emotional eating

It all depends what you are eating. I do the same but have replaced the junk food, chocolate and crisps with fruit and 'finger veg' such as carrot sticks.

I love smoothies which also helps. Grab yourself a smoothie maker stick half a banana, some berries (you choose which ones), some low fat yoghurt (like Muller Light) and some Fresh juice (apple or orange is my choice) and not only is it delicious but is quite filling.

Also helps towards my 5 a day.

Price is also not a problem as the frozen berries from most supermarkets do the job for me.


Willie

I have the same problem.
Being an emotional eater has caused me to gain 56lb.
I peronally think its all about determination, persiverance and of course self control something that I have lacked in the past.
I am determind to kick the habbit and Ive been really good for 3 days since joining this site.(I know, very early days).
The thing thats stopping me is wanting to loose all that flab that ive been looking at in the mirror for the last 2 years.

Best wishes to you and I hope you reach your goals.

Sharon. x x

I am definitely an emotional eater too! I schedule snacks and meals approx 2 hrs apart depending on the day. If I start to feel hungry, right after I eat, or in between, I try to find something to do. Housework is a big one, I'll pick up a book, scrapbook, go for a walk, call a friend...just to kill time until that next snack or meal. The upside is, usually, when it is time, I'm not ravenous, so I'm learning a lot about the difference between when I want to eat and when I should eat!

Hey! You are not alone. I became an emotional eater a few years ago. My tricks are that I don't tell myself that I can't have what it is my emotions want me to grab (a Big Mac, chocolate shake, etc.) I just tell myself I have to eat something healthy first. By the time I do that I usually don't even want the other junk. I also have made sure that I don't have the typical emotional foods I would reach for in my house. I don't know if it's the same for anyone else but one of my biggest obstacles was a negative person in my life. I realized that by letting that person trigger me to emotionally eat that they were controlling me. Once that sunk in I was determined not to let that happen. I guess we all have to pinpoint what exactly it is that is causing the emotional reaction and make choices from there. You can do it!!!!!! :flowerforyou:

I don't have a lot to offer you. I'm glad that I am not an emotional eater. But I am a bored eater. Usually when my emotions are running high - good or bad - I forget to eat, which throws me off in other ways. I know lots of emotional eaters and they have sometimes been successful identifying what 'hole' they are trying to fill by eating. Maybe journaling or something like that which will acknowledge or validate what you are needing to fill or comfort or cover up will help.

Good luck!:flowerforyou:

I just did a big no-no. I am having a rough time at work lately and I just had to give in today. I went and grabbed a tim horton's sausage, egg and cheese sandwhich on a butter buscuit. 510 calories. Gross but delicious. I've been really really good foodwise, so I will chock this up to being my treat day.

We all need a treat once in a while. Sounds like you are doing great with your food choices overall, so great job!

I just went over yesterday too... It's been 8 or 9 days for me on this site, and I've been doing great, except last night I just kept snacking on things. They were all healthy things, but I ended up going over my calorie count by about 500 cals!!! It was me and my fiances day off, so I'm going to go ahead and use that as an excuse. As long as I don't do it again anytime real soon!
It's hard resisting temptation sometimes, but if we realize our mistakes and get right back on track we will be fine, don't you think?

I've gained like 40 pounds from emotional eating. Here's what I've been doing to stop it. I eat all the time. 6 small meals a day really works. I have them about 2 hours apart and even when I'm not feeling hungry I make sure to get a small snack in my mouth so that I don't overdue it at the next meal. This keeps me from not focusing on bad foods to satisfy me. Working out has also been huge. I can burn off some emotion just by jogging a while. But here's the major thing...you really have to take a good look at what is the main problem. Look at yourself and figure out why you need food to make you feel whole. And when you're looking for that ice cream or cookies or whatever take a breath and ask yourself why you need that food. Then grab a carrot or something healthy. But remember, it's ok to have things in moderation. Don't deprive yourself. Yesterday I made chocolate chip cookies for my team and I had 2 because I knew if I didn't let myself have a couple I would've had 10 lol! And if you do slip up, just get right back on. It's ok to mess up every now and then. Good luck!

Kels