Emotional Eating - How do you get over this hurdle...anyone!

starsnyc21
starsnyc21 Posts: 436 Member
edited September 21 in Motivation and Support
Hi, I am new to the website. However I am not new to trying to lose weight. I have being doing good for a week now and I always find that I get off track when I have a stressful day. Anyone have any tips for overcoming emotional eating. I would probably be thin by now if I could just get past this hurdle.

Replies

  • Cheilsea
    Cheilsea Posts: 84 Member
    I'm the same way at times. It is definitely a big hurdle and really takes a while to train yourself to think differently. When I get upset about something I either feel so sick I can't eat or I eat everything in sight. If I feel like eating, I have to redirect myself to do something else. Sometimes I try to read my Bible or a good book, go for a walk (fresh air helps a lot), scrapbook or some kind of crafty thing to keep your hands and mind busy and if you feel like you NEED something in your mouth try drinking water or another liquid of some kind. Fruit smoothies are good too.

    It's a hard habit to break but you can definitely do it! Best of luck to you!!
  • taulbeesd
    taulbeesd Posts: 5 Member
    Here's a really good article on emotional eating that offers some good insight and solutions:
    http://www.solutionsweigh.com/stop_binge_eating.htm

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  • VegGrrl
    VegGrrl Posts: 336 Member
    I feel your frustration!! I have the same exact problem. Just tracking my food on here has helped a little - at least now I THINK about what I eat before I have a big ol' binge! But I still binge. There are some really good ideas from other people on here. I am trying something new this winter - a cup of tea (green or another type that's good for me) instead of snacking when stressed/bored/sad etc. At least it will occupy my hands and mouth. And I also tivo'd all the episodes of one of my favorite tv shows, so I can watch that while I drink my tea! We'll see how that works. I hope you find something that works for you.
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
    emotional eating is my weakness. i've found its a very hard pattern to kick, and while when i feel like shoving the whole fridge in my face, i used to go for cake and ice cream or down an entire bag of fritos in one sitting, i've trained myself to have two small pieces of dark chocolate and some green tea. if i REALLY just need to munch on something to get the stress out. i try and go for something low cal, like celery (no cal! you burn those few calories by chewing it!) or a lower cal fruit. also. shut yourself away from temptations, i go up on my porch where there isnt any chocolate (my room) and no other foods either (the kitchen). good luck and i hope this helps you.
  • MTDork87
    MTDork87 Posts: 205
    Oy, I feel ya.

    I read somewhere that cravings linked with emotions don't last much longer than 15 minutes. The article suggested calling a friend, taking a walk, drawing, even just sitting and watching something good on TV when you feel a stress-related craving coming on. In theory, if you can distract yourself until you get over the craving threshold then you can get past it. I don't know what the science is behind it (if any) but I have found distraction works for me like it works for a five year old. They fall and bump their knee, show em a cool card trick and they forget all about it. You are stressed and want to eat, call your mom - you know she wants to hear from you anyway.

    Worth a try?
  • andreahanlon
    andreahanlon Posts: 263 Member
    I've also have had bouts with emotional eating throughout my life. I do several things and have noticed a big change over the past year.

    First, I don't keep my favorite things to binge on in the house. If I have a stressful day and there is a half-gallon of ice cream in the freezer, it's possible that I could eat the entire half-gallon -- therefore, I simply don't keep it in the house. if I want ice cream, I can go out and buy one serving instead of having the entire half-gallon on hand.

    Second, I work with people who are trying to quit smoking and through that I learned that overcoming urges involves having a plan. When you are stressed, what else could you do besides eat? You call a friend, take a walk, light a candle, take a bath/shower..... have a "go-to action" that you can do without thinking. Try to be realistic about the situation and about possible solutions. Make a list for everything that sets you off... meaning you may need to think of different solutions for anger-eating than for boredom-eating.

    I also try to identify and avoid my trigger situations as much as possible.
  • starsnyc21
    starsnyc21 Posts: 436 Member
    Thank you all, some great suggestions. Key words is I need a distraction until I can get past the emotions or craving. :)
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    One of my biggest hurdles (and one that I still deal with) is emotional eating. Here are some tips that I've gathered along the way (from therapy, etc...)

    Start journaling. Any old notebook will do. When you have the urge to eat, sit down and write three pages. Just write. Don't worry about what you're writing, just fill the three pages. Write a to do list, write how you feel, write whatever comes into mind. You will be amazed at what you get in touch with this way. Often, emotional eaters eat to deaden negative feelings, or feelings that they don't feel comfortable expressing. Sample quote from my therapist: "if you have the urge to binge, you're stressed out about something, even if it's buried under the surface."

    Start doing things that soothe you that are not eating. Here are some that work for me: hot bubble baths, curling up on the sofa with a trashy magazine, painting my nails (bonus...you can't eat while your nail polish is drying) a long, slow walk in the sunshine, giving myself a mud mask...I'm sure you can think of stuff. Anything that relaxes you or "takes you away" for a little while will do the trick.

    Start paying attention to what you're eating during the day. I used to get an urge to binge at night that was crazily uncontrollable. I started paying attention to what I was eating during the day...and it wasn't enough. I was binging because I was actually hungry!

    Notice when you're most likely to binge (for me it used to be early evening) and put your workout smack in the middle of that time. This was very, very useful to me. I still will take a short workout (often even if I've already had my morning workout) after a stressful day, as it helps the decompression factor.

    Don't get discouraged! It takes a LONG time to get a handle on this. I still have the urge to soothe myself with food when things get too crazy. Another sample quote from an emotional eating specialist: "when you want to binge, there was something you should have said "no" to...it's an alarm that you're overwhelmed."

    One more quote (i love this one...) "When you try to solve a problem with food, you not only don't solve the first problem, you create another one."

    HTH.:flowerforyou:
  • kappyblu
    kappyblu Posts: 654 Member
    I feel your pain! This is something that is difficult for me as well. I agree with the others. Drink water, eat something healthy. Try an apple, or even chewing a stick of gum could help. I really like the Extra spearmint flavor. Try to distract yourself into doing something else. I remember that emotional eating is part of why I am here! The first step is recognizing the trigger. Let me tell you a quick story:

    Last December my kids and I and my mother and ex-stepfather took our traditional yearly excursion into Kansas City to Crown Center. (a glorious shopping mall that is THE place to be at Christmas time.) I had bought a bag full of jellybelly jellybeans at the candy store there. When we were leaving the parking garage, my mother's car was in front of us. Then their car stopped (they were arguing AGAIN) and they got out and switched places. Ugh. What did I do? I reached for the rest of the jellybellies. There were still a lot left. I just started downing them. I couldn't eat them fast enough. That's when I recognized the trigger. They had been doing that since I was a little kid. I hate stressful situations. My answer was always to eat. I realized what I was doing because of what I just witnessed. I thought, OMG. That's it! Call it an epiphany or whatever you want, that was the beginning of my realizing I had to change. Of course it was 8 months later that I finally became ready for the lifestyle change, but that was a major jolt to me.

    Hope this helped. Good luck to you!!!! Hang in there!

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  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
    Here's a really good article on emotional eating that offers some good insight and solutions:
    http://www.solutionsweigh.com/stop_binge_eating.htm

    great article, taulbeesd! thanks for sharing!
  • jbootman
    jbootman Posts: 145 Member
    The End of Overeating by David Kessler, the brain science behind overeating indicates that the same neurons are triggered as in the opioid cycle, the feel good endorphin producers=fat,sugar and salt are at work here,

    this is a wretched struggle, for now find your best low calorie fiber rich solutions a GO GET THE BOOK AT THE LIBRARY

    longer answer is that you need to approach this as worse than heroin addiction, what addict would be cursed to use just 'a little' every day? or face 24 hour media touting the joys of the substance, what addict could endure every celebration and holiday with family and friends shooting up all around,

    what addict could face having to purchase low dosages at 'smack stores-grocery-that carry only the worst most potent stuff,

    I would say we are doomed but there are those on this site and others who have kicked the calorie habit,

    but do not kid yourself THIS IS WAR

    make a list of all the distractors you can find: a walk, brushing your teeth, bubble bath, telephoning a friend.....etc, print it up in giant font and tape it to the frig and all your food cupboards,

    hang in there, have a glass of zero cal beverage and take a deep breath
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    bump
  • stacy2677
    stacy2677 Posts: 4
    I dont eat when stressed but doing weight watchers before finding this site i found a lot of foods that are good for you that dont "count". Veggies. cuccumbers are good to snack on. I know when we are having a dinner that is high in calories (300-400) we cut up cucs and green peppers and snack on those. Just a thought.
  • Sauchie
    Sauchie Posts: 357 Member
    I use to do the exact thing.... Now when I get stressed I work out do a walk or a nice hot shower, Little rewards, that make me feel better.
  • chelekaz
    chelekaz Posts: 847 Member
    I am going through a tough time right now where, in the past, I would not be eating due to stress and then binge at night after the kids went to bed. The last two days I have actually set the alarm on my cell to remind me to eat... sound silly but it worked. Last night after the kids went to bed I sat down and had myself a good cry.... the next step used to be chips/dip, chocolate, ANYTHING. I will not lie that as I walked up to my pantry I had to struggle. In the end I choose my popcorn and a bottle of water. I am also making sure that i keep busy to keep the edginess off... cleaning, walking, playing with my boys.

    What I also have started doing is keeping grapes and blueberries on hand. They are great for the little pick me up and are SO refreshing.
  • amyjo519
    amyjo519 Posts: 72 Member
    Thanks vrcarson21 for your post. There are lots of great ideas. I'm so new to this website and found this thread very helpful. The past few days, I've come here when I felt a craving or upset and wanting to eat. I love watching football and snacking on Sundays...but today, I'm watching football and keeping my hands busy on this website. This is how I hope to use MFP to my advantage. I'm already addicted and hope to have a huge success story here in a few months! Good luck on your journey!
  • tessb84
    tessb84 Posts: 98 Member
    Oy, I feel ya.

    I read somewhere that cravings linked with emotions don't last much longer than 15 minutes. The article suggested calling a friend, taking a walk, drawing, even just sitting and watching something good on TV when you feel a stress-related craving coming on. In theory, if you can distract yourself until you get over the craving threshold then you can get past it. I don't know what the science is behind it (if any) but I have found distraction works for me like it works for a five year old. They fall and bump their knee, show em a cool card trick and they forget all about it. You are stressed and want to eat, call your mom - you know she wants to hear from you anyway.

    Worth a try?
    Thats good advice:flowerforyou:
  • amwj313
    amwj313 Posts: 11 Member
    In the past, I have used a big sign taped to my pantry door with a reminder on it. I put my goal weight and then, "think about this before you eat!!" on the sign. A visual reminder is great for these moments when we go on autopilot and fall into old habits. But the sign makes me stop and think, then shake my head, and walk away.

    While I try to not keep my favorite treats in the house, I have been known to "accidentally" dive into my daughter's school snacks in a moment of stress eating. But reducing or eliminating your problem foods is a huge help. If it's not in the house, then you can't eat it!! If there's ice cream in my house, it's torture for me. So, I don't keep it in the house, and then no torture! If my family wants ice cream, we go out for it. Or I buy small containers like ben and jerry's so that they are gone and won't be hanging around and bothering me.

    Decaf tea is a good substitution. Since I only have 13 calories left for today, I will be downing several cups tonight!

    And chewing gum has helped me in the past as well, especially when I'm not really hungry but bored and feel like eating.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    bump:flowerforyou:
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