Emotional eater? How do you deal?

I'm an emotional eater, too. When I get stressed or upset, I binge horribly. I haven't found a way to overcome it yet but I just started a diary in a notebook to see if it helps. I'm going to try writing in it nightly.

I'm struggling with the same also binges. I already exercise daily, but I have some physical disabilities, so when I HAVE to take a rest day that almost makes the stress worse. What has helped me A LOT is meditation, all sorts of free tracks on YouTube, specifically binaural beats, chills me right out just after a few minutes.

I am also an emotional eater. I gave up cigarrettes 9 years ago, then gave up alcohol 3 years ago, and now I battle with food. I just always feel like I need to put something in me when I am stressed. Currently dealing a terminally ill loved one (father in law) and a very ill mother. Some days are hard, but I know doing unhealthy things do not help the situation, makes me feel even worse, and not what I want to do in life. I have joined a team training gym that I go to with a workout partner everyday on my lunch break at work. It is really helping my stress, and has even become a type of therapy where I can get out of myself/head and do something productive. I have my days where I get off on my eating, but I have made tremendous progress. I dont beat myself up on the bad days. I accept it and move on. On the weekends when I am off but busy with kids and house chores, I make sure to make time to go for a walk or ride bikes. Even if I bring the kids to the park, I am on my feet , outside and doing life. So find something that helps stress. If working out doesnt help you, try reading/writing/art.. etc. I love Yoga too. But dont give up hope! We can do this! You can do this!

Abstinence from the foods I crave is what helps me with emotional eating. I eliminate my comfort foods 100% until I'm back on track. It's hard but always worth it.

The goal is moderation once cravings subside and I'm getting more and more successful over time.

I also have low calorie snacks I allow myself and I'm learning to eat them mindfully. No page or screen.

It all comes from needing to comfort myself and I'm still trying to figure that part out.

If hunger's not the problem, food's not the solution.

I suggest that you make visiting McDonald's difficult for yourself. Me, personally--I prefer going home and hanging out there than making a special trip to fork over money for something I'm going to regret later. That just feeds the emotional eating cycle.

That said, sometimes cravings get crazy. Find a way to make yourself a frappe or treat at home that you can control the ingredients and calories of, but that can still "hit the spot." Indulging in a little of what you want won't hurt you any.

Youre not alone and it's really cool that you are recognizing this and reaching out for support. I'm a therapist and work with people struggling with this issue. It takes work to understand triggers, food rules, and to learn to tolerate more uncomfortable feelings, and when stress levels are high? It definitely can feel like a tough hurdle to overcome. I highly recommend the book Intuitive Eating and just about anything by Geneen Roth.

What helps me when I want to eat due to emotions, I workout or read for at least 30 minutes. Helps clear my head.

When I feel a binge coming on, I set a timer for 20 minutes. The urge passes about 60%of the time.

Hang in there. I used to love to snack on a lot of bad stuff and just couldn't help myself and something in me couldn't do it any longer so I started weaning myself a little bit at a time. It has made a major difference in how I feel about foods, especially the sweets. I don't know if this will do it for you but stay strong.

Yoga.
Going for a short walk for some fresh air. Take water to drink.
Sometimes just writing your thoughts on a piece of paper.

Try to do something that relaxes and gives you a chance to reset that's not food related.

Defintely take it as 'today' ... i stopped thinking long term because the numbers and the thought of it gets overwhelming and you start to get thoughts like 'i'll never get there'....

I found early on that blogging / writing / journalling you day was useful - write down what you did well ... brain dump out all the emotion and crap that went on ... just get rid of it ...

Also .. whenever you feel that draw to something that you know you would end up over-eating on (having and logging nice things is fine if you account for it) i try and talk to myself... at the weekend i had a decent amount of calories left for the day and was almost ready to order in a massive pizza which i would have ended up eating alone and would have ended up probably 2k cals over on the day .... i was hovering over the 'order' button on the site.... i asked myself why ... i ended up having this inner discussion with myself for a good few minutes before negotiating an alternative .... yes i still went over on the day .. but only be at most 10% rather than 200%

But i agreed with myself that i would be ok with that today as i'd been under daily for past few weeks so why not have a nice treat but having the excessive takeout would have been excessive

I do this a lot ... but i have found nice alternatives .... that i genuinely love but are a good controlled amount so i can have them regularly 100% guilt free

Takes time .... we have a lot of baggage we need to learn to set aside one day .... but take it 1 at a time ... this isn't a race .. none of us is perfect

You'll get there day by day and slowly you will start to feel in control of things more and more and that's a critical step ... for the 1st time in my adult life i feel that i have a good degree of control (not total) over my impulses / cravings... but it's taken 8 months so far ... but 1 day at a time....