Emotional Eater

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redrosepink09
redrosepink09 Posts: 44
in Motivation and Support
Is anybody else out there an emotional eater? I have had exams this week and have more next week and the stress is getting to me! Also I suffer from depression/anxiety. And when I get depressed or anxious.. all I want to do is eat :O And when I binge.. I binge very badly, I'm so ashamed. This has been slowing down my weightloss big time! Any advice? Or does anyone else have this problem?
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  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    I used to have this problem, then I realised going for a long run would improve my mood far more than eating would.
    Try exercising when you get a craving due to being stressed and see how much better you feel!
    Also, drink one or two big glasses of water before you snack to see if you are genuinely hungry.
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
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    Right here. Emotional eating is what got me here in the first place. I went through hell my first semester of college, and was surrounded by lots of restaurants and unhealthy food that was on my meal plan (how convenient!). I find that now, since I've been eating a lot healthier, it hasn't happened since. I've also been a lot happier ever since I left my first college, but even times when I'm mad or something I don't really get the urge to binge. It kind of just stopped itself.
  • hdkerr
    hdkerr Posts: 145 Member
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    Binge Eating Support Group would help you a lot. Join it here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/726-binge-eating-support-group
  • susieoj
    susieoj Posts: 181
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    I'm not an emotional eater, but I sympathize because I'm a terrible bored and tired eater... I do great all day and then from 6or 7pm onward I just want to snack on everything in sight and if I allow myself one thing...it spirals into two and three and four things and then I give up and just say, ugh screw it, I'll eat half that loaf of bread lol.... And I'm totally gaining weight lately (the past two weeks) due to my night time binging, I have to find a way to motivate myself from 6pm on every night to stay away from all the food in my house lol - I beat myself up about it too, we all do that I think, but I keep telling myself to focus on how good it will feel to make progress, progress itself really gets me motivated so I know if I get back on track for a few days ill feel ten times better and it'll be easier to stick to it
  • redrosepink09
    redrosepink09 Posts: 44
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    thank you!
  • redrosepink09
    redrosepink09 Posts: 44
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    thanks for your message it gives me hope :):flowerforyou:
  • salladeve
    salladeve Posts: 1,053 Member
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    Over the last few years as things got worse with my aging parents I found that I was stress eating, especially when spending days/weeks in hospital waiting rooms. I'm really trying to find other ways to cope with the stress, but it is really difficult so I know how you feel. When I find myself stuck in hospitals, so much time is just spent waiting, I now take a go bag with me. I have stocked it with healthy snacks, my Kindle, a DS, power cords and walking shoes. Hopefully this will help. The only advice I can give you is to try to plan ahead, knowing how you cope with stress may help you plan on how to avoid it.
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
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    I medicate with sugar :grumble: Working on it.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    Yep. I find planning my meals and seeing a therapist to help me work through my depression and anxiety help immensely. Also, the healthier I eat, the less satisfied I am when I emotionally eat junk. (And I don't think I've ever binged on kale...) Good luck! It's hard, I know.
  • Callmecookie88
    Callmecookie88 Posts: 16 Member
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    Yeah, me too. Its hard to resist too! I just ask myself... Am I really hungry or just feeling blue? Have I had enough to eat today already? Is food right now going to make it harder for me to stick to my diet later?
  • tndejong
    tndejong Posts: 463
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    i can totally relate! i found myself doing it last week. i was working long hours and had a bad cold. so i would come home from work and just relax on the couch. my fiance has been on a total fitness kick and has been leaving me home at night to go play softball or bike. he has been spending a lot of time at the gym too. i want to see him have fun. but then i get lonely and wish he was home taking care of me. so i would want to eat cause of that and the fact that he was not here to watch me made it easier to binge eat and he would not know. if im busy and not alone, i tend not to eat as much.
  • Lind140
    Lind140 Posts: 140 Member
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    Sent you an invitation to join with others with this problem.
    Good Luck! You are not alone.
  • eileenm777
    eileenm777 Posts: 31 Member
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    A quick way way to assess if your really hungry: ask yourself, 'Will an apple do?'
    If the answer is 'yes' you are probably hungry, so get an apple. If the answer is no', you are probably emotionally hungry. Get a glass of water or herbal tea. Or try taking a 5 minute breathing break.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
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    I got to be my fattest shortly after my younger brother died, I definitely did a lot of "comfort eating" around that time. Eating definitely CAN be a way to relieve stress, however now I find lifting to be a much better method.

    This might sound kind of weird but there IS a difference between actually being hungry, and craving something. When I think back I spent a lot of time eating when I wasn't actually hungry.
  • 09NewMe12
    09NewMe12 Posts: 18
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    I am ready to be your cheer leader, and could use a bit of 'you go girl'; myself.
    Are you ready to do this process together...add me
    cheers~ Nat :)
  • Needachange84
    Needachange84 Posts: 310 Member
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    I'm totally an emotional eater :( It is what go me to where I am sadly. I also have issues with depression so that just adds to it :/ lately though I have been finding that the more I workout the better I feel and the less I eat because I don't feel like I have to eat all the time. I would love to join the support group on this! Hope things get better for you soon!
  • Scarlett_Belle
    Scarlett_Belle Posts: 145 Member
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    Yep. Best advice I ever got? Find a new crutch, and healthy one and then soon as you get the urge to eat go do it instead and pretty soon your knee jerk reaction to nerves and depression will be your new healthy response.
  • Pifflesmom
    Pifflesmom Posts: 134 Member
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    For a lot of us, emotional eating is what got us here in the first place. I was on MFP last year and lost almost 30 lbs, but didn't address my 'eating issues' and gained it all back. Well, a year of therapy and more understanding (and more tools to cope) - I'm hoping that I can be in this for the long run.

    Don't beat yourself up - it's a lifelong habit and it's not going to break itself overnight. Try and understand what you're really feeling when you eat - is it habit? Are you sad? mad? happy? Realize this as well - food is used as a way to celebrate and commiserate...are you happy? Great! Let's eat! are you upset? Aw, let's eat! It's ingrained into our psyche and it takes a lot of work to break the cycle.

    Good luck to you :-)
  • lee91356
    lee91356 Posts: 330 Member
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    Yes, thats why I'm here. Even in my binge modes I log what I eat and cant ignore it, its about accountability. Its really hard and I too am working on trying to stop it, as the last month my eating has been REALLY bad due to stress and I have 3 more months of it left. :sad:
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Like many others I got where I am from emotional eating and I used depression and anxiety as an excuse. After a lot of therapy and a new tool belt full of better coping skills and finding a new vice I am better but by no means perfect. But now I acknowledge that I am eating emotionally and that's half the battle. And I log it and make notes as to what is going on so I can be better aware the next time. By keeping a log I learned how to identify my triggers so I could use relaxation techniques before and after.

    Something else that's really helping me in addition to my new vice, exercise, is eating many times throughout the day then when I get stressed I don't automatically think of food because I'm always full.

    Good luck, this is not an easy battle but you can defeat emotional eating.

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