How to Overcome Emotional Eating

lulu0687

I've been a emotional eater for years,yo yo dieting. I tell myself whatever the situation that's stressing me, if I eat, it doesn't change the situation and only makes me mad at myself ! people don't understand how hard this is! So I keep a lot of veg/fresh fruit around ! I also tell myself that I can eat anything I want to eat ! So then I give it a lot of thought ! I will go on the computer, take a bath, walk on treadmill ! Also I like to cook, so I spend time looking for healthy recipes and reviseing them !This time it has worked for me so far!

Nenny1985

i hear ya hun. emotional eating sucks, im an emotional eater too but much better than i used to be. and i have a little baby also, shes 8 months. Here are a few things that have worked for me
Cravings will usually only last about 10 mins so try to do something to distract yourself for ten mins.
Get active. even if you don't feel up to leaving the house (or can't) you can make up workouts at home. My little girl will actually stop screaming if i do workouts in front of her, just stares or laughs at me.
Try to replace some of your "problem" foods with healthier options. Eg i used to binge a lot on chips but gradually replaced them with healthier options like carrots, fruit, yoghurt and sultanas, and then if you over eat on those from time to time its no as bad as overeating on pizza or chocolate,.
Allow yourself treats from time to time. recently i got a bit too strict on the no junk food thing and by relaxing that a bit it helped. Life is for living after all.

You can do it!

(hope this didn't sound to preachy)

All the best!

ithina

I am such an emotional eater as well. I found when I cut my carbs back I was able to control my hunger better. When I emotionally eat I get this overwhelming hunger sensation. It wasn't as strong and was actually manageable after a day or two of lower carbs. I aim for about 100g of carbs a day, but I actually eat about 150g.

Dealing with the cause of the emotional distress is another thing that has helped. Ask yourself why you're feeling this way and how you can deal with those emotions properly. It may just be a good cry, or it may be something deeper. Be honest with yourself about your feelings. Realize they are real and part of you and try to accept them. Feelings are not logical, so don't try to make sense of them.

Replace your bad habit with a good one. Sometimes when I feel like I want to binge and stuff my face, I'll goto the gym instead. Working out will release the same happy neurotransmitters as eating will without the guilt after.

When I can't goto the gym, I'll call up a friend. Have them talk you out of it . Or at least talk to them for a few about whatever. The overwhelming desire to stuff my face usually goes away after a few minutes of fun distraction.

barbara4599

Thanks OP for asking and to else everyone for sharing. I need this advice too :-)

MeganKSchultz

For those who have suggested that waiting will make the craving pass: that is usually not the case for me. On the particular day that I made the original post I waited about an hour and a half before giving into my cravings.

ZombieFoodSlayer

Hi there, Im not sure if anyone mentioned this but I am an RN and have had 3 kids as well, so I know how frustrating dealing with an infant especially when they are cranky and needy. BUT have you seen your doctor for possible #post-partum depression? just a suggestion of course and this is good in fact that you are putting yourself out there to find some help! PM me if you need more help, I would be glad to commiserate or brain storm you to feeling better!!

#hopeyoufeelbetter

Patricia

larodriguez02

I still battle with my emotional eating. I think what has helped me, part of what a nutiritionist taught me was the stop and deal with the emotion, if you are stressed, sometimes exercise(or even cleaning helps relieve some of that). Try to walk away from your child for a moment and do some breathing exercises, deep breathes usually help calm you down a bit. Think about why you are eating, are you actually hungry or is it the stress. Find things that will keep you from eating, chew gum, brush your teeth. maybe drink some hot tea or something. Hope they help, I know its hard, I have 2 kids so I totally understand, its hard and being an emotional eater is a hard habit to break.

kapers5700

@jonchew - Your comment is just mean and not at all helpful to this sweet woman. Next time, try to be a human and not take your bad day out on someone else. You even stated in your comment that you were struggling. So to make that better you attack someone else who is struggling. We all have to stick together. It's a big, bad world out there and there are plenty of people to knock us down without it being someone in our "group".

jacques57

Hi my name is Jacques and I am emotional eater.

"Hi, Jacques"

Hi, uh so I am not making any progress so far in correcting my emotional eating habits, but I got a book from a friend as a suggestion for changing other aspects of my life (exercise, more sleep, no more booze), and it has helped with making other changes in my life. So I am going to apply the techniques I learned that have helped me become a regular exerciser and give up drinking.

"One Small Step Can Change Your Life" by Robert Maurer, PhD.

THe premise is to make VERY SMALL changes in your life and in doing so you fool your primitive reptilian brain into allowing the change. Little by little you accomplish your goal and make real changes you can maintain.

SO the first step is I am asking myself "What can I do today to reduce my need to emotionally eat?" My answer is drink a glass of water after dinner to feel more full and avoid eating after 8 PM. IF I feel cravings, more water or a cup of hot herbal tea. Do that until it is easy and then think of another really small change to do.

Hope that is helpful.

action_figure

Many of us use food as a drug. Sugar, fat, and salt hit our dopamine receptors and hit them hard, it floods our system with feel good hormones and that makes us stop feeling the "bad" feelings. I strongly suspect that you are self medicating. So, one thing you can do is actually FEEL your feelings. If you and your baby are both safe, then find a way to sit with the feelings and let them be. Journalling may work. Drawing may work. What are they trying to tell you? What is underneath them? Another thing you need to do is find a way to feel good without calories. We all need pleasure in our lives. It doesn't have to come from calories. Although that's a habit / addiction that sometimes gets set very early, it can still be changed. Make a cup of hot tea, put on some music, when your baby naps or you have childcare, take a bubble bath. Put your baby in a wrap and go for a walk. If you're nursing, remember that your oxytocin levels will rise with breastfeeding, so instead of trying to multitask while feeding, put your feet up and try to get the most out of that hormone rush. Find what works for you.

crystalrx

I just may be the worst person to post, because I do this too, but there are some things that help me that might help you too. If you can put the baby somewhere safe and maybe just remove yourself from the room and take a breather that might help a bit. Scream/yell/cry/laugh to let out whatever you are feeling. I have a 2 month old at home and a 5 year old, and I have been finding that exercise has been helping me ALOT. I get some "me" time and when I'm done, I know I have done something good for myself on top of it. There's none of that guilt that comes with emotional eating and because I've done something so positive for myself, I feel better and then don't want/need to emotionally eat. I also try to be mindful of my eating. I ask myself if I am really hungry? How hungry? Do I just want to eat because I like tasting food (this is a real problem for me, so I tell myself I have to be genuinely hungry before I eat)? If eating isn't for the right reason, then I can usually talk myself out of it. Another problem is boredom. If I'm bored or want to relax, I eat. So for me, it's finding other things that can help me relax or something I can do that I enjoy. Surf the web, dance crazy to music, read, lay down and breathe, enjoy a hobby, I guess just find something you like to do . There are lots of other great suggestions people have posted, not expecting complete change overnight, just doing one small change you can live with at a time, journaling, talking to a friend, etc. Another thing for me is using myfitnesspal. If I know I have used my calories for the day, then that is it. I don't want to undo the progress I've made, so it does help you stop and really assess if you are hungry and take the emotion out of choosing to eat. I also make "deals" with myself, like, after 7pm, I will only eat fruit or veggies. If it's emotional eating, fruit or veggies usually doesn't help a whole lot with that craving, so that helps curb it too. Hope this helps, I know I enjoyed reading other's posts.

WannabeStressFree

I started to eat tons of healthy food, and I'm less hungry. When I'm less hungry I tend to binge less. But right now I could go for a lot of junky food, except I don't have it in my house and not willing to go to the store!