Hi! My name is Victoria & I am an emotional eater.

Hello Victoria! I'm Joy, and I, too am an emotional eater! No advice for you, just know the feeling!

I am that way too - you can search the message boards too there are groups out that chat regularly about their EED. Be patient - it takes time.

You're not alone Victoria. I'm the exact same way. But I did have a break through moment a month or so back. After getting some particularly disappointing and stressful news, my first thought was "I need to take a walk". That was a huge moment for me because in the past, I'd always just run for a bag Doritos. It'll take some work, but you'll get there, too.

Hi Victoria,

I can tell you that most of my negative emotional responses begin with my thinking. And most of my negative thoughts are self-centric. In other words, when my thinking is all about me I tend to have thoughts that trigger negative emotions. Then they snowball and lead to inappropriate actions.

For example, I find myself spending time thinking about how _my_ needs are not being met, how other people are not meeting _my_ expectations, how the actions of others are hurting _me_ or _my_ judgments of others. All of this leads to negative emotions then ultimately I act out.

There's nothing wrong with thinking about ourselves, it's only natural. When our thinking becomes overwhelmingly about ourselves problems can occur. Although, it is a problem with an over active ego, it is not necessarily a prideful or boastful thing. Most of the time when I am self-centered, I am doing so in a negative way. A breakthrough occurred for me when I realized that my low self-esteem was egotistical.

One tool I have used when negative thinking creeps in, I take a moment to think about something I am grateful for. With a little practice the list becomes infinite.

Also, I fill my thoughts with loved ones. Another thing that helps me is doing something nice for someone else anonymously, accepting and expecting nothing in return. Anything I can do to get out of myself helps immensely.

The key I need to remember, is that when the negative thinking happens, I need to counter act it with positive action.

There's a good discussion group about emotions here:

http://www.emotionsanonymous.org/

--Dave

Hello Victoria, I know just how you are feeling.....This site is a good thing! I tried keeping a gallon of water in the frig. with fresh lemons cut up in it. When I am getting that ( I wanna stuff my face feeling) and believe me, it doesn't take much, I pour a tall cool glass of my lemon water and sit back. It takes a while to drink ice cold water and by the time I'm finished, I usually feel better and find that I know longer need that bad choice that I was craving. Here's wishing you luck! Deb

hi victoria been there too many times before slow down think postive

plus when it happens again victoria i will grab something healthy or slow carolie to eat

I too am an emotional eater. All of my friends at work know when I am having a bad day, or if I am stressed over my children because I am putting things in my mouth that I would not normally eat. If I get to that point that I feel like I am starving to death because of the stress.....if I fix myself a healthy sandwich or something that will really stick to my guts and fill me up...and then maybe have an apple to finish it off, then I usually feel better. Then I take time to pray and ask God to take care of my problems for me because I am unable to do it on my own. I know all of this works because I had a day like this just today and I ended up UNDER my calorie goal. And....God is so good.

Hi Victoria, I'm glad you are here. I am an emotional eater too. Emotions are normal, it's our reactions to them that are the problem. I find that I need a lot of support and love to overcome the need to soothe my negative emotions with food. This place has been so supportive it's beyond words. And it gives me the opportunity to be supportive to others which also is very helpful. I hope you find the same support and movitvation here that I did, feel free to add me as a friend if you wish. Have a great day!