How to Overcome Emotional Eating

I've been a emotional eater for years,yo yo dieting. I tell myself whatever the situation that's stressing me, if I eat, it doesn't change the situation and only makes me mad at myself ! people don't understand how hard this is! So I keep a lot of veg/fresh fruit around ! I also tell myself that I can eat anything I want to eat ! So then I give it a lot of thought ! I will go on the computer, take a bath, walk on treadmill ! Also I like to cook, so I spend time looking for healthy recipes and reviseing them !This time it has worked for me so far!

I am such an emotional eater as well. I found when I cut my carbs back I was able to control my hunger better. When I emotionally eat I get this overwhelming hunger sensation. It wasn't as strong and was actually manageable after a day or two of lower carbs. I aim for about 100g of carbs a day, but I actually eat about 150g.

Dealing with the cause of the emotional distress is another thing that has helped. Ask yourself why you're feeling this way and how you can deal with those emotions properly. It may just be a good cry, or it may be something deeper. Be honest with yourself about your feelings. Realize they are real and part of you and try to accept them. Feelings are not logical, so don't try to make sense of them.

Replace your bad habit with a good one. Sometimes when I feel like I want to binge and stuff my face, I'll goto the gym instead. Working out will release the same happy neurotransmitters as eating will without the guilt after.

When I can't goto the gym, I'll call up a friend. Have them talk you out of it . Or at least talk to them for a few about whatever. The overwhelming desire to stuff my face usually goes away after a few minutes of fun distraction.

I still battle with my emotional eating. I think what has helped me, part of what a nutiritionist taught me was the stop and deal with the emotion, if you are stressed, sometimes exercise(or even cleaning helps relieve some of that). Try to walk away from your child for a moment and do some breathing exercises, deep breathes usually help calm you down a bit. Think about why you are eating, are you actually hungry or is it the stress. Find things that will keep you from eating, chew gum, brush your teeth. maybe drink some hot tea or something. Hope they help, I know its hard, I have 2 kids so I totally understand, its hard and being an emotional eater is a hard habit to break.

Hi my name is Jacques and I am emotional eater.

"Hi, Jacques"

Hi, uh so I am not making any progress so far in correcting my emotional eating habits, but I got a book from a friend as a suggestion for changing other aspects of my life (exercise, more sleep, no more booze), and it has helped with making other changes in my life. So I am going to apply the techniques I learned that have helped me become a regular exerciser and give up drinking.

"One Small Step Can Change Your Life" by Robert Maurer, PhD.

THe premise is to make VERY SMALL changes in your life and in doing so you fool your primitive reptilian brain into allowing the change. Little by little you accomplish your goal and make real changes you can maintain.

SO the first step is I am asking myself "What can I do today to reduce my need to emotionally eat?" My answer is drink a glass of water after dinner to feel more full and avoid eating after 8 PM. IF I feel cravings, more water or a cup of hot herbal tea. Do that until it is easy and then think of another really small change to do.

Hope that is helpful.

I just may be the worst person to post, because I do this too, but there are some things that help me that might help you too. If you can put the baby somewhere safe and maybe just remove yourself from the room and take a breather that might help a bit. Scream/yell/cry/laugh to let out whatever you are feeling. I have a 2 month old at home and a 5 year old, and I have been finding that exercise has been helping me ALOT. I get some "me" time and when I'm done, I know I have done something good for myself on top of it. There's none of that guilt that comes with emotional eating and because I've done something so positive for myself, I feel better and then don't want/need to emotionally eat. I also try to be mindful of my eating. I ask myself if I am really hungry? How hungry? Do I just want to eat because I like tasting food (this is a real problem for me, so I tell myself I have to be genuinely hungry before I eat)? If eating isn't for the right reason, then I can usually talk myself out of it. Another problem is boredom. If I'm bored or want to relax, I eat. So for me, it's finding other things that can help me relax or something I can do that I enjoy. Surf the web, dance crazy to music, read, lay down and breathe, enjoy a hobby, I guess just find something you like to do . There are lots of other great suggestions people have posted, not expecting complete change overnight, just doing one small change you can live with at a time, journaling, talking to a friend, etc. Another thing for me is using myfitnesspal. If I know I have used my calories for the day, then that is it. I don't want to undo the progress I've made, so it does help you stop and really assess if you are hungry and take the emotion out of choosing to eat. I also make "deals" with myself, like, after 7pm, I will only eat fruit or veggies. If it's emotional eating, fruit or veggies usually doesn't help a whole lot with that craving, so that helps curb it too. Hope this helps, I know I enjoyed reading other's posts.