Emotional Eating Issue

Welcome! Emotional eating is a hard one, and I think a lot of us struggle with it. I've never been quite as bad about it as some, but I've had my phases when it gets bad. One thing that helps me when I want to eat for stress relief is just to be realistic and honest with myself. I'll ask myself a series of questions: Will this really make me feel better? Will this solve my problem? Is it what my body needs? The answer to those questions is generally "no," so I move on to another series: What can I do to solve my problem? What can I do to truly relieve my stress? What will make my body feel better (which in turn will help my mind feel better)? If I can't actually solve the problem, I just move on to stress relief, which generally entails getting out in the sun, getting moving in some fashion (even if it's just mopping the floor), and/or watching a good movie, catching my favorite show, or reading a good book.

It's not foolproof. Sometimes I still slip up. But going through that mental process has helped immensely, and even when I do indulge in some emotional eating, it's not as bad as it could have been. It's 2 cookies instead of a whole package, or it's a single serving of chips and dip instead of half a bag.

Well...I can absolutely relate to you. Food became a source of comfort and safety growing up in a troubled home. I never learned to have a good healthy relationship with food and I struggle with it still to this day.

The days I truly conquer my emotional eating is when I refuse to accept it, and acknowledge what I'm doing. If I find myself sitting on the couch eating a half box of Triscuits with hummus for no reason other than I'm bored and lonely, I get on my feet and go to my car and just go. Anywhere. The mall. The park. My favorite place to escape to is Barnes and Nobles. I spend hours in there looking through books on self help...making plans on how to tackle my next self demon. Or travel books....imagining places that my husband and I could go for our honeymoon (finally) or if all else fails, fantasy because sometimes real life just is too much.

Find some new hobbies. Was there something you enjoyed doing when you were younger that you stopped doing? For me it was two things...art and music. I played the flute for many years and put it down for no reason. I'm now playing again and looking for some sort of orchestra to join to play in because I love love love it. Also, painting..I have paints, brushes, canvas all over the place. Even if it doesn't come out looking like what I visioned, just the process of getting to teh end takes my mind off whatever emotion got me in a frenzy in the first place.

Be aware that it takes time, you may stumble and fall into old habits now and then but that is ok. Just keep trying. Meditate. Read. Sew. Play videogames. Keep yourself and your hands busy with other activities that you enjoy and keep reminding yourself that food is energy, not love.

Good luck.

It's really hard. I totally get it. I had been in a slump for a month. A couple things I found that helped me was that I would (when I was eating emotionally) log all the food I was thinking about eating before I ate it. Then I would think about why I was wanting those foods and then make the decision to eat it. Sometimes I didn't eat them and sometimes I did. But what doing this did was make me reflect on why I was upset and take a moment to redirect myself to something else to help with the emotions and stress - for me its video games and painting or reading, so you'll have to figure that one out.

Also, I found that giving myself positive reinforcement when I do do well helps curb the negative emotions, IE instead of rewarding myself with a treat or something (enforcing the positive emotions associated with food) I would do something else like buy a new book or nailpoish or something like that.

For me it is still a work in progress and it's really hard and somedays I'm going to eat a whole pint of ben and jerry's but overall I feel much more in control and far less upset when I can't satiate my emotional cravings.

I will be honest it has taken 3 months of non-stop work to get to this point and I don't feel 100% there. Keep up the good work.

My best tip is to surround yourself with healthy choices, so if you do end up grabbing something, it'll be something that won't set you back.

My best tip is to surround yourself with healthy choices, so if you do end up grabbing something, it'll be something that won't set you back.

It's a great tip. I have done this numerous times and it totally works. How is it that the garbage slips back into my pantry one box at a time?? *sigh*

I just don't even put it on the list anymore. And if it's not on the list, it doesn't get purchased. I came up with that rule to keep the kids from asking for lollipops at the register, but it works just as well to keep me from buying ice cream by the gallon.

But you can make good choices at that celebratory dinner, and you can limit yourself to one piece of birthday cake.

True story. But I'm starting to truly wonder (by simply watching my own behavior) if I can "limit myself to one piece of" anything anymore than an alcoholic can limit himself to "just one drink."
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And that's valid. I have a really hard time with sugary treats. If I have one, I'll crave sugar for days. So the key is knowing yourself. If you really don't think you can limit yourself, then find a different way to indulge that doesn't trigger your cravings. Maybe some fruit in some Greek yogurt, or apples dipped in peanut butter, or something like that. Or, simply don't eat anything if you're not hungry.

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got." Change the way you think about food. It's not a reward, it's not a celebration, it's not a friend to comfort you. It's fuel for your body, period. It takes time to change thought patterns that have been ingrained for decades, but be persistent. You're worth it.