I cant get past emotional eating

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Missy225
Missy225 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I need help! No matter how well I work out, diet, or lose weight, I CANT GET PAST EMOTIONAL EATING!!! Whenever Im lonely, stressed, upset, celebrating, or just bored I tend to eat. I will find any reason I can to justify this snack or that because of the 'fullness' i need when Im emotional. Can anyone help!?!
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Replies

  • interceptor311
    interceptor311 Posts: 980 Member
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    My problem too :-(
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    Recognizing it is the first step to stopping. Just take a minute and think about WHY you are going to eat, and if you still decide to do it think about what you will do for exercise to make up for it (and actually do it).
  • Brookhaven64
    Brookhaven64 Posts: 13 Member
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    Missy, I am Judy and go by Brookhaven 64. I have dealt with emotional eating my entire life and this program has helped me so much. I am a retired teacher and would be around to listen to you when you feel like you just have to have the snack. I am not saying I don't snack, but I have come across a few snacks that seem to get me through the rough times. Both of my parents passed away in November and the last year I really packed on the pounds because we traveled every weekend to help them. I was introduced to MFP in March and have lose 23 pounds. Just let me know if you need me.
  • bluetzu
    bluetzu Posts: 14
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    Drink a full glass of ice cold water, thats what a friend of mine does that way if you do have to eat the water helps to make you feel full and possibly eat less, and remember that it has taken years to learn to be an emotional eater so it will take some time to unlearn it
  • erikapereira
    erikapereira Posts: 196
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    I am like that too. I have been controlling it for the past weeks but today was my break point. Tomorrow I have an interview and I am super anxious. What I started doing is getting rid of all the junk food and get low cal snacks or healthier. For example I love ice cream and I bought a light ice cream that taste delicious and It fits in my diet.
  • rolyathslaw
    rolyathslaw Posts: 16
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    I have this same problem! Here are some things that help:
    (there was a great flow chart I saw, but I can't find it!)

    -Ask yourself why you want food. Does your body need fuel? Are you hungry? Or are you just bored or emotional?
    -Have a glass of water and count to 100. Re-evaluate whether or not your body really needs food at that moment.
    -Occupy yourself. Paint your nails, read a chapter of a book, get your mind off of food somehow.
    -After this, once again ask yourself if you are *truly* hungry. If so, grab a healthy snack! It's okay to indulge once in a while, but don't do it impulsively. Figure out how to work that food into your diet for tomorrow! Every food is okay in moderation.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Eating Less by Gillian Riley is a book precisely about this sort of thing. If looks at your eating as the problem, and weight as the consequence. Fix the eating and the weight solves itself, as it were. Worth a look.

    http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Less-ebook/dp/B005H0CALU
  • deejayy89
    deejayy89 Posts: 144 Member
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    I have the same problem! I'm so mad/ upset right now and it's taking everything I have to not shove the left over pizza from dinner down my throat!!!
  • aryastark8
    aryastark8 Posts: 57 Member
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    One trick is to postpone the snack. It's easier to say "I'll eat it a bit later", than saying "I won't eat it". In the meanwhile chances are you'll get distracted and forget all about it. And even if you don't, you'll end up eating less because you start later :-)
  • DesignGuy
    DesignGuy Posts: 457 Member
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    I need help! No matter how well I work out, diet, or lose weight, I CANT GET PAST EMOTIONAL EATING!!! Whenever Im lonely, stressed, upset, celebrating, or just bored I tend to eat. I will find any reason I can to justify this snack or that because of the 'fullness' i need when Im emotional. Can anyone help!?!

    It's going to take work. I was an emotional / bored eater too. And I've worked from home for ages, so I have nonstop access to food.

    Ate because my marriage was horrible for years and I was trapped, emotional getting hammered, etc.
    Ate because I was single again (happy).
    Ate because of [insert bad event here].
    Ate because I'm gaming (MMORPGs) all night long.
    Ate because I couldn't watch a movie without eating.
    And so on.

    I began to break the cycle by identifying patterns and stopping them. I used to darn near always snack hardcore late at night while watching something on Netflix. Now, I drink water and watch. Now and then I'll have some almonds or something healthy.

    Start replacing bad things with better things. If that's really too tough, start with portion cutting. Oh look, I'm about to eat a whole cake tonight. If you can't stop yourself, eat 75% or less. It's bad, but not as bad.

    Everything is an evolution of patterns. Most people have trouble because they try to go from one extreme to the other overnight.

    And drink lots of water. Yes, it's that important. I'm drinking about 1 gallon a day and have been for about 3 weeks. I feel the difference. Not saying you need to jump into a gallon a day, but get at least 8 glasses and work around that.
  • celebrity328
    celebrity328 Posts: 377 Member
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    I was a real emotional eater.. usually when I was alone etc.

    I took out all my tigger foods in the house and replaced them with items like fruit., veggies, and stuff like that.. Then when I felt i needed something I ask myself are you hungry? Sad? why do you want to eat? I then would make myself wait 30mins and then ask myself again why. I started to realize as I did this that most of the time I wanted to eat because I was bored or lonely.
  • michellelong73
    michellelong73 Posts: 1
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    I find myself wanting to eat when I am bored and have nothing to do. I have been like this all my life and I try to fight. I stocked my frig with veggies and fruit. That if i have to eat something it isn't to bad.
  • Presley0381
    Presley0381 Posts: 88
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    I have the same problem : ( I've learned to control it a little bit but I do have one or two bad days a month now...And my TOM, forget it!! It's worse!! Drinking a lot of water has helped a lot!! I wish I had more advice though, I could use the help too. Good luck to you *Hugs*
  • newmein2013
    newmein2013 Posts: 674 Member
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    Go to the library and get Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution - The 7 Keys To Weight Loss Freedom. It changed my life. I haven't read this article but I hope you find it helpful. Good luck!
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/dr-phil-ultimate-weight-solution-what-it-is
  • cherrybomb_77
    cherrybomb_77 Posts: 411 Member
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    I'm an emotional eater, too. When I get depressed or stressed out, I just want to EAT. Honestly, it's just a matter or willpower for me. :/ I try to pep talk myself "Don't eat it, you'll regret, you're out of calories, it's just stress talking" etc. If I really can't stop myself, I try to eat raw veggies and drink a bunch of water.
  • jackiecroberts
    jackiecroberts Posts: 115 Member
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    I too am an emotional eater. I hit my own rock bottom this year with my weight and decided to FINALLY do something about it!! That being said, I knew I needed help with my emotional eating. I read a book, "Eat and Grow Thin.". The author himself was very obese as a choice and teenage so he KNOWS what it was like to be heavy. He really addresses many reason why we overeat and I found the book to be very empowering. I still have a snack at bedtime (my worst time for munches) but I now have a mango, or some type of fruit. It satisfies my sweet tooth and allows me to have something. Plus, who is gonna overeat on fruit!?!? Check it out if you want an inspirational book, plus his menu plan is AWESOME!!
  • Peter3465
    Peter3465 Posts: 20
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    I was a very serious emotional eater, in fact because of that I grew to the +500lbs at one time , I have fought and struggled for years to lose to 450lbs now I had to learn the every time I wanted to eat or felt the need to eat , I would either drink cold water wait ten minutes then if I still wanted to eat I had a Atkins shake , or one of those shakes in a can , then I would wait another ten minutes if I still felt I needed something it was a fruit , or a honey nut granola bar. The key is to wait the full ten minutes , after awhile it becomes easier and at the same time you can stay within you calorie intake for the day. This helped me , everyone is different but I hope this helps.
  • Koshkaxo
    Koshkaxo Posts: 332 Member
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    I am as well, and the only way to stop it personally is to not have snacks around me. You cant eat whats not there, I only bring certain foods with me to work and try not to buy anything unhealthy while groccery shopping. Its not foolproof (sherbert was on salelast week so I reasoned it was meant to be..) but Im working on my groccery store willpower. Good luck and best wishes :)
  • ctprofessional
    ctprofessional Posts: 63 Member
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    Did you know that your body tells you its thirsty that same way it tells you its hungry? I start with water. If I still have the munchies, then I promise myself I'll snack after I'm active for 15 minutes(usually walking the dog). By then It's usually time to eat again anyway!
    I have three meals and two snacks a day, so I'm basically eating often and that helps me. I am under TONS of stress lately so I make sure my kitchen is full of healthey choices and if its not healthy, it is wrapped in a single serving size. My favorites right now are sugar free pudding cups or 100 calorie packs of EVERYTHING(nuts, cookies, crackers). One pack of bad stuff with a big glass of water BEFORE I eat is perfect.
    I find that if I drink alot after I eat, I dont feel aas full as long....
  • Sabine321
    Sabine321 Posts: 55 Member
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    I eat too when I am bored or upset. Have you tried cut up veggies and low fat/no fat dip? Or fruits? Or apple chips? I is hard, but you can do it! Good luck.

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