Are there situations, places, or feelings that make you reach for the comfort of food? We all sometimes turn to food for comfort – ice cream when we are feeling low, pizza or drive through after a long day at work. Most emotional eating is usually linked to unpleasant feelings. However, it can also be triggered by positive emotions, such as rewarding yourself for achieving a goal or celebrating a holiday or happy event. It’s okay to use food as a reward or to celebrate. It’s when eating is your only way to cope (for example, opening your fridge is your first instinct) that you can get stuck in an unhealthy cycle. This cycle does not allow you to address the real feeling or problems that are underneath.
Emotional eating happens when eating is used to satisfy emotional needs, rather than to satisfy physical hunger. This emotional hunger can’t be filled with food. Eating may feel good in the moment, but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. You often feel worse than you did before because of the unnecessary calories you’ve just consumed. No matter how powerless you feel about food and your feelings, it is possible to make a positive change. Together we can find healthier ways to deal with your emotions, learn to eat mindfully instead of mindlessly, regain control of your weight, and finally put a stop to emotional eating.
If you don’t know how to manage your emotions in a way that doesn’t involve food, you won’t be able to control your eating habits for very long. Diets so often fail because they offer logical nutritional advice, which only works if you have conscious control over your eating habits. It doesn’t work when emotions hijack the process, demanding an immediate payoff with food. In order to stop emotional eating, you have to find other ways to fulfill yourself emotionally.
In order to stop emotional eating, you have to find other ways to fulfill yourself emotionally. It’s not enough to understand the cycle of emotional eating or even to understand your triggers, although that’s a huge first step. If you’re depressed or lonely, you call someone who always makes you feel better. You can play with your dog or cat or look at a favorite photo or cherished memento. If you’re anxious, you can expend your nervous energy by dancing to your favorite song. You can squeezing a stress ball or taking a brisk walk. If you’re exhausted, you can treat yourself to a hot cup of tea. You can take a bath, light some scented candles, or wrap yourself in a warm blanket. If you’re bored, go read a good book. Go out and watch a comedy show, explore the outdoors, or turn to a creative or sporty activity you enjoy, such as woodworking, playing the guitar, shooting hoops, and scrapbooking.
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