Emotional Eating

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summalovaable
summalovaable Posts: 287 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm not sure how many other people have this problem, but I am a HUGE stress eater. And of course, its never the healthy options. With finals slowly approaching I could really use some help! Has anyone overcome their stress eating? If so, do you have any tips to share? :)

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  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    sounds like me!
    Best thing i did: get rid of the tempting foods.
    Or when i feel like making some pizza, or other unhealthy food i put on my shoes and go for a quick jog :D
  • Marig0ld
    Marig0ld Posts: 671 Member
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    Meditation helps me. I also try to plan out my food ahead of time if I know I have a big studying day ahead, so I can plan out snacks to look forward to on my breaks. Popcorn and apples with peanut butter work for me :-)

    Shrink Yourself by Dr. Richard Gould is a great book on emotional eating that has helped me tremendously. Good luck on your finals!
  • pupcamper
    pupcamper Posts: 415 Member
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    I find it easier not to stress eat when I eliminate most of the pop and other processed sugars from my diet! The more sugar I eat the more I crave it and the less I can't resist stuffing my face with more sugary foods when I am stressed. I was really proud of myself last week, I had a horrible week and the thought of slipping back into my old habits merely crossed my mind but I actually passed on the chocolate and candy!
  • khk2010
    khk2010 Posts: 451 Member
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    I have been journaling my thoughts, feelings and emotional stuff. It has helped a lot. Doesn't always work but always makes me stop and look at why I really want to eat.
  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
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    Keeping busy helps me the most. When I work I don't think about eating so the only time I have to worry is when I'm home from work. When I'm at home I do one of my hobbies, so that I don't think about eating and it helps destress me.
  • princessstacy
    princessstacy Posts: 11
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    sometimes just realizing you are a stress eater is half the battle.

    You know you eat when you are stressed so make sure there are plenty of filling healthy foods within reach to eat. Just recently from tracking everything put in my mouth I realized that while I don't eat large amounts or even often when I am stressed everything I did eat was high fat, high sodium, high carb. I went over my calorie count for the day and barely ate anything.
  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
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    Exercise is the best stress remedy I've encountered thus far. Rather than stuffing your face, go for a run like Sunshine said. The release of endorphins will make you feel great, and you can end with a healthy snack before refocusing and hitting the books :D
  • Natalie511
    Natalie511 Posts: 75 Member
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    Yeah that is me too..
    The only thing I can say is to not keep trigger foods in the house...so if you have to have it you have to go get it...and most likely you wont go all the way to the store to get it..hopefully...lol
    A nice walk this time of year is very relaxing...doesn't have to be a hard fast walk...just out of the house...
    Oh and drink some hot tea...sometimes that works for me...I hope that works for you...
    Natalie
  • kantone999
    kantone999 Posts: 174
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    I'm with pupcamper on this. I finally cut out refined sugar (and wheat--might as well make a clean sweep) about 4 weeks ago. I'm a starch queen. Get stressed and gobble. I still eat sugar but it's in fruit, honey or agave nectar now. And only once in 4 weeks did I binge on carbs. I have to plan snacks and meals ahead and take food to work or I eat junk. Favorite snacks are apples with cashew almond, or walnut butter, fresh fruit, whole grain toast with fruit preserves. Feel free to add me and you can see my food diary. Good luck sticking to your plan--and with finals!
  • Angelunaware
    Angelunaware Posts: 8
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    Relax, mediate and write down your feelings.

    A 'hint' I heard on Dr. Oz was to eat or smell a banana during these periods. The smell alone can curb the impulse to eat, and there's nothing harmful in eating a banana if you still need to fulfill an eating desire.
  • jojonesnz
    jojonesnz Posts: 107 Member
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    wow!
    i was just thinking of writing a post about this exact thing!

    i am the worst for tired and stress eating and last week i was battling both! my week was terrible, one thing after another going wrong that all affected me but that i had no control over.
    i eat constantly when i am like this and i also tend to have a couple of glasses of wine every night which is not my usual! also i never feel motivated to exercise, when im tired so that doesn't happen lol
    sooooo i decided to try and snack on healthier options than usual and i didnt beat myself up if i was over my calories some days:tongue:
    i love the tool on my phone app that tells you your weekly average and even though i had some hefty days my weekly average came in just slightly (very slightly) under my calorie goal so that felt awesome!

    fingers crossed from all of us that suffer from this that we manage to get some systems in place that help us through our stressful times :flowerforyou:

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools
  • Rain_Howard
    Rain_Howard Posts: 155
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    I have been a compulsive eater for many years. It's an eating disorder, just as bulimia or anorexia, it just has the opposite result. It's no less healthy. Instead of killing yourself by not eating you kill yourself by over eating and at times not even knowing you're doing it. I won't bore you with all the psychological details.

    Basically what has helped me is one simple little thing. When I want to eat I ask myself "are you really hungry or do you want to eat for another reason?". I don't so much worry about what the other reason is at that point in time. I just need to know if it's my body telling me it needs fuel or if it's my mind wanting comfort. If I decide that I am in fact not hungry I find a distraction of some sort.

    You can do this. Be positive, be happy and be well.
  • Kushgetti
    Kushgetti Posts: 146 Member
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    im an emotional eater 2 the fulliest...but im working thru it
  • summalovaable
    summalovaable Posts: 287 Member
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    sounds like me!
    Best thing i did: get rid of the tempting foods.
    Or when i feel like making some pizza, or other unhealthy food i put on my shoes and go for a quick jog :D

    Thanks for all the great tips everyone! I definitely think I'm going to try working out more, you really can't be in a bad mood when after a good workout. Maybe I should save my self the trouble and just study at the gym.

    I probably should have mentioned though, I'm still first year which means living on campus! I keep relatively healthy stuff in my room (tuna, veggies, yogurt etc..) but for the most part, what I eat is what I buy on a daily basis
  • smangani
    smangani Posts: 120
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    I not only eat when stressed but happy too! Love to be a great mood and eat. I think you just being aware is #1! When you can yourself putting something in your mouth maybe rotate to a new spot - walk to the libary, go somewhere different to study.

    When anyone has this all figured out - I'd like to know. I so bad at this. But having everyone here to support is so nice to have!!
  • cba4994
    cba4994 Posts: 147 Member
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    I was just thinking about starting a "emotional munchers" group on the site under communities as a good place to vent when I feel like I am about to succumb to my old ways. Would anyone be interested?
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
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    I use to be a huge emotional eater....Specially when things got really intense in school and in my past relationship. Now, when I am feeling it, I just workout hard, or drink tea to prevent me from stuffing my face....I love raisins and so I would snack on raisins and drink green tea! Found it to be my comfort go-to-food when I am stressed/emotional/bored....or....find a hobby you enjoy doing... I like to sew/crochet...so once I get started with that, I dont like to stop for anything and that includes food...Find what works best for you ;)
  • cecilyjenkins
    cecilyjenkins Posts: 6 Member
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    Don't buy the junk foods! I learned early on that I couldn't buy cookies or treats because I would eat them all. So, I don't buy them. I buy healthy foods. It's not fun when you only want to eat sugar and there is no sugar around to eat, but your body thanks you!! Buy baby carrots to snack or cherry tomatoes. You can buy fruit cups at the store. There are so many healthy snacks. There are even whole grain goldfish which are low in calories per serving of 55 crackers. Good luck.

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