Emotional/Stress Eating

I don't think you ever get over this type of eating. I know I haven't. It has become more manageable. Many times I go for a walk, drink a hot drink slowly and sometimes actually prayed for strength. Read a good book. Sometimes just totaling up my calories gives me pause. Do you have a good trustworthy friend just to talk to? Find something to do to at least put the desire on hold. I ope some of this helps.

The want/need to stress eat will probably never go away, but there are several things you can do to help. Eat healthy foods if you just have to eat. Try chewing gum. Get out of the house (this one works best for me); better yet, go to the gym or exercise while you are out of the house, talk to someone on the phone, brush your teeth- food doesn't taste very good after brushing, take up a hobby that takes both hands- needlework comes to mind. These are all changes you can make outwardly. Inwardly, you can work on not getting so stressed over situations. This is a longer term fix and truthfully, a tougher one, but if you can be successful, it will be wonderful! And easy beginning is to think about whatever is stressing you and ask yourself, "Will this matter in one year?" If it won't, then there is no reason to sweat it. It can take a while to be able to stop and think through it, but this can also be helpful.

I just spent last 2 hours reading a book called "The Life You Want" by Bob Green (yes, Oprah's guy, hopefully that won't turn you off because the advice and strategies given are not brand new, but are all about dealing with the reasons you turn to food for comfort in the first place, not just the fact that you need/want to lose weight). it cost me $5.99 in a used book store and so far I can't disagree with any of the information given. That said, in the moment you need to get through it so I agree getting out of the house, or distracting yourself with something else, is probably best for now. But long, term dealing with what triggers your stress is also something you should consider dealing with, because it can get better if you understand it. Most of all, don't beat yourself up further if you slip up a little.

I definitely struggle with this as well! That's how I gained all my weight back after losing it before. I'm working on figuring out strategies that work for me to get through the urges to smother my feelings with food so I can get the weight off and keep it off! A couple things that have helped me: only keep healthy food in the house because I know I can't just have a small portion of chips or cookies and when I'm stressed/emotional you better believe I'm going to eat that whole package. If I only have apples and carrots and brown rice and chicken and other healthy options to eat in my kitchen, I'm going to at least be eating healthy if I'm eating emotionally! And since I don't have the foods my emotions are craving, I do other things, like text or call a friend (my best friend also struggles with this so we will reach out to each other when tempted and that helps a lot), I will log on to MFP and see all the encouragement and progress and can ask my MFP friends to show a little support, I will go do something distracting, like the others have said. I also am someone who plans one cheat meal a week so I will think to myself, "If I do this now, I will be giving up X meal I planned for Saturday--is it really worth it?"

And remember: this is a learning process and sometimes we will slip up; just don't let yourself give up when you slip up! Just keep going! I try now to be more in touch with my emotions after a stress eating binge and ask myself, "How do I feel after eating all that?" Then I try to remember next time that it only made me feel worse in the end. Good luck! I commend you for reaching out for help!