Emotional Eating

iarookie
iarookie Posts: 140
in Health and Weight Loss
Tell me your favorite way to deal with emotional eating. Like say --if you are stressed and a box of thin mints presents itself......

Replies

  • VickyO1977
    VickyO1977 Posts: 156 Member
    I am really bad and turn to wine especially at the moment as I am not exercising as I normally would if I was then I would probably go for a walk or a run.
  • Beckyloo80
    Beckyloo80 Posts: 1,088 Member
    I try and drink water. Seems to help me, but every once ina while I give in, but instead of eating ALL the thin mints, i'd allow myself 3 or 4 then turn to water.
  • Grognit
    Grognit Posts: 50
    In the past when I have felt like that - I log onto MFP and log the calories - then when I see how much of a waste of calories it is and the fact that I could eat nothing for the rest of the day, I delete the food and go and have something else.

    I started this because I had like 20 gummy bears once and it was ridiculous. I probably could have had 4 really large salads for the calories I wasted.

    It's scarier for me to see it in black and white.
  • sppride
    sppride Posts: 15 Member
    Head straight to the gym for re-education if you feel an emotional eating spree welling up! :)
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    Go for a walk, put your headphones on and listen to music or talk to my friends on MFP. If this is a regular problem you need to get to the route of why you do it. I got some therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy to help me break the pattern of comfort eating.

    I am now a lot better with it and do no comfort eat much, now when I begin too on rare occasion I question why I'm doing it, tell myself it won't help and stop. I gained 100+lbs in a year comfort eating. It is a habit that can be broken if you really want to break it and your willing to get any help you may need to do so.

    Think of something you really love to do, that relaxes you and put it in place when ever you feel like that.

    Zara x
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
    Tell me your favorite way to deal with emotional eating. Like say --if you are stressed and a box of thin mints presents itself......

    I eat the entire box and then go to the store and buy my favorite chips.
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
    First, I make sure I don't have Thin Mints around! Then I acknowledge that my feelings aren't going to get better or go away because I eat a lot. It will only make me miserable in the long term. Then I distract myself with something else.
  • Juliejustsaying
    Juliejustsaying Posts: 2,332 Member
    go to the gym, drink a diet coke, set aside a nibble..or my go to favorite, go shopping...
  • shy_46
    shy_46 Posts: 36
    I have an internal struggle with should I or Shouldn't I. In the summer I will go and walk and in the Winter time I journal. Both help me to figure out what the real issue is and work through it.
  • brookrd1
    brookrd1 Posts: 34 Member
    I have a terrible weakness for chips, I try not to open them because once I do, they are gone!! Glad to hear such good ideas about controlling yourselves from others!!
  • sylvuz323
    sylvuz323 Posts: 468 Member
    I'm still learning to deal...I try to stop and ask myself if I'm even hungry or just having it cause it's in front of me. I really have to make the effort to stop and tell myself I don't need it. Then I'll try to have something healthy to snack on and that usually helps me forget about the cookies.
  • slincoln2007
    slincoln2007 Posts: 21
    We have a rule in our house to NEVER BRING UNHEALTHY FOOD IN THE HOUSE! So when I feel like pigging out...i dont have any unhealthy options in the house. I would have to literally get in the car and drive somewhere to get junk food...which would entail a whole lot of shame and guilt to be that desperate (which I have been at times...but I always end up eating something less than I would have at home..like a small frosty or a mcdonalds hot fudge sundae...enough to satisfy the emotional craving.but not pile on the calories).
    If you struggle with this a lot...i suggest seeing a therapist to work on developing different coping skills for emotions that lead to your eating and finding the reason behind why you emotionally eat. self sabotage is common...having a box of cookies in your house is self sabotage. so you should address why you set yourself up for failure like this.
  • AshS1050
    AshS1050 Posts: 43 Member
    In the past when I have felt like that - I log onto MFP and log the calories - then when I see how much of a waste of calories it is and the fact that I could eat nothing for the rest of the day, I delete the food and go and have something else.

    I started this because I had like 20 gummy bears once and it was ridiculous. I probably could have had 4 really large salads for the calories I wasted.

    It's scarier for me to see it in black and white.

    i need to start doing this! at least then i know what number i'll have to deal w/ at the end of the day if i DO give in.
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
    I hit the gym! Go for a walk, a run, lift weights, play with the dogs, whatever.

    If that doesn't work, I take myself to Starbucks and get an iced or hot tea (no calories!). Feels like I'm treating myself to something nice, but it's 0 cal. By the time I've worked through 30 ounces of liquid, I'm not even remotely hungry or craving what I was before!
  • iarookie
    iarookie Posts: 140
    First, I make sure I don't have Thin Mints around! Then I acknowledge that my feelings aren't going to get better or go away because I eat a lot. It will only make me miserable in the long term. Then I distract myself with something else.

    This is a great point!
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
    Tell me your favorite way to deal with emotional eating. Like say --if you are stressed and a box of thin mints presents itself......

    Look at the calories on the box BEFORE you eat. That might sober you up a bit.

    It's really all just trained behavior.

    *bell rings*

    Why am I drooling and feeling hungry all of a sudden?? :huh:
  • iarookie
    iarookie Posts: 140
    Tell me your favorite way to deal with emotional eating. Like say --if you are stressed and a box of thin mints presents itself......

    Look at the calories on the box BEFORE you eat. That might sober you up a bit.

    It's really all just trained behavior.

    *bell rings*

    Why am I drooling and feeling hungry all of a sudden?? :huh:


    LOL thanks!
  • danika2point0
    danika2point0 Posts: 197 Member
    1. Drink a cup of tea or something...drink water...if you have an instant need that you cannot fight to eat something do it...preferably in light liquid form
    2. The desire should pass by then...
    3. If not, talk yourself down...'Save yourself' and your calories for when it's fun and enjoyable. The only outcome of this type of eating is self-hatred. There is nothing else. So keep telling yourself that!!!
  • charliesgold
    charliesgold Posts: 235 Member
    I used to do really well with dealing with emotional eating simply by avoiding my triggers. However, when my house caught fire in 2011 I was forced to live with a number of those triggers for a year while my house was being rebuilt. It took that long to gain back half of the weight I had lost before and while I'm still at a loss from my original weight it's hard to have slipped so far. I am just now getting back on the wagon to lose that weight that I had gained back. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that for me, avoiding triggers for emotional eating is the best way not to do it.
  • DeirdreMum8
    DeirdreMum8 Posts: 68
    In the past when I have felt like that - I log onto MFP and log the calories - then when I see how much of a waste of calories it is and the fact that I could eat nothing for the rest of the day, I delete the food and go and have something else.

    I started this because I had like 20 gummy bears once and it was ridiculous. I probably could have had 4 really large salads for the calories I wasted.

    It's scarier for me to see it in black and white.

    I love this idea! I often eat all my calories before dinner and it is just a bummer, I am good about not eating after dinner but I am tired of "loosing " all my calories to afternoon overeating snacks with the kids after school. I think pre logging would be a great trick. I will try it, thanks for the idea!!
  • anotherYRwiser
    anotherYRwiser Posts: 20
    OMG PeachyKeene is my alter ego! Yikes! That's what I probably WOULD do. Eat the entire box then go get chips to top it off.:explode:

    The only thing that works for me is to give them away. Get them out of sight! OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND and NOT down the throat!:flowerforyou:

    We all struggle with this in some form. Happy, Sad, Stressed, there's always an "excuse" lurking!! :grumble: Sit back and look at the trigger. Is it REALLY something that is so "BAD" that in 5 years it will still be affecting you? :noway: The 5 year rule helps me -heck even looking just a YEAR down the road helps me. . . will I even REMEMBER this event by then? With my memory the way it is - most likely not! If it's not a life altering - earth shattering matter, then don't sabotage a weeks worth of hard work and effort and focus.

    And . . . if the thin mints WIN the mind game - then don't beat yourself up - it's a minor set back that can be fixed by running 4 football fields and doing 3000 minutes of exercise. . . BURN off what you consume! :wink:

    (((HUGS))) and know that you are NOT alone in this one. . . I ate the last of the cereal crunch bars last night. Good thing I had snow to shovel!:grumble:

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