Emotional Eating

rsamuelsgold
rsamuelsgold Posts: 391 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am an emotional eater and logging my food and practising self awareness has opened my eyes even more to the comfort I seek from food. I've had an emotional few months but my old habits are messing with my progress. How do I break the pattern?

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Well I don't know about you, but seeing the red numbers on my food diary make me feel worse... so it kinda defeats the purpose of eating my feelings away.
  • MsAmandaNJ
    MsAmandaNJ Posts: 1,248 Member
    rsamuelsgold wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well I don't know about you, but seeing the red numbers on my food diary make me feel worse... so it kinda defeats the purpose of eating my feelings away.
    I know... :blush: I usually don't log my food for that day when I eat my feelings. Or I exclude the cheats. Maybe it'll help if I log despite all that

    It may help you see what eating like that looks like, number-wise. Being honest with yourself is the only way to make a sincere change. Be true to you and you'll be amazed at how you do!
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 698 Member
    You need to find other coping mechanisms to replace the eating. It has to be something you enjoy though, otherwise the trade won't feel worth it and you may backslide. It also helped me to not have foods I tend to overindulge in when stressed in the house.
  • rsamuelsgold
    rsamuelsgold Posts: 391 Member
    Moby_Dick wrote: »
    I know what you mean. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the amount of calories I had eaten the day I signed up here. How to break the pattern? I don't know. I guess we CAN if we WANT to.

    I got a new winter jacket, it arrived the day I signed up here. A size 3 X. I had ordered it a size bigger to have room for heavy clothes underneath. It fit fine, not much room left. I looked like the Moby Dick. I hated it. I think I hate how I look like more than I love food. I am tired of being fat, this is wearing me out.

    It's up to us. Nobody can fix it but us. I am an emotional eater as well, I eat when I am happy; eat when I am not. It doesn't fix a thing. Many of us -if not all- we have emotional baggage and we carry it around. I guess eating is easier than dealing with our emotions.

    Short answer: "You break the pattern," and hopefuly so will I.

    Thank you so much for the response @Moby_Dick. I'm right there with you I'm tired of being fat. And only I can change that. Would you mind if I friended you?
  • rsamuelsgold
    rsamuelsgold Posts: 391 Member
    MsAmandaNJ wrote: »
    rsamuelsgold wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well I don't know about you, but seeing the red numbers on my food diary make me feel worse... so it kinda defeats the purpose of eating my feelings away.
    I know... :blush: I usually don't log my food for that day when I eat my feelings. Or I exclude the cheats. Maybe it'll help if I log despite all that

    It may help you see what eating like that looks like, number-wise. Being honest with yourself is the only way to make a sincere change. Be true to you and you'll be amazed at how you do!

    I think the idea that we as humans lie to ourselves is kinda weird. And silly. I'll definitely add that to my go to quotes.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    I'm an emotional eater too, and I fall back into binge eating if I let myself. I've found that with MFP and keeping track of the numbers, logging and really paying attention to what is setting me off, has helped greatly in minimizing these events. So instead of eating the whole container of ice cream, I'll have half a cup...usually!
  • fitRTs
    fitRTs Posts: 58 Member
    I do the same thing... it's helping me a bit to plan out my meals and snacks more. When I want to eat something else that I haven't planned for I examine why I want to eat it. If something has just happened that is stressful or that has made me angry or sad I'm probably heading into an emotional eating binge. Then, I need to try to take a walk or eat something like an apple. This doesn't always help but I think it's a good habit to try to start.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    rsamuelsgold wrote: »
    I am an emotional eater and logging my food and practising self awareness has opened my eyes even more to the comfort I seek from food. I've had an emotional few months but my old habits are messing with my progress. How do I break the pattern?

    Try going to the gym when stressed or feeling overly emotional. That seems to help me. Better outlet than eating in so many ways! Maybe try logging everything and when you hit a certain point switch over to drinking water, tea, something to keep your mouth busy but no excess calories are being consumed. Even coffee!
  • bingo_jenn
    bingo_jenn Posts: 63 Member
    rsamuelsgold wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well I don't know about you, but seeing the red numbers on my food diary make me feel worse... so it kinda defeats the purpose of eating my feelings away.
    I know... :blush: I usually don't log my food for that day when I eat my feelings. Or I exclude the cheats. Maybe it'll help if I log despite all that

    I know for me it stops me from going SOOO far in the hole if I track. I still go in the red, but it's not as deep as if I wouldn't have acknowledged it.
  • katey82
    katey82 Posts: 70 Member
    I agree, logging my food has allowed me to see what I am doing to myself by eating for comfort. It is amazing how quickly the numbers add up. For me, as some others have mentioned, seeing the red on my diary really puts my thinking on track. I am trying to find better ways to comfort myself and cope with emotions. Losing weight really is a lifestyle change in every way! Feel free to add me, I can always use motivating friends!
  • klaredhead
    klaredhead Posts: 3 Member
    Moby_Dick wrote: »
    I know what you mean. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the amount of calories I had eaten the day I signed up here. How to break the pattern? I don't know. I guess we CAN if we WANT to.

    I got a new winter jacket, it arrived the day I signed up here. A size 3 X. I had ordered it a size bigger to have room for heavy clothes underneath. It fit fine, not much room left. I looked like the Moby Dick. I hated it. I think I hate how I look like more than I love food. I am tired of being fat, this is wearing me out.

    It's up to us. Nobody can fix it but us. I am an emotional eater as well, I eat when I am happy; eat when I am not. It doesn't fix a thing. Many of us -if not all- we have emotional baggage and we carry it around. I guess eating is easier than dealing with our emotions.

    Short answer: "You break the pattern," and hopefuly so will I.

    I have lost weight and gained it back. I start to see progress then start to slack. I always wind up hating myself when I do this I am In a 1x-2x and want to be a sm-med once again but I look at my old pics and wind up depressed and eat my sorrows away
  • Arizona_C
    Arizona_C Posts: 1,476 Member
    edited December 2016
    It has taken me years to find ways to break the pattern. I still have moments where I eat for the wrong reasons, the more suger I eat the more I feel like. Its a vicious circle. What works best for me to break it is making a physical short circuit.

    It is not necessary to like this. I generally dread it, think I have no energy to what so ever. Still I go ahead; it works, and I feel way better afterwards. This is what I do:

    1/ rince the mouth in something strong and refreshing, like Colgate peppermint

    2/ put on some high beat music. Hip hop is great!

    3/ do a short, intense work out session to get the heart beat up. Only if it is just 10 minutes. Jumping rope, running the stairs, take a sprint in the street.

    4/ an ice cold shower. The choking cold is so intense it put the mind back to starting point.

    5/ dress in something cool and confortable. I like black, it makes me feel more serene.

    I wait thinking about what brought up the emotional eating until I'm better. Seeing an analyst to work on the underlying issues has helped me a lot.

    I wish you all the best to find what works for you. Once you have found things that help breaking the pattern, you will be more confident in applying it and with time, knowing from experience it makes you feel better, and you have created a new pattern.

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