Emotional eating

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hebronc28
hebronc28 Posts: 32 Member
in Motivation and Support
Is there anyone struggling with emotional eating. I 'm a mother of 2 boys, attend school full time and work full time. My life is very hectic! Both are very stressful including things going on in my personal life. When i'm feeling down, stressed, or bored, I turn to food. It's mainly a lot of snacking, especially late at night after work. It's crazy but when I feel sleepy I sometimes turn to food?! What's up with that? Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

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  • drich1989
    drich1989 Posts: 95 Member
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    I have struggled with it for a long time. Any signs of sadness, anger, frustration etc. and I turn to food as a quick distraction. I recently picked up boxing and it has changed everything for me. It allows me release any mental negativity meanwhile exhausting my body. I've become quickly obsessed with it. I would suggest anytime you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed or whatever go and do push ups, lunges or jumping jacks. Retrain your habits so instead of eating your emotions, sweat them out. Just my thoughts. Good luck!
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
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    A. When you're done eating, brush your teeth. This is a mental trick that tells your mind that you're done eating for the evening. If you do eat, you just have to brush again.

    B. Plan a late dessert. Log it in the morning (so it's planned in advance) and eat it later that night when you get that urge. If you don't eat it, you can delete it.

    1. Fat Free Greek Yogurt with Fruit, 100 calories, or
    2. Sugar-free Jello gelatin (about 10 calories), or
    3. Sugar-free Popsicles (about 10 calories), or
    4. Apple with peanut or almond butter (about 190 calories), or
    5. Planters - Pistachio Blend-pistachios, Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews, 1 oz (160 calories)

    C. Cravings last about 15 minutes. When you get a craving, take a long shower or bubble bath. Do something that takes 30 minutes.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
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    I second the "sweat it out" thing. I've found exercise to be a really great stress reliever and distraction. While it's hard to make yourself do it sometimes when you're in a bit of a state, you feel a million times better for it.
  • Jbarbo01
    Jbarbo01 Posts: 240 Member
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    I used to love coming home from a stressful day and sitting in front of the tv and eating. When your life is stressful, and it sounds like yours legit is, you just want to veg out and relax. Eating is taking care of yourself and soothing yourself for some, and there are many reasons for this. It might be learned or associations like in childhood when mom mightve made you cupcakes after a tough day. So to me it sounds like youre just trying to take care of some emotional needs, which you can do through other means like taking a bath or reading a good book at night or calling a friend. However, i still like eating in front of the tv so what I do now is do that but I eat grapes, carrots, or sliced up apples. I love fruit and can still lose when I eat a lot of it so if you are able to I would just try to do what you're doing but don't reach for the doritos. Go for air popped popcorn in controlled portions, grapes, apples, carrots and some light dip where you still get the fun of vegging out without too many calories.
  • ingehooper
    ingehooper Posts: 37 Member
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    Iv started watching youtube and doing squats/lunges to pass the time when I get a snack attack. Or I have a low cal hot chocolate or keep a sweet treat for the evening. Im now on day 5 binge/over eating free and so pleased. Alot of it is a mind issue, not real hunger. I was in the habit of over eating and now im attempting to break it. Get washed up ready for bed, brush teeth or I sometimes use mouthwash so my mouth is fresh and clean then it stops me wanting to snack
  • lizzybathory
    lizzybathory Posts: 229
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    A suggestion I read on here not too long ago, that I liked, was to keep a food diary, but to include both the "what" and the "why". It'll force you to think a little bit harder about why you're eating, and may help you to recognize when it's problematic.

    I sometimes get so caught up in calorie counting, etc. that if I think I can fit it into my budget, that's all the permission I need to go ahead and eat it - and that never really addresses emotional eating. To conquer emotional eating, I think you need to do two things - you have to recognize it when it's happening, and you need to give yourself an alternate release for those emotions. Kickboxing, running, etc. are good ideas; even if your release isn't a physical exercise, though, it'll at least help you to get out of the emotional eating habit, which is the first step.

    I found yoga to be really helpful in getting myself to pay closer attention to my body and the signals it's sending me.
  • lazydaisy33
    lazydaisy33 Posts: 19 Member
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    Sometimes when I just cant get " food" out of my head, I just drink some warm water with lime and maybe a teaspoon of honey. Seems to suppress my appetite. Makes me happy because I didnt give in and actually eat anything. Rewarding.
  • hebronc28
    hebronc28 Posts: 32 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the tips!
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
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    Emotional eating is a number 1 topic on this board, so you're not alone. Stress, depression, happiness, a good day, a bad day, etc. all cause a lot of people to raid the refrigerator.

    Really it's mindless eating, myself included, on the late night snack habit. You've just got to train your brain, that you've hit your calorie goal for the day and it's time to stop eating or snacking. I was so bad at night on snacking I was probably eating another 3 to 4 hundred calories that I didn't need, nor did I realize until I joined MFP.

    So I put a large sign on the refrigerator. No snacking after dinner. If you've just got to have a snack late night, plan it out in the morning to fit in with your calorie goal, and add it in before you eat it.

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