Emotional Eater Over Here!

Oh me too! I drink a lot of water when I get stressed so I a) don't eat too much b) don't smoke a cigarette!! x

I used to be (and sometimes still am) and emotional eater. Just a few ideas for you that have worked for me.

1. Have you tried Crystal Light or Mio for flavored water - they are low in calories and you're still getting your water intake
2. I log everything I plan to eat for the entire day first thing in the morning - that way I know how much I can "splurge" or not in order to stay within my daily limits. And when you "splurge" make it healthy like someone in an earlier post said.
3. Exercise - walking is great. I just started a C25K workout and love it.

Perhaps you gained weight from going to the gym because you were building muscle? Did you take your measurements when you started this journey? If not, I would recommend doing that, measurements are a great tracking tool especially on the weeks there isn't any movement on the scale!

I am 56 years old this month. I've been an emotional eater and sugar addict my entire life. I only learned when I was turning 50 that if I truly did eliminate all sugar, white flour, and refined grain products from my daily diet that I could once and for all stop my cravings. That is the only thing that allowed me to get some sanity in my life. Emotional eating is so easy to do. I've spent my life standing in front of cupboards just shoving the closest box of whatever into my mouth. It wasn't a happy food life and is horrible for self esteem. Honestly if you can try to eliminate those things from your daily diet you may find that there is more to life than food. You will be able to live in harmony with food, like "normal" people do. That was my goal to find the secret and this really works for me. I got up to 205 pounds and a size 16. Currently I am 138 and a size 4. First time ever. Never below a size 12 in my adult life. It is possible. You must do the hard work. If it were easy, everyone would be thin. Best of luck to you.

Hi,

I seem to eat for every reason other than that I'm hungry ... and I've come to realise in the last couple of weeks that I eat without concentrating on what I'm doing. I can go through a packet of biscuits, crisps or even my dinner look down and suddenly it's all gone!

Looks like we're not alone.

A friend of mine bought me the Paul McKenna book "I can make you slim" and I'm hoping it will help me to break some of my old eating habits and create some new healthy ones....

x

I think there's probably lots of us on here and I also think that it's good you're being honest about the weight you've put on etc. For a while now I've been telling (white) lies about what I've actually been eating and my weight, and actually think I've convinced myself until now when I've finally had enough!! So being honest with yourself is one good step...without sounding cheesy!

I've just started this attempt at being healthy, have started back at the gym, started buying fruit and veg again. I also know that I won't only be eating fruit and veg and will have my off days but as long as I draw a line under that then 5 days out of 7 at least I might have done a good job at sticking to the calories! I don't particularly love water but I usually have it really chilled and find that I crave more of it and that fills me up, especially with ice in it. Add a little diluting juice if you don't like it.

Other than that, replace the things that you have to snack on if you end up wanting a splurge, weight watchers chocolate mini rolls or jaffa rolls will sort out a sweet or chocolate craving and aren't as bad as having a snickers..if you know what I mean! Also if you feel yourself getting to that point, try fruits like clementines which are really sweet and if you get in there with a couple of those early, sometimes it takes away any thoughts about eating a lot of rubbish - I find anyway! My major downfall is crisps but I've found if I have a pack of velvet crunch crisps or low calorie ones it's actually the same and not as bad, but the main thing is how motivated and how much will power you have!

I've basically just written a book there and probably isn't much help but like I said, I've just started and found that those wee things sort me out so far. If you fancy a friend on here, feel free to add me! I'll leave you a comment when you're not completing that food diary and all that

I am an emotional eater as well, like today for example. I have had a bad day and the first thing I want to do is run and get a Reeses blizzard from Dairy Queen, but I had to push through it and I made myself guiltless banana "ice cream" with frozen berries. I do have a new system now since I have such a sweet tooth and that is that I allow myself 1 or 2 hersheys kisses ONLY so I can have my chocolate fix and its only an every other day sort of thing if it is needed.

I have been counting calories and exercising for a year and 4 months and while it has worked so far, emotional eating is still something I struggle with. The only thing I can recommend is not have bad food in the house. That is easier for me, a single person, than someone with a husband/wife or kids. I know that if there is bad stuff in the house and I get sad, I will eat it. I try really hard to take a few minutes every time I feel hungry and ask myself why I am feeling that way. If the answer has to do with something emotional, I try to do something other than eat. Being aware of it is one step towards being in control of it.

I have to remember that if I am so down about something that I want to stuff my face, not eating might solve the symptoms but not the root cause. I think it's important to try to do things to make yourself happy that aren't eating...reading, walking, taking a bath, watching a favorite show, writing, calling a friend, taking a nap!, working out, daydreaming, etc etc. I am trying to retrain my brain and remind myself that food should not be a comfort.

Long long post, my point is, I feel you. I still slip up. I just slip up less than I used to and I really enjoy working out now, after conditioning myself to like it. We can overcome this!

hey there,

I am right with you on the emotional eating. it can go either way for me, either I lose my need for food all together and go days without hardly anything (and therefore have no energy to DO anything either, body goes into starvation mode = stores fat ect) OR. I will 'binge' eat.

the last time i was feeling low, I ate a pizza, a portion of chips, half a chocolate bar and a bottle of fizzy wine all to myself, in like, one sitting. That is pretty bad for me.

I'm with everyone else on saying walking helps. if you feel bad, put some music on your player that inspires you or takes you back to a happy time in your life, or a time when you felt strong, and go for a nice walk.

you could have a soapy bubble bath, or do a hobby that you enjoy, I like art and I like writing so I'm trying to do those on my bad days, instead of the binge thing, which obviously makes me feel 100 times worse afterwards!!!.

good luck on your journey. feel free to add me for support. x

I am 56 years old this month. I've been an emotional eater and sugar addict my entire life. I only learned when I was turning 50 that if I truly did eliminate all sugar, white flour, and refined grain products from my daily diet that I could once and for all stop my cravings. That is the only thing that allowed me to get some sanity in my life. Emotional eating is so easy to do. I've spent my life standing in front of cupboards just shoving the closest box of whatever into my mouth. It wasn't a happy food life and is horrible for self esteem. Honestly if you can try to eliminate those things from your daily diet you may find that there is more to life than food. You will be able to live in harmony with food, like "normal" people do. That was my goal to find the secret and this really works for me. I got up to 205 pounds and a size 16. Currently I am 138 and a size 4. First time ever. Never below a size 12 in my adult life. It is possible. You must do the hard work. If it were easy, everyone would be thin. Best of luck to you.

Wow. I just eliminated the same things from my diet 2 weeks ago. I feel wonderful, but I still get horrible cravings at night. Do you have any suggestions for that? How long did it take you to lose that much weight?

You start by telling yourself "no". Or figure out your food so you have something saved for night time that is healthy and you like. Mine is a latte or "milkshake". I think it took me 8- 9 months to lose the first 53. I am a slow loser and over time it averaged about 1.1 pound a week. I took a break and gained 20 back, etc. It is more of a mind game now. I kind of outlined my recent sugar struggles in a blog today: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/susanswan Check it out if you like. I've been at it for 6 years trying to learn to live in harmony with food. I still have work to do.