Emotional Eater?

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missjoci
missjoci Posts: 412 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I find that anytime I get stressed out, I start craving all the bad foods that I've worked so hard to push out of my diet. I try eating healthy foods and filling up, but the cravings come back full force shortly after. At home it's easy enough to skip the cravings because the foods aren't around the house, but at work I have little to no self control! Any other emotional eaters with good tricks to push away these cravings?? Carbs, sweets, and salty foods just scream at me lately. :laugh: :devil:

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  • missjoci
    missjoci Posts: 412 Member
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    ...I should also note. I know most of us are here because of emotional eating...whether that means boredom, sad, angry, stressed, tired, etc. Was just curious if there were any fun or interesting remedies. :)
  • AprilPayne24
    AprilPayne24 Posts: 68
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    I have the same problem. I get stressed and I pig out. I need to figure out how to curb this as well. Maybe chugging something...like water? I always need something "crunchy" in these times so maybe carrots, broc or celery....Ugh, I know it's hard. I'm right there with you...
  • missjoci
    missjoci Posts: 412 Member
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    Crunchy sounds good...maybe I'll try that or a protein shake. Water never helps me too much.
  • NessaLeos3
    NessaLeos3 Posts: 10 Member
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    I have the same problem. I am currently in Afghanistan and we get care packages like crazy. Don't get me wrong... it is an awesome feeling to receive them, but they are packed with candies and other goodies that it's hard to resist.
    When I first got here, I was emotional eater. I was trying to make my adjustments in a healthy way. I actually found that this site does help, it makes me aware of what I am eating, plus my boyfriend can see what I'm eating. That makes me more conscientious of what I am eating, because he can SEE IT!!
    You might want to try writing down how you felt about the food you ate in a journal or at the bottom of the "Food" page. Did it make you feel better or worse than before you ate it? A food diary is very helpful in weight loss. You can target more or less what will trigger your eating habits and that will make you aware of it. I also found it easier to give into my cravings, if needed but don't over do it. Office parties are the worst... I tend to just hand it off to someone else so I won't eat it all.
    Hope this helps!! :D
  • msespresso
    msespresso Posts: 153 Member
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    I haven't put it to the test yet, but found this chart about what you really need when you're craving stuff...

    http://healthwellness808.com/?p=1180

    For salty/crunchy cravings, I like pickles! Just not too many :)
  • missjoci
    missjoci Posts: 412 Member
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    I haven't put it to the test yet, but found this chart about what you really need when you're craving stuff...

    http://healthwellness808.com/?p=1180

    For salty/crunchy cravings, I like pickles! Just not too many :)

    This is a great chart! Thanks!
  • missjoci
    missjoci Posts: 412 Member
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    I have the same problem. I am currently in Afghanistan and we get care packages like crazy. Don't get me wrong... it is an awesome feeling to receive them, but they are packed with candies and other goodies that it's hard to resist.
    When I first got here, I was emotional eater. I was trying to make my adjustments in a healthy way. I actually found that this site does help, it makes me aware of what I am eating, plus my boyfriend can see what I'm eating. That makes me more conscientious of what I am eating, because he can SEE IT!!
    You might want to try writing down how you felt about the food you ate in a journal or at the bottom of the "Food" page. Did it make you feel better or worse than before you ate it? A food diary is very helpful in weight loss. You can target more or less what will trigger your eating habits and that will make you aware of it. I also found it easier to give into my cravings, if needed but don't over do it. Office parties are the worst... I tend to just hand it off to someone else so I won't eat it all.
    Hope this helps!! :D

    My problem is: if I'm craving that food, I can't stop myself with just a few bites. It gets out of control. So I usually stay away from these things by not buying them. Being at work where we have free food and so much of it is candy, donuts, cookies, cake, and pie...I find myself struggling with boredom or stress and reaching for the treats. I'll have to take a look at that chart, maybe I'm deficient in some area.
  • RangerSteve
    RangerSteve Posts: 437
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    You can try fixing the actual problem instead of finding ways around it.

    Emotional eating? Control your emotions.

    Deep breathing exercises are shown to lower your heart rate, increase oxygen levels in your blood and calm you down. The next time you're stressed out at work (not sure what your job is) try avoiding people for 1-2 minutes and just breathing deeply. Seriously, try it. After 2 minutes you'll get a laugh out of why you were stressed in the first place.

    This bandaid approach to problems in western culture is only the cause of more problems. You can't fix emotional eating if you're emotional. You can't fix stress problems if you don't get rid of the stress. Fix the problem first and the rest will take care of itself.
  • myf1101
    myf1101 Posts: 99
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    Crunchy sounds good...maybe I'll try that or a protein shake. Water never helps me too much.

    I'm glad you said water never helps you. This is the advice I keep getting but it never helps me either. I have tried apples and carrots and both help short term, but not for long if I am craving chocolate. I have accepted that I may as well have a small bar of chocolate to beat the craving, at least it will keep the calories down
  • SpanishRapunzel
    SpanishRapunzel Posts: 53 Member
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    Aw :( I know how hard it is- I'm an emotional eater, too, and God knows what Mexican food can do to a waistline! And I work with an abundance of yummy pointless fat foods, too. Binging is a huge struggle of mine. Every day is a challenge. EVERY day.

    Don't drink water when you want to stuff your face, drink ICE COLD water. I hate cold water, but for some reason it helps a whole lot more.

    Find an alternative to your go-to food. For example, 0% Greek yogurt instead of ice-cream (the blood orange one makes me feel like I'm cheating on my diet, but it's low-calorie so good for you!), sugar-free oatmeal instead of a cookie (believe it or not, it's a good substitute), air-popped popcorn instead of chips, etc. And fruit is a huge helper! Keep some pre-sliced apples on hand (dipped in some lemon water for freshness) for when you need a bite of something sweet. Bonus: they're proven to provide a pick-me-up that rivals coffee.
  • SpanishRapunzel
    SpanishRapunzel Posts: 53 Member
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    Crunchy sounds good...maybe I'll try that or a protein shake. Water never helps me too much.

    I'm glad you said water never helps you. This is the advice I keep getting but it never helps me either. I have tried apples and carrots and both help short term, but not for long if I am craving chocolate. I have accepted that I may as well have a small bar of chocolate to beat the craving, at least it will keep the calories down

    For chocolate cravings, try sugar-free chocolate pudding. Works even for ...er... female-related cravings.

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