Success in Not Emotionally Eating?!?!?

professorRAT

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

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.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree. I tend to mindlessly eat when I am bored. So, I try not to get bored Seriously, though, keeping busy and finding something to do (with mind and/or body) goes a long way! Create new habits that are beneficial.

CADreaming09

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!

Thank you!

CADreaming09

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.

Yes, I plan to go for a walk with my dogs when I get home today!

CADreaming09

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.

How much per session? And was it solely for emotional eating?

CADreaming09

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.

Yes, I need a cheat day! I think I'm going to try this too!

CADreaming09

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.

Definitely doing a cheat day.

CADreaming09

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

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.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree. I tend to mindlessly eat when I am bored. So, I try not to get bored Seriously, though, keeping busy and finding something to do (with mind and/or body) goes a long way! Create new habits that are beneficial.

Will do! Thanks!

EmmaKarney

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.

How much per session? And was it solely for emotional eating?

It was £55 per session - it started out for emotional eating but as I went further into the root causes for my eating it unravelled some other issues relating to stress and anxiety etc...

MelsAuntie

These are all good suggestions. My problem was the opposite; when stressed ( and my job was VERY stressful), exhausted, and disheartened, I would just go crash without eating anything. Didn't even want to think about, let alone look at. food. The very idea made me nauseous. Then of course I felt fatigued, weak, and with no energy. Many times It was all I could do to drag myself out of bed the next day, and my job would be that much harder..

JenSD6

I definitely find that going for a walk is what helps me when stress at work gets the better of me. I stomp around the block until I burn it out of my system. And then getting home to a dog who thinks the best thing in the world is that you came home and he's so so so happy... it's hard to stay stressed.