I just realised I’m an emotional eater

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Mrsindepenant1
Mrsindepenant1 Posts: 196 Member
in Motivation and Support
I always thought I was the type to eat out of boredom but lately iv had some stresses at work and with the husband and find myself getting mad or upset and wanting to stuff my face. I have it under control for the most part and am not going full hog but I’ll still slip up as go just over my calories by say 100-300. Then I get mad at myself for doing it. I’ll tell myself who cares if I don’t loose weight what’s the point. How do you overcome this emotional eating? It annoying. I would like to put my bad energy into working out but when I’m upset I just can’t make myself do it. I hope this all makes sense.

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  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
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    Finding another outlet is definitely the key. Exercise is great but it’s not your only option. What works for everyone is different. Various things I do when I’m stressed/upset:

    - Take a bath
    - Watch my favorite show
    - Color
    - Journal
    - Read a favorite book
    - Add a glass of wine to any of the above
    - Go for a walk
  • helene4
    helene4 Posts: 120 Member
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    I hear ya!

    I had to speak up for myself to stop emotionally eating. In the past, Instead of confronting a situation that made me feel disrespected or crossed a boundary of mine I would not speak up for myself, eat and be sad. Now I just let em know! In a nice way, that whatever just happened isn’t ok with me...
    that stopped most of my emotional eating

    I also got a therapist who I like a lot and she really helped me sort out my emotions and between those two things I don’t really emotionally eat any more. If I do, it’s a rare occurrence
    And I’m super grateful

    Good luck! I know you’ll figure this out
  • jasonpoihegatama
    jasonpoihegatama Posts: 496 Member
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    Cool you tell it like it is! I'm not a emotional eater. But you may try keep note of what you do over eat by and when you train do that extra time ? Or just add this extra exercise in to your training now so if you do over eat you would have already compensated for it.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Eating sugar gives you a dopamine rush, so calling yourself an emotional eater shows that you want the emotional lift.
    There are other, legal, ways to get that rush.
  • newhopeind
    newhopeind Posts: 34 Member
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    Well, idk about some of the other advice, but I’m def an emotional eater. I know for myself, half the reason I got here in the first place is because of that. Especially with a grandmother that seemingly endeavored to no end to fill me with sweets and cakes and cookies (she was very diabetic and it cost her life).

    When it comes to the emotional eating side of it, i decided that A) nothing was off limits and B) to plan ahead. So for A:

    Don’t “fetishize” any of the foods you’re craving. Simply put, if you tell yourself “no that’s bad!” it will inevitably be the thing you crave most. Good news is between a variety of diets and plans, there is actually a lot of great recipes out there for those cravings while keeping calories low and macros good. Check out YouTube and I promise you’ll find some good comfort foods for those moments.

    B: planning ahead was important to me, and that simply meant that if I knew, absolutely knew, I was having a *kitten* day or whatever the case may be, I worked doubly hard on my meals, so that I could indulge in snacks later. That was a key for me, because slowly but surely, I realized it wasn’t worth it. I would rather have nice big hefty filling meals, and before I knew it, I was looking at all my food as fuel, and not comfort. I should add, I eat like a king, so I’m not left wanting lol.

    At the end of the day, how you approach stress is entirely a personal matter, and I hope you find some ways to control that aspect. It can suck tying those emotions to food, because I know for myself, it’s never “D*mn I’m having a bad day. Oh I know what will help! A handful of carrots and nuts! That will help!”

    Worst comes to worst, I have my handy dandy starting photo of me saved on an alarm for all the days that I have to hit the gym, and that motivates me when I really don’t feel like it. Reminding myself why I started this always reinvigorates me.
  • 23MJ88DBFan
    23MJ88DBFan Posts: 51 Member
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    @Mrsindepenant1 I'm sorry that you're going through this, I also am an emotional eater & am still in the learning process of how to control it and retraining my brain. Also as one kind soul advised on here, "don't deaden real feelings"- that hit me like WHOA! Because thinking about it, that's exactly what I do when I sit and devour a package of chocolate covered donuts or mindlessly finish a bag of Doritos in one sitting- bury the pain and deaden the feelings. Other than laying a good foundation by addressing whatever is causing the emotional stress, I like what @Running2Fit suggested, she has some neat ideas. Feel free to add me as a friend and we can support each other on this journey! 😊
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    yes I am an emotional eater, like others I have had to find healthy ways to cope, drinking water, walking, calling a friend, writing it out, telling myself I can be mad or mad and fat. Yes food numbs me just like an alcoholic.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,015 Member
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    Running2Fit wrote: »
    Finding another outlet is definitely the key. Exercise is great but it’s not your only option. What works for everyone is different. Various things I do when I’m stressed/upset:

    - Take a bath
    - Watch my favorite show
    - Color
    - Journal
    - Read a favorite book
    - Add a glass of wine to any of the above
    - Go for a walk

    Great suggestions.

    I just wanted to say that I used to use alcohol to substitute for food. It is a very bad tool to start using for emotional regulation. There are lots of overlapping problems between food and alcohol problems. I'd scratch that one off the helpful list. It's an emotional crutch that becomes an addiction and then you've got big problems.

    I have read and heard a lot of stories of cross-addiction and/or trading one for the other with women and food and women and alcohol.

    Eat enough but not too much. Save the alcohol for special occasions, not a coping tool.

    Been there.

  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    edited February 2019
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    Mrsindepenant1 wrote: »
    Then I get mad at myself for doing it. I’ll tell myself who cares if I don’t loose weight what’s the point.

    Who cares? YOU DO. Make changes, do what you do... for YOU.
    I have times where I have the same thing going through my head. Instead of “who cares?” The voice in my head asks, “What’s the point?”

    You have to make the change for yourself, and some days (and sometimes a lot of days) it doesn’t feel worth the struggle.

    I use a quote I found I found on Instagram as the lock screen on my phone so that I see it all the time:

    “It’s easier to wake up early and work out than it is to look in the mirror every day and not like what you see.”

    Some stresses make me want to eat a whole cake, and others have made me turn away from my food. For me, I try really hard to view my food as fuel: I struggle to fit going to the gym in my life, so why do I want to derail that effort by binging? It works most of the time. And when I really want to, i build that 800 calorie piece of cake into my calorie allotment for the day and then move on. I’ve had more than one doctor recommend anti-depressants, but I find lifting weights and being more active gives me a mood boost - that mood boost is what gets me to the gym most days.

    I think I’ve probably gone off track here, but I think my point is that you have to find what works for you, and you have to remember that this is a lifelong process. We all have our pitfalls and weak spots, or our injuries or whatever. I put a small piece of cake or small bowl of kettle corn into my calorie allotment almost every day, so that I don’t feel deprived. There was a point in my life where I’d eat a whole batch of kettle corn (with extra butter!) in one sitting. And then potato chips or fries. I don’t ever want to be there again, but some days it is really hard. Just know you aren’t alone in your struggle.

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