How to avoid emotional eating

I'm sorry.

Find lower calorie alternatives for snacking (vegetables, Quest bar, etc) or drink water or tea (if you can without adding sugar). Try to keep yourself busy with either stuff that needs done or stuff you enjoy doing.

yourradimradletshug wrote: »

So last night I was exrtremely depressed. I don't want to really get into WHY but I was very hurt and crying and just trying to resist the urge to stuff my face. I ended up crying so hard I fell asleep as I was just so drained. Today, I feel a tiny bit better but STILL want to just eat until I don't feel sad anymore. Can anyone give me any tips to get past this feeling? Working out isn't an option I have today.

It sounds like something happened and you needed comfort. Food is a method by which many of us comfort ourselves, and ya know, I'm not gonna diss it. Making a delicious meal when I am not feeling well emotionally is definitely an item in my self-comfort toolbox!

In my opinion, the problem comes in when any particular item in the self-comfort toolbox becomes the default go-to.

It sounds like the sad was coming to you from a specific event rather than, say, chronic depression. Keep in mind that hurting when something painful happens might totally suck and you don't necessarily want to experience it, but it's sane, sane, sane.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do things to ameliorate the pain, mind. You should definitely take good care of yourself, which does include bandaging wounds and some painkiller.

What other self-comfort methods work for you? Are they sensory (something tasty, bubble bath, scented candles and a silky nightgown, or wrapping yourself in a warm blanket), or they distractions (playing a video game, reading a book, watching something really funny), or are they achievement-oriented (working out, doing a craft project, cleaning the house) or are they social (interacting with someone close, hanging out on a message board, going out of the house where there are sure to be lots of people).

The point is that these methods serve different needs, depending on where you are emotionally and what your needs at the moment happen to be. While food isn't an evil self-comfort, it doesn't hurt to think ahead and plan for others as well that are sensory in nature.

Have you tried keeping a journal? Write it all down on paper can help think through the issues. This time of year is hard. Look after yourself.

blueakama wrote: »

Have you tried keeping a journal? Write it all down on paper can help think through the issues. This time of year is hard. Look after yourself.

I had thought this as well. It's something that can really work... I've let it slide a bit and can most definitely tell. I need to get back to that as well. It's worth a shot right?

Another thing is forgiveness work. I don't mean you need to walk up to a person and say 'hey it's ok you did what you did' but inside we hold many things that eat away at us.. sometimes it helps to let it go. Not sure if you've read any books on it ... or if you're still in therapy perhaps you could ask about how it works if you're not sure.

Big hugs!

Yoga also releases pain and other feelings from within, walking, focusing on the beauty around us. Volunteering because it's really hard to be around ppl in need and stay inside our own heads. Ask me how I know.. lol

I'm truly sorry you're in pain... I wish I could say I'd love to take it away from you and make you feel better but working through and not around is what really makes it happen for us. It's something we have to do ourselves, but it's never something we need to do alone.. asking for tips etc. can really help the process.

So sorry you're struggling! My go-to comfort items are a hot bath and sipping slowly on a hot cup of tea. Helps me relax and keep my mouth busy. Failing that, going for a run and chewing gum also help with endorphins and keeping my mouth busy. Hope that you can find peace soon!

do some emotional working out instead.

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Take it from an old(ish) lady. You can't get closure on everything and you can't make everything better. There are things in life that are simply beyond our control. Sometimes hard and painful things. Eating yourself silly won't change that. It will simply add one more thing to feel bad about.

Let it go.

This IS great advice. It's really hard to break away from coping mechanisms (even if they were bad coping mechanisms that didn't help in the long run) when it comes to feelings, but ultimately one thing that worked for me (more in the context of quitting alcohol than food, but some of the same things applied) was just forcing myself to sit with the feelings, to feel them, rather than trying to deal by making them go away. That's one way that the journaling helps, and counterintuitive as it may seem dealing with the pain more intensely rather than trying to avoid it usually makes it a lot better in the long run and you learn that you can deal with the feelings.

Sucks, though, and I'm sorry you are experiencing this.

One other thing I've read and occasionally kind of tried to practice is a pop stoicism. Basically the idea that whatever it is that you are upset or angry about has happened, and feeling bad about it or acting out (eating or drinking it away or engaging in some other behavior that people do, like spending lots of money) just adds another bad thing. For me this works more in the context of anger about something I can't control and it seems a little contrary to the first advice (feel the feelings), but in a way it's separating out the pure emotional response to the desire to want to hold on to or nurse the emotional response, if that makes any sense. (It does to me, but not everyone necessarily has such tendencies.)

Capt_Apollo wrote: »

do some emotional working out instead.

^

the only cure is time.

I had a black dog, his name was depression:
http://www.wimp.com/blackdog/

I find that going for a brisk walk is helpful. It doesn't make the pain or problem go away, but I can put a new spin on a solution. Maybe it is just getting out of the house and doing something. Often I make an effort to say hello to a complete stranger and smile. I agree, it is very tempting to raid the refrigerator. Probably most of us in MFP have done this more times than we can remember.

jgnatca wrote: »

[*] When you do decide to snack, own it. Tell yourself you have chosen to eat it. This breaks the pattern of pretending the food has power over you.

I love this.

I have also heard some therapies (thought I've never tried it) where when you are trying to maintain control over a habit, to start narrating what you're doing. I could see where it would stop me short to do it. (Imagining Morgan Freeman narrating the movie of my life at that moment might stop me even faster!)

snacking/food will not in any way make the problem better. Keep telling yourself this. It will just add to it. If I am down in the dumps in the evening (ususally at night when I have time to think of things) I just grab my book and go to bed. The longer I am downstairs, the more I have to resist. Hope everything works out for you.

I used to be a binge/emotional eater. I had to put food in its place and not give it so much importance, except for fueling my day/workouts. I put yellow sticky notes, with my name in a red circle with a line through it on all the boxes of Cheez-Its in the office, to remind myself not to eat them, because they were my go-to when I was frustrated and emotional when I got to work. I "forced" myself to eat ice cream every day (weighed out), then I did the same with Pop Tarts (one), and once it became a part of my daily routine, food stopped being the thing that I ran to for comfort. I get on MFP and interact with my friends when I'm feeling frustrated, and even though they don't know I'm feeling that way, they always bring a smile to my face and make me feel better. This is what worked for me. I hope you can find something that works for you.