How to avoid emotional eating?

arundinadeptya918
arundinadeptya918 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 18 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I had lose some weight, but recently add up few pounds coz of my emotional roller coaster, does anyone have some tips?

Replies

  • angelgreathouse9
    angelgreathouse9 Posts: 103 Member
    think... when was the last time you ate... should you be hungry right now... if the answer is no then make yourself busy... get away from the fridge... go for a run, go shopping... preoccupy yourself with something not food oriented. however if it has been hours since your last snack/meal then eat but keep it with in your calories for the day. being mindful of the things you put into your body will make for a successful journey. good luck to you.
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  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    I find that exercise clears out most of the emotional cobwebs. Even if it doesn't, burning more calories means I can eat more.
  • Laura3BB
    Laura3BB Posts: 250 Member
    Drinking a large glass of water first (when all you want to do is stuff your mouth with eg chocolate cake!!) - then waiting at least 5 minutes before eating, can help....
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    To put it simply, you need to replace the emotional eating with something positive. Exercise can help immensely. try yoga for stress relief and relaxation, it really works wonders. It could also be as easy as committing to not buying/keeping junk food in the house. At least for me, if its there, I'm probably going to eat it. Just don't buy things that tempt you, and definitely make a commitment to yourself to skip the drive thru, if that's a problem for you.
  • jontucc
    jontucc Posts: 142 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    I find that exercise clears out most of the emotional cobwebs. Even if it doesn't, burning more calories means I can eat more.

    Agree with this. I also find exercise helps me sleep better and better sleep is good for mental/emotional wellbeing.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I just do something else. I pick up a musical instrument. I go for a walk. I draw. I watch a movie. Food doesn't cure anything.
  • arundinadeptya918
    arundinadeptya918 Posts: 7 Member
    I've been out all day yesterday, and cudn't get online,,
    I'm so surprise that u all actually respond to my question, which I really appreciate since I need it to help me keep my diet on track specially my health
    So be busy, exercise, time out, sleep, drink water, yoga, clear all the junk food out and do my hobbies
    Thank u, I'll try every single one of this tips and hopefully it will work for me
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Log it immediately.
  • arundinadeptya918
    arundinadeptya918 Posts: 7 Member
    Ok
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Deal with the thing thats causing the emotional upset at source.
    If you cnat do that then have a non food straegy ready to put into action when the turmoil comes i.e talk to friends, go for a walk, find ways of relaxing, have a bath, write it down etc. Dont eat your feelings. Its importnat you know what to do so you adopt the non food method of dealing with things when it happens.
  • Pollyna87
    Pollyna87 Posts: 5 Member
    I have your same issue: I overeat in the noisy or low mood period! One of the method I use to avoid to eat when it is not necessary is "to fool you brain". I tell myself: "Ok, i wanna eat this piece of cake. Sure, I'll eat it, but only in 15minutes". You don't have to enter in conflict with your brain, just wait. After 15 minutes you'd forget about your food desire! It seems a strange method but it works!!
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    With emotional eating i have had good experience switching to cherry tomato, gurken and cucumber. You can eat a lot of that stuff with little calories.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Anything that you react to emotionally needs time to address. If you have a knee jerk reaction like eating in response to stress, anger, joy, etc., you need to slow the reaction time so you have time to think before you act. All the suggestions to tell yourself anything won't work until you can do this.

    The first step, which you've taken, is to become aware you're doing it. Then it's a process until you develop the skill to stop and/or change your reaction. It may take some time - well, it WILL talke some time.

  • arundinadeptya918
    arundinadeptya918 Posts: 7 Member
    I used to follow a very strict diet, with no cheating day, got tired of it and as a result I develop my eating disorder, the strange thing is once I feel that my stomach is full, the more I eat, never have that happen if I keep my diet, got worse when I'm very busy and can't keep track on my diet and exercise.
    I really2 need to have more control of my mind
  • CindyScaccia
    CindyScaccia Posts: 6 Member
    I'm sorry you're going through that. I have a suggestion, though...something I learned in school. Take a Vitamin B complex or eat foods rich in niacin, vitamin D and vitamin B6. These vitamins raise the levels of serotonin in the brain. When serotonin is decreased it makes us sad, depressed and more likely to overeat due to emotion.
    Dairy foods, eggs, fish, legumes, lean meat, fortified grains and nuts, poultry, chickpeas, liver, bananas, squash, rice, spinach, watermelon, leafy green vegetables, wheat germ, beans, salmon, orange juice and avocado are among the best food sources of these vitamins.
  • aureliefaun
    aureliefaun Posts: 1 Member
    edited May 2015
    I'm going through the same thing...I've been trying to drink carbonated mineral water to replace the food I would eat, otherwise...my goal is to train myself to drink more water so that when I want to emotionally eat, I emotionally drink water instead. It's all about substitution...
  • arundinadeptya918
    arundinadeptya918 Posts: 7 Member
    I see, I never realise that vitamin can effect emotion, so by eating it regularly can stabilise my emotion roller coaster right, I definitely gonna put that on my menu from now on, thank u very much :)
  • crawfzilla
    crawfzilla Posts: 153 Member
    Eatplain rice cakes with your own toppings on them - peanut butter, Caramal or chocolate sauce. They're almost no calories
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited May 2015
    Staying distracted helped me. Go workout, take a walk or discover a new hobby.

    Good luck!
  • blue_eyes1978
    blue_eyes1978 Posts: 127 Member
    edited May 2015
    Drink water, or suck on ice cubes! Seems to help me :)
  • blue_eyes1978
    blue_eyes1978 Posts: 127 Member
    CindyScaccia wrote: »
    I'm sorry you're going through that. I have a suggestion, though...something I learned in school. Take a Vitamin B complex or eat foods rich in niacin, vitamin D and vitamin B6. These vitamins raise the levels of serotonin in the brain. When serotonin is decreased it makes us sad, depressed and more likely to overeat due to emotion.
    Dairy foods, eggs, fish, legumes, lean meat, fortified grains and nuts, poultry, chickpeas, liver, bananas, squash, rice, spinach, watermelon, leafy green vegetables, wheat germ, beans, salmon, orange juice and avocado are among the best food sources of these vitamins.

    Thanks for this I have someone in my house hold who needs to boost their serotonin levels they decided they no longer are going to take meds so I guess I will be keeping these items on hand so they will eat them :)

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    crawfzilla wrote: »
    Eatplain rice cakes with your own toppings on them - peanut butter, Caramal or chocolate sauce. They're almost no calories

    Uh, no...they aren't.

    OP, dealing with the source of the angst will help longterm but in the mean time, I find keeping busy helps. Planning and prepping meals also helps - set your meals and eating times and stick to them. I find that if I have pre made meals in the fridge and plan time to eat them I can generally stay away from anything else. I also know I have to keep busy for a certain amount of time,so that takes my mind off food...
  • IDreamOfEating
    IDreamOfEating Posts: 3 Member
    Emotional eating is a problem for me to. It still is. Some of the tips mentioned above are what I did years ago. Drinking water, keeping myself occupied, and if I was still "hungry" in the evening, I would have protein shake.
  • KatieGirlie12
    KatieGirlie12 Posts: 2 Member
    Great information and feedback. My partner loves junk food in the house so it is so easy to join right in. Physically moving from the area when he is snacking helps me most.
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