Beating emotional eating- need your thought, please

_Clarana_
_Clarana_ Posts: 73 Member
in Motivation and Support
What do you do to make yourself happy when you feel like stuffing your face? Preferably at night when you're in bed and just stop caring - so no long walks in the park, please :)

For me, music sometimes works, and a really good book. Very rarely.

Replies

  • aedreana
    aedreana Posts: 979 Member
    Cigarettes are the only thing that work for me. They are what make dieting easy for me. As long as I have cigatettes, I am able to endure hunger. Sugar-free Splenda- sweetened pickles are helpful. Diet soda and diet tea help.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    ^ Just no.

    It is a milion times healthier to eat a snack than smoking cigs. Worst advice EVER!

    Are you actually physically hungry? (stomach growling, pains, etc) or is it in your head? If you just want to eat out of habit or boredom...you need to conquer these habits. Maybe is it another emotion your feeling deep down? (Lonely, stressed?)

    If you are physically hungry, then I say - EAT! Have an apple or yogurt if you have a sweet tooth. Or some cheese and crackers if you want something crunchy.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    you need to address the issue that is making you unhappy...
  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
    Find something else that makes you happy, instead of food. I go play video games or read.

    I think the problem here is that we try to run away from negative emotions somehow and one way is eating, cos that makes us feel good and we forget about pain. If we would face the feeling I think that would solve the problem in most cases. So go cry, scream, swear or punch a pillow. I do it sometimes, no need for eating anymore when I'm done. Feel them out. But not a lot of people likes to do that cos nobody likes to feel those things.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    Just try to go back asleep. Failing that, drink some water, that may kill your appetite, otherwise eat something that you know will kill your appetite if you really must eat something. For me that something is usually a piece of dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa), and a few mins later I could not face the thought of putting anything else in my stomach as I'm full.

    I've always been a nighttime eater in the past, but not really now. I think the difference is, is the way I'm eating now, I'm not very hungry during the day, so my willpower isn't exhausted during the times I really need it. If however you're starving during the day, I don't think you will have much luck resisting at night, so look at what you're eating during the day, and see why you're so hungry then, if thats the case. For me, filling meals are working out quite well, and currently thats a higher fat, decent protein, and low/ moderate carb diet for me, as its incredibly easy to overeat on carbs, but not so much with filling fat and protein in your diet. Likewise, foods likely to inspire cravings, I avoid, and for me that means added sugar.

    Can't give you any other real advice, I think you probably just need to tackle the roots of what are causing you to eat for therapy, nip the problem in the bud and all that.
  • _Clarana_
    _Clarana_ Posts: 73 Member
    Thanks for the tips. Yes, it's definitely emotional/bad habits, and yes, I need to sort my life out >.< Iit's definitely not physical hunger, I keep going when I'm full because it feels good in that moment...
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,227 Member
    I stopped calling it emotional eating, or comfort eating and started calling it what it really was to me... self harm. I wasn't cutting, or performing other physical harm to myself but the motivation behind it was the same.

    I wasn't comforting myself, it didn't make me feel better.... I was self flagellating with food. It led to nothing but more self hatred, and despair. Once I could identify it this way, I could learn to move beyond it.

    It isn't a crutch, it's a symptom.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I stopped calling it emotional eating, or comfort eating and started calling it what it really was to me... self harm. I wasn't cutting, or performing other physical harm to myself but the motivation behind it was the same.

    I wasn't comforting myself, it didn't make me feel better.... I was self flagellating with food. It led to nothing but more self hatred, and despair. Once I could identify it this way, I could learn to move beyond it.

    It isn't a crutch, it's a symptom.

    QFT
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Checkout my podcast interview on overcoming food addiction.


    http://tipsofthescale.com/93-herbert-walker/
  • Ann_i
    Ann_i Posts: 5
    Be prepared for those moments:
    -Prepare healthy tasty snacks and make them IN THE FRONT of the fridge/cookie drawer. If they are there in the front you will probably grab them instead of looking in the backwards for the unhealthy stuff + seeing the healthy food might ground you in the moments when you are not in control bringing you back to conscious thinking.
    Carrot bites, Spicy veggies with strong flavors, fruit bites, some granola+yogurt, nuts....
    I keep a large box of chopped salad for the whole week that i can grab any time sprinkle with salt and lemon and eat with no need to stand there and cut it each time.
    Yogurts are always on the shelf right in front of my eyes, and fruits are ALWAYS outside on the table - so it's probably be a fruit and not a chocolate bar deep deep inside the closet on the highest shelf somewhere :P

    If you feel like wondering towards the fridge to see "if there's something interesting in there"
    - drink a glass or two of water, see if the hunger goes away in like 10 minutes
    - eat a healthy snack and wait another 10 minutes.
    If after 20 minutes of snack+ drink you are still hungry, it's probably already lunch/ dinner time ^_^

    Hope it is helpful.
  • _Clarana_
    _Clarana_ Posts: 73 Member
    Thanks everyone. I have been aware that it's self harm for a while because sometimes I have gone on until my stomach has started to hurt, and my heart's going like crazy.

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