally getting in line, makes my life a LOT easier! lol

toots99

I've noticed that change too. Before when I was at my heaviest I just wanted to eat when I wasn't emotionally content, but now I just find other ways to deal with it like doing something I actually need to do. I'm so glad my body's reactions to getting healthy are finally getting in line, makes my life a LOT easier! lol

It's funny...before when I was stressed, I knew just what to do about it: get some ice cream! (and then try to work out what was stressing me). Now, it's like I don't know what to do! :laugh: I just got home from the gym when I originally posted this, and part of the reason why I came home was because I suddenly got stressed out. So I guess, as of right now, I don't want to eat or work out when I stress beyond normal. Guess that's better than eating! :laugh: