Success in Not Emotionally Eating?!?!?
CADreaming09
Posts: 269 Member
Hey there!
I am having serious issues with emotionally eating. Every time something happens that is upsetting, I always go for junk food! Just got some crappy news and went straight for chocolate :sad:
I was hoping someone would have some advice on how they STOPPED emotionally eating! I am willing to try almost anything to stop doing this.
Thank you:flowerforyou:
Frankie
I am having serious issues with emotionally eating. Every time something happens that is upsetting, I always go for junk food! Just got some crappy news and went straight for chocolate :sad:
I was hoping someone would have some advice on how they STOPPED emotionally eating! I am willing to try almost anything to stop doing this.
Thank you:flowerforyou:
Frankie
0
Replies
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if it's not in the house - how you gonna eat it
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I havent found the "CURE ALL" for this but, i have learned to control myself. I ask myself when something happens, "Do I REALLY want [said sugary item]...after all I have put forward in my progress!?!?" or "Is that REALLY going to help me feel better?" Or, if it is really bad and I need SOMETHING, I jsut ask myself if I have enough "room" in my diary for a little something.
I do NOT keep anything in the house that I cant control myself with so that helps! And, to keep from jumping into a store to buy things, I have to ask myself if it is really worth it or...since $$ is tight, I ask myself what I could buy my daughter with that $2.00 instead of this.
When all else fails, drop and give yourself 20 crunches or pushups or go for a walk...SOMETHING to get your mind off of it!
GOOD LUCK!!!0 -
write down how you feel right now and leave it with the chocolate. next time you go to emotionally eat, it will make you think twice. get out the house and do something... anything! you more you do this, it'll become habit, and one day you won't need the reminder. worked for me, hope it helps you
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I have always been an emotional eater. But lately I just....haven't. I have a friend I can vent to whenever I need to, and his advice is always to "run it out". So, I hit the gym instead of the donut shop.0
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snort salt instead.0
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Yesterday was the first day in my entire life that I had a stressful day and didn't turn to food to comfort me. I didn't have to think about not turning to food I just didn't and it was such an amazing feeling!! I think what helped me get to that point was planning out my meals and snacks consistently using MFP for the past couple of weeks. I have worked hard to be realistic about eating enough to satisfy me and not feel guilty about my choices. Taking the power away from food by planning my entire day of eating the night before is what I think made the biggest impact on my tendency to emotionally eat to soothe myself.
I wish you luck on figuring out what works for you!0 -
if it's not in the house - how you gonna eat it
We have snacks here at work:frown:
I never eat the snacks here usually, but I sure do when I'm emotional.0 -
I havent found the "CURE ALL" for this but, i have learned to control myself. I ask myself when something happens, "Do I REALLY want [said sugary item]...after all I have put forward in my progress!?!?" or "Is that REALLY going to help me feel better?" Or, if it is really bad and I need SOMETHING, I jsut ask myself if I have enough "room" in my diary for a little something.
I do NOT keep anything in the house that I cant control myself with so that helps! And, to keep from jumping into a store to buy things, I have to ask myself if it is really worth it or...since $$ is tight, I ask myself what I could buy my daughter with that $2.00 instead of this.
When all else fails, drop and give yourself 20 crunches or pushups or go for a walk...SOMETHING to get your mind off of it!
GOOD LUCK!!!
That is a great idea. I never thought to just do some little workout. Thank you.0 -
write down how you feel right now and leave it with the chocolate. next time you go to emotionally eat, it will make you think twice. get out the house and do something... anything! you more you do this, it'll become habit, and one day you won't need the reminder. worked for me, hope it helps you
Awesome idea! I will definitely try this.0 -
I have always been an emotional eater. But lately I just....haven't. I have a friend I can vent to whenever I need to, and his advice is always to "run it out". So, I hit the gym instead of the donut shop.
If I were home right now, I would definitely do this too!0 -
I have a terrible time with emotional eating as well. I ate three pieces of pizza on Sunday because I was so upset and then didn't eat anything else all day. It was so bad!
That was a huge slipup for me, but I have been doing much better with my emotional eating! I keep rice cakes on hand, the white cheddar cheese kind. They are so dry that it takes forever for me to chew and eat them and it helps me not want more food. Probably not the best thing for me to go for when I'm upset, but I'm still working on putting that energy towards my gym time!
Keep up the amazing work!0 -
Change the habit. Lean people deal with upsetting things too, but have a different habit of dealing with them. Myself, if I feel upset, I usually do physical activity of any type even including walking for a few minutes.Hey there!
I am having serious issues with emotionally eating. Every time something happens that is upsetting, I always go for junk food! Just got some crappy news and went straight for chocolate :sad:
I was hoping someone would have some advice on how they STOPPED emotionally eating! I am willing to try almost anything to stop doing this.
Thank you:flowerforyou:
Frankie
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I was a huge emotional eater. In the house or not, I would gorge on junk when upset, bored, angry, sad, lonely, whatever.
Then I started leangains and an unexpected side benefit of learning that I can pull off monster workouts before breakfast and sticking to an 8 hour eating window was the complete cessation of emotional eating.0 -
The times I have had success in avoiding emotional eating is when I am BUSY with something else. I am a medic, so there is no shortage of books to study or I just head down to the dissection lab and do some cutting, as morbid as that sounds. Either that or exercise. How about counting and breathing strategies, going for a walk, talking to a friend, sewing, or even video games instead of eating? Try to find a strategy for you
However, I do believe there are some times where you're JUST GOING TO EAT. It's at these times that you have to learn to do damage control.
Instead of the eat everything in sight vs trying to eat nothing, I set up a different dichotomy in my mind; one that says eat a whole load of crap VS choose something that will satisfy my urge to eat with minimal calories. It's about picking the lesser of two evils and trying to reduce the damage to your figure that you may incur!
I know that we can't be perfect all the time, but it helps to have choices like air-popped popcorn, veggies and hummus, fruit, herbal teas, grilled chicken, rice cakes, kale chips etc. Popcorn is my favourite. Figure out what sensation you're craving (salty, sweet, crunchy, smooth) and try to pick a better option if you're desperate.
Of course the preferable option in times of high emotion is to find another activity other than eating, but if you do succumb, try to make a good choice. And keep the really bad stuff out of your house, it'll just make it that much easier.
P.S. I hear intermittent fasting also works for a lot of people, in that they have a set window to eat and can't eat at other times. I'm not an expert on this so I wouldn't be able to expand more, but you may like to research it.
Best of luck!!
AnDiallo0 -
Make yourself do five push ups instead.
Then you wont want to eat for no reason...0 -
I was a huge emotional eater. In the house or not, I would gorge on junk when upset, bored, angry, sad, lonely, whatever.
Then I started leangains and an unexpected side benefit of learning that I can pull off monster workouts before breakfast and sticking to an 8 hour eating window was the complete cessation of emotional eating.
I've been doing intermittent fasting and it has worked great for me. I haven't looked into Leangains (looking it up now). I'm hoping the more I do it, the better I'll become. I really haven't even been hungry until I know it's time to eat. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing it long enough for it to stop my emotional eating yet :frown: Here's hoping though! Thanks.0 -
Make yourself do five push ups instead.
Then you wont want to eat for no reason...
Awesome idea! This I Can do at work! Totally doing this.0 -
Make yourself do five push ups instead.
Then you wont want to eat for no reason...
Awesome idea! This I Can do at work! Totally doing this.
Yep. Or drink. Or run. I hear some drugs are low cal too.
I like exercise.0 -
This has been a problem for me for a very long time and it has gotten better with both intense exercise sessions and time. I also try to see how long it will take me to burn off a certain junk food before I eat it.....like "if I eat this donut which I will enjoy for about 90 seconds it will take me 40 minutes of circuit to burn it off. Is it worth it and will it get me to my goal?" It does not look as appealing after I see how much work I have to put in to make up for the junk.
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/burncalc.html
Hope this helps and it will get better with time.0 -
The times I have had success in avoiding emotional eating is when I am BUSY with something else. I am a medic, so there is no shortage of books to study or I just head down to the dissection lab and do some cutting, as morbid as that sounds. Either that or exercise. How about counting and breathing strategies, going for a walk, talking to a friend, sewing, or even video games instead of eating? Try to find a strategy for you
However, I do believe there are some times where you're JUST GOING TO EAT. It's at these times that you have to learn to do damage control.
Instead of the eat everything in sight vs trying to eat nothing, I set up a different dichotomy in my mind; one that says eat a whole load of crap VS choose something that will satisfy my urge to eat with minimal calories. It's about picking the lesser of two evils and trying to reduce the damage to your figure that you may incur!
I know that we can't be perfect all the time, but it helps to have choices like air-popped popcorn, veggies and hummus, fruit, herbal teas, grilled chicken, rice cakes, kale chips etc. Popcorn is my favourite. Figure out what sensation you're craving (salty, sweet, crunchy, smooth) and try to pick a better option if you're desperate.
Of course the preferable option in times of high emotion is to find another activity other than eating, but if you do succumb, try to make a good choice. And keep the really bad stuff out of your house, it'll just make it that much easier.
P.S. I hear intermittent fasting also works for a lot of people, in that they have a set window to eat and can't eat at other times. I'm not an expert on this so I wouldn't be able to expand more, but you may like to research it.
Best of luck!!
AnDiallo
Thanks!0 -
This has been a problem for me for a very long time and it has gotten better with both intense exercise sessions and time. I also try to see how long it will take me to burn off a certain junk food before I eat it.....like "if I eat this donut which I will enjoy for about 90 seconds it will take me 40 minutes of circuit to burn it off. Is it worth it and will it get me to my goal?" It does not look as appealing after I see how much work I have to put in to make up for the junk.
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/burncalc.html
Hope this helps and it will get better with time.
Cool calculator! Thanks!0 -
For me, step 1 was believing that I could do it if I had the right tools. Step 2, declaration that I no longer eat my emotions, period. Step 3, determine when I am feeling the need to eat due to emotions. Step 4, determine tools to deal with each type of emotional eating. Is some kind of action necessary or can I just sit with the uncomfortable feeling for a moment, recognize it and let it pass? Step 5, Take action if necessary. If the emotion has any angry components to it, exercise or some kind of physical activity helps tremendously. If it is sadness, acknowledging it with kindness for a moment, then doing something else. If it is frustration with someone who seems incapable of rational discussion (child or boss or external events), then physical activity and distraction help.
There needs to be a stopper between the feeling and action, a pause so that whatever the old habit was, it does not happen and leave you with a candy bar wrapper in your hand and a what the heck just happened sort of feeling. Logging food before you eat it can help provide that moment to get it back together. Splashing water on the face, getting a drink of water, watering the plants, taking a shower (obviously, for me water helps!), a short walk to anywhere, getting to the gym if possible, sitting outside in the sunlight for a minute.
There is a tiny window in there where you make your decision, and sometimes it is hours or even days before you do it (like when I would have a bad day and eat fast food at night, when I finally pinpointed the decision spot, it was actually in the morning...so for a while I needed to be very careful to make sure I had a dinner planned/in the crockpot/whatever first thing in the morning). If a trigger happens again and again you can plan in advance what you will do that is not eating.
My most recent challenge on that front was visiting in-laws, and a step-in-law treating me just horridly. No way in hades was I going to let my resolution fail because of that witch. I first attempted physical activity and distraction, which she blocked, and eventually she got to hear just the slightest bit of what she had coming (which in the past I would have stuffed in and eaten up). Obviously in the future I will press much harder to get the physical activity and distraction, because she falls in the category of frustrating/incapable of reasonable discussion so confrontation is useless, but even when pushed I DID NOT EAT my emotions, not then, not later, not ever!0 -
if it's not in the house - how you gonna eat it
you will go to the store and get it - - that's what I do anyway.......and that's why i'm IN this predicament.0 -
I still have not done real great at beating this problem. After my divorce, I was seeing a therapist. She wanted me to keep a "food journal" and journal my thoughts as I began the emotional eating and I quit going to her when she wanted that, along with just not being able to afford $100/session. I am sure her idea of a food journal was actually pretty good and I probably should give it a try. Best of luck to you as I know the struggle!!!0
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Okay full disclosure here considering I just inhaled three Timbits I may not be qualified to give you advice or maybe it makes me more qualified. It's an ongoing battle but you have to remind yourself that it won't make you feel better (in most cases you'll actually feel worse.) The food won't solve your problem and it probably won't make you feel better. Go for a walk instead. It actually WILL make you feel better because it will release good healthy endorphins. The best legal drug.
I watched my mom emotionally eat all through my childhood and that's where I got it from. I still see her do it now and being on the other side looking in it's sad to watch.0 -
I did hypnotherapy - has taken me about 6 sessions but I feel like a new person and I have really moved past attaching any kind of emotion to food.0
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Emotional overeating has always been my downfall, but I seem to have a grip on it this time around. I think it's that my approach has been different this time. I tell myself that if I stay under goal for six days, I'm free to have a higher-calorie day with junk food or pizza or whatever. It's like a contract I've signed with myself, and it has sort of taken overeating off the table for me. I've also come to learn that overeating does absolutely no good. It feels good for, literally, the few minutes you're eating. Then, you have to live with the consequences -- on top of being sad, depressed or upset over what was troubling you to begin with. I'm trying to be better to myself, and I don't want to put myself through that.0
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I still have to fight it...it's determination. I force myself to work out when I'm stressed, even going for a walk, just so i don't binge0
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When I started eating healthier, I had a few cravings for bad foods. I also had times where I'd be upset about something and want to eat all the things. I started writing down things I *really* wanted to eat on a list that I promised myself I would eat on a designated cheat day if I really really really still felt like eating it then. Five minutes later when the nagging thought of shoving an entire bag of Reese's cups entered my mind again, instead of saying "NO!", I told myself "Not right now, but you can on Saturday!" I know that I tend to want things even more if I'm told that I can't have them. This way I'm not saying no.. I'm just postponing the treat.
When my cheat day rolls around, I'm pretty indifferent to the items on the list. The initial want to shovel the bad stuff in my mouth is long past and I won.0 -
I have always been an emotional eater too. The only thing that is keeping me from it lately is I just totally set my mind to being healthier a few weeks ago. I'll still eat things that aren't the healthiest but I make a point to stay at least close to my calories. If I've got the munchies but don't want to waste the calories I eat pickles or something like that.
Sorry, I know it's not really a secret to beating it, but just set your mind to it. Be stubborn about it. When you see the cookies or donuts, say no. Think of how long you have to be on the treadmill or elliptical to burn them off.0
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