Emotional eating habits...

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toots99
toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am noticing something different...there used to be a time when, if I was feeling stressed, I'd feel better with food. Ice cream, chips, anything comforting.

Over the last few days, I've been pretty stressed out, but I don't seem to have any appetite at all. Like right now, food just sounds so unappealing to me. I'm going to have to force myself to eat something just so I don't get shaky and jittery.

Before this past year when I started eating healthy and losing weight, I was the exact opposite.

Has anyone else noticed this about themselves?

Replies

  • colombiana444
    colombiana444 Posts: 133 Member
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    Sure have. Anytime I felt down, food was a big comfort. I guess after all the hard work... Eating for comfort just seems like such a waste. In fact, when I'm stressed... Hitting the gym always seems to help me relax :)... Love the change though. But don't starve yourself if you are stressed either. Always eat right no matter what emotional roller coaster you are in .
  • vhardwick
    vhardwick Posts: 54
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    I've noticed that I'm not starving all the time lately, like I usually am, but I think it is because my alergies are acting up.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Sure have. Anytime I felt down, food was a big comfort. I guess after all the hard work... Eating for comfort just seems like such a waste. In fact, when I'm stressed... Hitting the gym always seems to help me relax :)... Love the change though. But don't starve yourself if you are stressed either. Always eat right no matter what emotional roller coaster you are in .

    It's weird how our body just starts to naturally react differently. Forcing myself to eat something is a completely new experience! :laugh:
  • squoozyq
    squoozyq Posts: 305
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    I find if I'm a little stressed, I eat. If i'm a lot stressed, I don't eat at all. Doing this whole calorie watching thing has also made me feel guilty about food.....and that's not healthy either. Ugh, why does it have to be such a struggle??
    :explode:
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
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    I do Ok with the emotional stuff if I'm not at home. If I'm out at work or running an errand or whatever then it's no problem, 'cause I have enough self control to not stop somewhere and take the wallet out and,,, This is partly 'cause I'm a real cheapskate, and partly 'cause I hate to sit in a restaurant alone.

    However,,, if I'm home alone and bored and have time to kill it's a real struggle. Yesterday morning was an epic crapfest in my world - but I go thru it. Did the work thing, and that was Ok. Then got home still a little depressed and had close to 3 hours to kill 'til my wife got home. We like to work out together, so I didn't want to exercise 'til she got home.

    I started dinner about an hour before she was due home. Just the whole evening was struggling not to stick something in my mouth - trying not to taste what I was cooking (again, and again :blushing: ). I went out in the garage and fooled around with that stuff for a while, took the dogs out a lot. I go through it without doing too much damage, but it was tough.

    Next time I'll just go work out - and when she gets home I'll just do it again. I survived boot camp, I think I can do 30-day shred twice and live to tell the tale.
  • Kath712
    Kath712 Posts: 1,263 Member
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    Here is something I heard a long time ago, and I still find it to be very true: "If you have a problem, and you eat over it, you now have two problems." (i.e. your original problem, and now a sore tummy and guilt about over-eating)

    I'm happy to say that I rarely eat over emotions anymore (I did it ALOT in my 20s). And even if I do anymore, it's like one cookie instead of the whole bag. If I start to eat over emotions, I hear that phrase in my head, and I say to myself, "How is this food going to fix what's wrong?" That usually gets me back in line, so I stop eating and go do something else.

    Glad to hear others are having the same kind of progress - it's great, isn't it? :flowerforyou:
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Here is something I heard a long time ago, and I still find it to be very true: "If you have a problem, and you eat over it, you now have two problems." (i.e. your original problem, and now a sore tummy and guilt about over-eating)

    I'm happy to say that I rarely eat over emotions anymore (I did it ALOT in my 20s). And even if I do anymore, it's like one cookie instead of the whole bag. If I start to eat over emotions, I hear that phrase in my head, and I say to myself, "How is this food going to fix what's wrong?" That usually gets me back in line, so I stop eating and go do something else.

    Glad to hear others are having the same kind of progress - it's great, isn't it? :flowerforyou:

    I like that saying, I'll keep it in the front of my mind. I usually repeat a different phrase to myself. "Don't give up what you really want for what you want right now." :smile:
  • hhca
    hhca Posts: 7
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    Yup -- see the same.

    I think a small part is physical and about how the body changes

    More of it is will power and my mind set. When I finally get my head around the fact that the focus is controlling calorie in take to meet my goal .... not gain weight and lose right now
  • tammietifanie
    tammietifanie Posts: 1,496 Member
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    When im stressed i don't eat and i find myself very stressed out daily so i struggle with eating period i eat around maybe 800 -1200 calories a day depending on how stress full my day is.. before i started dieting i would go for candy or chips but now i just don't get hungry any more when im stressed out..
  • Lisa0711
    Lisa0711 Posts: 1,405 Member
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    I've noticed that change too. Before when I was at my heaviest I just wanted to eat when I wasn't emotionally content, but now I just find other ways to deal with it like doing something I actually need to do. I'm so glad my body's reactions to getting healthy are finally getting in line, makes my life a LOT easier! lol
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    I've noticed that change too. Before when I was at my heaviest I just wanted to eat when I wasn't emotionally content, but now I just find other ways to deal with it like doing something I actually need to do. I'm so glad my body's reactions to getting healthy are finally getting in line, makes my life a LOT easier! lol

    It's funny...before when I was stressed, I knew just what to do about it: get some ice cream! (and then try to work out what was stressing me). Now, it's like I don't know what to do! :laugh: I just got home from the gym when I originally posted this, and part of the reason why I came home was because I suddenly got stressed out. So I guess, as of right now, I don't want to eat or work out when I stress beyond normal. Guess that's better than eating! :laugh:

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