How to curb emotional eating?

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maggiearyan
maggiearyan Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I gained my weight by using food as an emotional crutch. I haven't been successful at distracting myself when I'm sad. It's gotten to the point where I won't feel better without eating. I'm trying to find something that could replace this? Exercising makes me so hungry... So when I'm done I'm sad and hungry. Sounds stupid, I know. I'm hoping for any suggestions or maybe advice from anyone who has gone through something similar? What has worked for you?

I'm trying to pick up reading or a hobby, but I was hoping to hear some *real life* anecdotes. Thanks in advance......
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Replies

  • OfficialDSXIII
    OfficialDSXIII Posts: 91 Member
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    Hey Maggie, I've struggled with a similar problem for a long time and would binge eat when I'm frustrated or upset. Recently I've been able to keep the problem in check by having posted reminders all over my walls about what my goals are. Nothing fancy, just simple text reminders that I printed out and pasted everywhere. It has really helped me as far as not ruining my progress through short term emotional eating. At the very least if I absolutely MUST have something I would get myself to drink a big glass of water and eat a huge bowl of salad and the feeling usually leaves thereafter. That's assuming you were low on calories at the time the feeling strikes. If not, feel free to eat up! Hope that helps a bit.
  • wheninrome_92
    wheninrome_92 Posts: 10 Member
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    I suggest getting counseling. I'm in a masters program right now for clinical counseling. Talking about the issues and getting to the root of the emotional eating you're experiencing may be very beneficial. It helps a lot to talk to someone experienced in listening and help you to get to the source of daily struggles
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Counseling is a great idea. Things like reading and watching TV are too passive, at least for me, and lead to boredom eating. Take a class (pottery, knitting, a language course, something that will keep your hands and brain busy), take a walk, go to the gym or blog about what you're going through to make you want to eat. There is a website, too, that might be able to help. It's a free service: http://www.drrogergould.com/programs-online/hunger-coach. All of these things have helped me stay away from the pantry and helped me improve myself in the process.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Many of us want to eat for comfort when stressed. There is a lot of modern stress and the food is always there. This is more normal than most people think. Sometimes when we think we are hungry for food we are really hungry for some other basic need; warmth, hot tea, hot bath, massage, hugs, insecurity/journal or creative writing, quiet/meditation, SLEEP. Mostly it is finding other ways to deal with stress, other comfort that is not food. It's just building new habits for dealing with stress. Like positivepowers said, keep busy away from food, hands and mind.
  • laciemaidn
    laciemaidn Posts: 2 Member
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    Hey maggiearyan,
    I know excatly how you feel and why you do what you do. I do it too. I find that I can be strong for a short while then boom! At some point, all the emotions I've been stuffing down with food find their way out because I'm not stuffing them down anymore. I'm most successful when I let them out. I have a good cry. 'Face' my sadness and in the end feel better for it. Then it starts again. It's a cycle that I have to let myself experience until I'm purged. So few people in my life get it. :(
    Stay strong. Take it a day, or an hour, at a time.
  • BettyBoles
    BettyBoles Posts: 68 Member
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    Counselling is a better way to deal with this. Take proper balanced diet and sleep well. Meditation, hot bath, breath exercise will help you to relive stress and feel better.
  • marlies74
    marlies74 Posts: 15 Member
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    Checking out the Zap my Cravings App, thanks for the link @positivepowers !
  • amyjane_g
    amyjane_g Posts: 33 Member
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    I know exactly how you feel.. For me it would seem that I either eat everything in sight or nothing at all.. There is no in between.... It's a vicious cycle really as I eat everything then feel guilty, so the next day I barely eat a thing to compensate for the previous days actions.. I found CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy) really helped.. Also doing yoga.. It's all in the mind (or at least it is in my mind) and I found refocusing my energy on something other than food was key (although it was bloody hard to do at first..)

    http://www.helpguide.org/articles/diet-weight-loss/emotional-eating.htm
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    When people talk about how to manage emotional eating, they often get suggestions for more "distractions" of a different kind. The way I see this is that emotional eating is a way of burying feelings or a maladaptive way of managing unwelcome feelings. Of course people can suggest more adaptive ways of distracting away from the feelings, like going for a walk or whatever, but ultimately it doesn't deal with the underlying feelings. It's just another way of sweeping things under the carpet but it does not deal with the underlying cause of the problem. I would second the suggestions for counselling.
  • nickyj2016
    nickyj2016 Posts: 1 Member
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    My solution is tea! Instead of emotional eating I make myself a cup of tea and treat it like a huge indulgence. Buy fancy different tea types if it helps. Tea is now my emotional crutch when I'm sad.
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
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    I second tea--it's great! I also shut myself in my room after 8:00 PM--no more kitchen visits. I take a shower, do yoga, read, crochet, etc. until it's time to go to bed. I ask myself the question, "What do you want to do for the next 2 hours?" It can be anything I want. If I want to eat, I keep a vat of sugarless jello on standby; I can eat the vat for 40 calories and not get mad at myself for overeating.
  • classykaren
    classykaren Posts: 106 Member
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    Lots of good suggestions on here. Also The Beck solutions and OA has helped some people avoiding carbs and knitting helps me.
  • billvau
    billvau Posts: 14 Member
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    Definitely try Beck Solutions (Judith Beck). Her books, especially her latest (with her daughter), DIRECTLY address emotional eating with a no-nonsense, thinking, approach to stopping.
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
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    What helps me (sometimes; not all of the time) is to do a check-in whenever I feel like eating something outside of normal meal times. It usually looks something like this:
    • Am I hungry, or am I just trying to eat through a feeling? If the latter, will eating actually solve that feeling?
    • Can I eat a moderate amount of what I want and feel satisfied? Or will I become excessive with it?
    • Have I let myself become overly hungry between meals? Did I restrict too much? Is there a meal coming up?
    • Is there another, more productive thing I could do instead of eat?
    • Do I care if I exceed my calorie goals for the day?

    Sometimes, the answer to that last one is no -- I don't care, and I'll still be okay as long as I don't let "not caring" become my norm rather than my exception. A lot of times, though, I find that taking the time to talk myself out of emotional eating will work. Sometimes I talk to my significant other or friends instead, if it's a feeling thing. Sometimes I go for a run, which helps me with feelings issues. Other times I make tea, like some users have said.

    The longer you work at reframing your coping mechanisms, the more instinctual and easier it gets. It stops being a trial. But it takes time and a lot of introspection, in my experience.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    maggiearyan wrote: »
    I gained my weight by using food as an emotional crutch. I haven't been successful at distracting myself when I'm sad. It's gotten to the point where I won't feel better without eating. I'm trying to find something that could replace this? Exercising makes me so hungry... So when I'm done I'm sad and hungry. Sounds stupid, I know. I'm hoping for any suggestions or maybe advice from anyone who has gone through something similar? What has worked for you?

    I'm trying to pick up reading or a hobby, but I was hoping to hear some *real life* anecdotes. Thanks in advance......

    Are you exercising long enough to kick in the endorphins?

    http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression
  • 22Brentwoodgirl
    22Brentwoodgirl Posts: 51 Member
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    Counselling is a good idea to address the root of the issue. I find that coming on MFP and reading the success stories is very helpful. Many of the posts on those threads discuss issues the person has had to overcome and emotional eating is one for lots of us. Good luck!
  • mikek7214
    mikek7214 Posts: 29 Member
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    Try this book from your library: SPARK from John Ratey. It could be very helpful.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Seek help from a therapist or counselor, i would say one that specializes in DBT/CBT.

    Incorporating things into your lifestyle like meditation, yoga, time for you to relax (for me it's taking long hot bubble baths), reading, playing music, or finding a hobby you can immerse yourself in.

    I know it's not the same... but i pick my lips until they bleed, i pluck my eyebrows out with my nails until i am brow-less, and i do all of these things without even realizing it. I only do it when i'm bored or doing something stressful and monotonous. It may be the same with you, don't give yourself the opportunity to be bored and learn techniques to cope with your stressors (hell eliminate them if you can!)
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »

    I know it's not the same... but i pick my lips until they bleed, i pluck my eyebrows out with my nails until i am brow-less, and i do all of these things without even realizing it. I only do it when i'm bored or doing something stressful and monotonous. It may be the same with you, don't give yourself the opportunity to be bored and learn techniques to cope with your stressors (hell eliminate them if you can!)

    I used to do a lot of these things. Mindfulness is key to eliminating those behaviors. Pain releases endorphins, just like exercise. If you focus on truly being wherever you are (and focusing on that), you can actually forget to hurt yourself. Worked for me...90% of the time, anyway.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Kullerva wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »

    I know it's not the same... but i pick my lips until they bleed, i pluck my eyebrows out with my nails until i am brow-less, and i do all of these things without even realizing it. I only do it when i'm bored or doing something stressful and monotonous. It may be the same with you, don't give yourself the opportunity to be bored and learn techniques to cope with your stressors (hell eliminate them if you can!)

    I used to do a lot of these things. Mindfulness is key to eliminating those behaviors. Pain releases endorphins, just like exercise. If you focus on truly being wherever you are (and focusing on that), you can actually forget to hurt yourself. Worked for me...90% of the time, anyway.

    Yes, i've been told that the small amount of pain stimulates endorphins. It's not painful enough at the time, in all honestly it feels good and relaxes me.

    It's only until i look down with my fingers covered in blood that i feel the pain.

    I exercise all the time because it has helped with it tremendously. But i've found sometimes that even when i realize i'm doing it i have a hard time stopping myself because it feels *too* good. This is especially true if it's on my brows and i have some thicker hairs, or on my lips if i have a dry patch that needs to be ripped off. That's OCD for you....


    Anyways, i've tried most of the methods they suggest (like popping myself with a rubber band, etc.) but i find the best thing is to be doing something that requires my full attention (preferably with my hands required).

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