Emotional eating success stories?

IonaEllenRose · November 2016

Hey,
I am in need of some motivational stories. I am a really bad emotional eater and at the moment I kind of feel stuck in rut. It would be great to hear success stories or people that were going through the same?
Xxx

jillyjam · November 2016

I'm In the same boat!! Addicted to eating!!!

treehugnmama · November 2016

that used to be how I handled my stress. bad day meant fast food or a bag of chips or candy or whatever. then I'd go to bed with heartburn cause I ate fast food. wake up repeat! I was diognosed pre diabetic in may and that is not what I want. I'm now down 59.6 pounds and not prediabetic but tje thing I noticed the most was I no longer emotional eat. I do however walk in its place. this happened naturally. if I'm feeling stressed I exercise and that now gives me the same release as food used to. it is a lifelong journey but I feel like I have broken that mental connection with food and emotion. I jave ate my feelings since I was a preteen I'm 40 and I feel so free now. for other reasons I cut out am and pm snacks and eat 3 meals. I think that helped to break the habit of always reaching for food!

you can do this!!! you have to find what works for you! I never would have thought exercise could ever be my go to for stress relief it was more of a stressor lol

also I have tried to be kind to myself. if I'm feeling in a rut I make some mini goals that are not weightloss based but nsv so I can achieve them and feel good about it...this helps me a lot. examples if I want to walk 6 days I just say 3 if I haven't been getting out and I get the positive of the reaching tje goal.

milkshake9303 · November 2016

I am such an emotional eater too. If I'm stressed I eat and if I'm down I go straight for the sugary carbs. I also find that anything linked with celebrating I end up eating as a reward.
Any advice for breaking that cycle and getting out of this rut?

jsmith52693 · November 2016

I don't exactly have a motivational story, but I do have some tips. First, I've been an emotional eater my whole life. After some pretty bad experiences that occurred during my childhood, I turned to food. Cause it made it all better, or at least I thought so at the time. Now I'm getting married in May, and it's time to kick this emotional eating on its *kitten*! So here is what helps me. I figured out when I feel the emotional eating coming on, is it night or day? Is it a specific time? Etc. then I based what I would eat that day, around that time. So for me it's right around dinner time when I get home from my stressful nannying job. So I plan my meals ahead of time, and eat lots of protein and veggies when I know my emotional craving could kick in. I can successfully say that I haven't had an emotional eating "attack" as I call it in 3 weeks. I would say success right? My emotional eating is usually a sweet, so when that happens, I either drink a glass of water, remove myself from the temptation and go distract myself. Going for a walk, or going to read. I also found that when it's really bad, a tablespoon of peanut butter and savoring every bite helps too. Hope some of these tips help! You're in control, remember that

treehugnmama · November 2016

I never reward with food. if I did am extra good workout...I'll take a soak in tje tub instead of a quick shower. I've worked hard to break the link. if we go out to celebrate a birthday I still eat out but I order what fits into my day. little changes forgive yourself for mistakes....that was key for me...I have a long way ahead still so small changes for the long haul.

karenstep · November 2016

I tend to be an emotional eater as well. I work from home which is great, but can also be very isolating when it's just me, my computer, and all of the food here all day long until the kids and husband get home. We have just regular stress in our life - busy jobs, 2 kids with medical conditions that require lots of doctors appointments, medications, problems at school, all the regular stuff. We've had some periods of pretty high stress lately though. Food would comfort me when lonely/stressed and give me something to do - I gained 40 pounds in the last couple of years.

I've lost 30 of it now and to keep from emotional eating I chew gum all day, have a couple pieces of hard candy around to have when I want to eat something. I've also found that music helps me during the day - I always have on music. Lots of water to drink all day, and sometimes a large sugar-free iced coffee sits in the fridge all day and I'll drink that throughout the day instead of eating something. It's sweet and fills the craving, for me that is the key.

mellowadam · November 2016

I've kept 100 pounds off for several years now. I was morbidly obese and over 300 pounds at my top weight. I actually didn't seek treatment for my eating disorder until I got thin and began to binge again and gain and losing the same 20 or 30 pounds over and over. I woke up thinking about food and went to bed every night depressed about how much I ate that day. It was painful.

I realized eventually that it wasn't really about food at all. I had spent years trying to control food and realized that what was driving all of it was an almost constant state of restlessness, anxiety and a very low opinion of myself.

I gave myself permission to feel it all and work through it with a therapist and came to realize that I was a valuable person who was worthy of self love and the respect of others. At that point I kind of saw how futile it was to continue stuffing the feelings. I still struggle sometimes but I know I'm ok at the end of the day. I see painful emotions not as my own but as an energy that is just currently in me. Its not my pain its just pain. All humans experience it from time to time. I don't have to take ownership over or feel like I'm a terrible person. I just let it pass.

MFP has helped me follow an fairly simple but structured plan around food so I don't have to deal with making a ton of decisions about food. I eat the same stuff all the time and now that I've learned what foods keep me full the longest I rarely have cravings. I don't eat much processed food anymore because I know I will just be ravenous in a couple hours and have to deal with hunger.

I eat high protein and try and eat a ton of vegetables and other fibrous foods.

Best of luck. Just keep working at it and you will get there.

Nightmare_Queen88 · November 2016

I am definitely an emotional eater. From my teenage years and even now at 28. I still suffer from wanting to eat when I'm stressed or depressed, but I've learned to control it. I know to tell myself that I'm not hungry just stressed. I'd hate to gain back everything I've lost because I'm sad or anxious. I started out at 268 and now I'm 176. So if I can do it so you can you.

Just take it one step at a time. Take it slow and don't stress if you don't lose a ton of weight at the beginning. You can do this.

SalvationMountain41 · November 2016

Hello - Recovering emotional eater here! I have been eating my feelings since I was a teen. As a result, I have been obese to morbidly obese most of my adult life. After gaining 30 pounds over an 8 month period, I decided enough was enough. I am 2 months into my journey and have lost nearly 27 pounds through mindful eating, meticulous weighing of foods and walking. Weighing my portions on a digital food scale has been an real eye opener. I realized I had no true concept of portion size and had been underestimating my portions which would lead to failed diets and bingeing. There is power in data and for someone that has been helpless around food all my life , that is a game changer. As someone, else mentioned, if anxieties surface, I no longer turn to food, but will instead download 2 podcasts and walk for the duration of those. When I return, that need to feed has vanished, my mind has been redirected and I am healthier for it. The other thing that has helped enormously is intermittent fasting. I only eat in a 10 hour window of time. For me, that is between 9:00 am and 7:00 pm. Before doing this, I would constantly think about my next food fix, because my food was sooo stretch across the day. If you eat in a shorter window, you are eating every 1.5 hours or so and there is less opportunity to get hungry. During the fasting period if the mood strikes (which it rarely does these days) I drink black coffee. Please feel free to add me if you need support. We can do this together.

Smaya29 · November 2016

I have been a monster emotional eater. I got to the point where I would start sobbing if I couldn't have lots of junk food when emotional. I have struggled a lot with it so I understand how you feel.
I found a wonderful way to combat that.
Green/white/herbal tea. Also, I have recently discovered that if I replace one meal with a yogurt parfait, consisting of a fav fruit (mine is pomegranate), low fat Greek yogurt, some pieces of walnuts and a spoonful of probiotics and chia mix (I use the one by Prana, it's organic and called proactive chia), it really helps suppress cravings. Maybe it's just my magic fix. But it works for me.
2-3 cups of tea (green/white/herbal) works wonders too.
I know it's hard but you need to find your comfort drink or some other healthy substitute. High protein smoothies/ food help too. Try tofu and pineapple smoothie if you like.
Good luck

august12016 · November 2016

I just signed up to this apt yesterday and getting familiar with all of these great features - especially here ☺ I have been an emotional eater for years - I use food for all of my emotions whether I'm sad or happy - but I'm getting tired of being on this roller coaster and need to find alternatives other than food to satisfy my emotions

canadianlbs · November 2016

treehugnmama wrote: »

I never reward with food.

idk if i qualify as an emotional eater so much as a frivolous one. i ran into a college roommate a few years ago who is still marvelling at how i used to eat skittles for breakfast and then live on coffee for the rest of the day, 30 years ago. so idk if this qualifies, but i wanted to mention anyway that i sort of reward myself now for the fact that my habits have changed.

i get a huge emotional charge out of swaggering around the grocery store after a standard workout, and thinking 'hah. i am Superperson. i am what chuck norris fears. i am teh rock. and look at me - i'm going to buy real food and eat it as fast as i can. MUAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA check me out.'

on the face of it this is just me being a normal grownup and making normal grownup choices. but deep down inside it is totally party gorilla with me. i should be shot for smugness alone, three or four times a week.

LemonadeCandy_ · November 2016

I deal with BED and a lot of that centers around emotional eating. I was at a high stress job that caused me to gain 50lbs in about 6 months because I was constantly eating to calm myself down.

I'm now in treatment for depression and anxiety (huge contributing factors to my ED) and it's curbed the eating a lot. I just don't obsess about food as much- because I have more energy and focus on other activities. On a low day I find it's best to force yourself to do something with your hands- I like to draw or crochet. It's not mentally strenuous but it makes me focus on the task and not food.

At my highest I was 190. Now I'm 166 and counting. You can beat it! It just takes figuring out what's the right method for you.

Emotional eating success stories?

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