Tools to stop Emotional Eating...
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fightlikeagirl182
Posts: 13 Member
Hi....my name is Jasmine....I'm an emotional eater with an addiction to sugar. I use the rush of hormones I get from eating to self medicate in times of emotional distress.
If you are part of this group, this is probably you too. My first step to getting past this was to start calorie counting with myfitnesspal. It forced me to think about what I was putting in my mouth. But it took me a really long time to figure out that I needed to stop and think about why. Why did I make that poor choice to eat a doughnut today? Why can't I stop thinking about chocolate? But even knowing why I was doing it couldn't stop the behavior. My most recent hurdle has been discovering a way to eliminate the triggers that I have finally learned to identify.
I have been using self hypnosis on my lunch breaks to help me lower the stress levels that cause my emotional eating. I found some really good ones for only 99 cents on Amazon MP3. I have also been using Energy Tapping (EFT) to overcome the insane cravings and moments of severe distress ( www.thrivingnow.com/tapping-points-and-instructions/ ) I was super skeptical about the EFT thing at first, but I have to say it has been working miracles on my attitude and self-control. If you have an open mind, I encourage you to try it for a week and see if it changes you as well.
What other tools have people out there been using to overcome emotional eating? If you've found something that works for you...please share! Emotional eating is hard to overcome and I'm sure we would all like as many tools in our toolbox as we can have.
Thanks!
If you are part of this group, this is probably you too. My first step to getting past this was to start calorie counting with myfitnesspal. It forced me to think about what I was putting in my mouth. But it took me a really long time to figure out that I needed to stop and think about why. Why did I make that poor choice to eat a doughnut today? Why can't I stop thinking about chocolate? But even knowing why I was doing it couldn't stop the behavior. My most recent hurdle has been discovering a way to eliminate the triggers that I have finally learned to identify.
I have been using self hypnosis on my lunch breaks to help me lower the stress levels that cause my emotional eating. I found some really good ones for only 99 cents on Amazon MP3. I have also been using Energy Tapping (EFT) to overcome the insane cravings and moments of severe distress ( www.thrivingnow.com/tapping-points-and-instructions/ ) I was super skeptical about the EFT thing at first, but I have to say it has been working miracles on my attitude and self-control. If you have an open mind, I encourage you to try it for a week and see if it changes you as well.
What other tools have people out there been using to overcome emotional eating? If you've found something that works for you...please share! Emotional eating is hard to overcome and I'm sure we would all like as many tools in our toolbox as we can have.
Thanks!
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Replies
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Hi everyone I’m new to MFP and just joined your group. Pleased to meet you all!
My worst time is after a long day at work. When I come home I frustrated and tired I just want to grab what ever is handy (eat my weeks worth of pre weighed chicken portions for salad in one sitting sigh..) and a beer and sit in front of the TV. One thing that I’ve found help is doing something productive or just makes have a sense of accomplishment.
Some things that work for me (sometimes)
A set of push ups
Fixing something broken (this really works great & takes my mind off things but I’m not going to break my house to get thin)
Practice my mindfulness meditation
Calling a friend and planning something to look forward to0 -
Thanks, this was a really positive and inspiring post! Congratulations on your successful weight loss too. You are already half way there!0
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I've been looking for some ways to stop emotional eating - I eat when I am stressed and anxious and sad. I've even given up sugar before in all foods and bread/pasta/glutton/processed foods for up to a month. It helped. I felt like I had better emotional control, my periods were better, I had more energy (I was jumping out of bed in the morning and I am not a morning person), etc. But I went to a family function and had sugar in a salad (dressing - very high in sugar), and found myself addicted again in less than a week. I use food to cope, and it doesn't always have to be sugary foods. So I am trying to find ways to deal with it. Work is when I have my most problems since my job is stressful more often than not. I've tried self hypnosis, but that didn't seem to help. I'm going to try the EFT - never heard of that. I am also trying to take a walk at lunch (thought about even heading to the gym...) to try to help with that.0
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Hi Everyone,
I am an emotional eater and I believe I am addicted to sugar. I eat mostly when I'm bored. The most difficult time for me is at work in the afternoon. I feel like I "need" a snack in order to make it through the day and 90% of the time the "snack" turns into a binge. It's very discouraging. Recently I have found that the harder I try to fight it, the more I eat so I am just trying to let go of it for today.
I have re-read "Breaking Through From Emotional Eating" by Geneen Roth and really recommend it. Now I am trying to implement the suggestions. I am also seriously starting to think about therapy, even though I've gone in the past and I don't think it helped much but maybe I wasn't working with the best therapist for my situation. I also have an app on my phone which somehow works when I use it. It's sort of like hypnosis. I should go back to listening to it on a daily basis. I have heard and tried that energy tapping (a while ago) and somehow that seems to work too. I will look into that again - thanks for the link.
Does anyone else have any tools they find helpful and would like to share with us? This is such a hard habit to break. Thanks for being here!0 -
Lately I feel like getting my emotions out (on paper, or venting with a friend - or just venting to myself!) helps. If I'm pissed, I let it out. It's like that whole process helps me be more Most days I keep an MFP blog, and over the past few weeks I've just seemed to get more of a handle on my emotional eating.
I also distract myself with the computer - most weeknights I am on the laptop and watching TV at the same time! That may not be ideal, but for me it beats grazing or bingeing and watching TV at the same time! I spend a lot of time on the computer so I set some of my browser home pages to MFP and other inspirational weight loss stories - just to try and integrate weight loss and eating awareness into my daily life.0 -
Hi my name is Laura. I am about to admit for the first time in my life that I am an emotional eater with addictive behaviors. I use to drink when I had emotional issues come up and I was good at it. But I quit that about 13 years ago. In the midst of my drinking I picked up smoking and that became my major crutch after I quit drinking. But I quit that about 4 years ago. In the midst of my smoking, I always a coca cola in my other hand. And that sugar addiction continues to haunt daily. I love ice cream, snow balls, marshmallows, chocolate mint candies and sour candies. AND then....I go sick. In a five year span, I got fatty liver disease, had my gall bladder taken out, found out I had diabetes type 2, hypothyroidism, pcos, fibromyalgia, and eventually a partial hysterectomy. Sugar and I became the best of friends.
A doctor recently told me that all these health problems are due to an overgrowth of yeast in my gut. Now I am suppose to a low carb (80 grams per day), low fat, gluten-free, sugar-free, yeast-free and dairy-free diet. YET!! I can't seem to deal with my addiction. As heavy as this all seems, I know that by changing my eating I will begin to feel better. So I work it one day at a time.
As for tools, I journal when I feel the need to really let out those deep feelings. I take long power walks while I listen to christian music and I pray for grace. I practice yoga and meditation. The ability to go deep into your own soul and body to find the pain related to your reason for emotional eating can be so empowering. And at times, I fall flat on my face only to forgive myself and start over the next day.
Thanks for letting me share.0 -
I'm an emotional eater too. Usually high-sugar, high-fat content foods. The only tip I can offer that wasn't already mentioned: Sometimes doing mundane tasks like doing the dishes or organizing a drawer helps me decompress.
I want to try EFT- I've heard great things about it!0 -
Hi, I am kinda new to realizing that I eat when I feel lonely or am upset about something. I have some extra baggage that needs to be dropped, and have been reading the posts on this thread. I have found a lot a great suggestions, and realize that it will be hard. I know it is really hard to share some things like that, because its hard for me to say that I emotionally eat so thanks for posting all of this great information.
REW0 -
Hi! I was worried about using MFP because I thought being conscious of all the crap I put into my body will just make me hate myself even more, which will probably lead to even more emotional eating. But these tips are actually really helpful, so maybe it's a good thing I joined!0
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hello im angela
im just starting up on this site im not new to dieting but just this site,im also a stress eater boy am i its at night and when my twin sister passed away almost 1 year ago in aug2 i was eatting and eatting, were i could walk with out hurting. now i relize i have to lose this weight i already lost 10 altogether .what is this www.thrivingnow.com/tapping-points-and-instructions/ you talking about ? it will help me ? im willing to try anything,i have to losr 67 pounds right now .will you tell me were to get this.
angela0
