Body Blog: End Emotional Eating

July 6, 2009 11:00 am     Posted in Body  Blair - Gettysburg College g+ page

emotional eating


By Blair

There have been countless instances where I’ve found myself shoveling nachos, ice cream or third helpings of dessert into my mouth. Realizing my own utter gluttony, I’ll drop the spoon or the cheesey chip and think, “What in god’s name am I doing?” Because the truth is I’m not even hungry. I’m bored or annoyed or just craving something that has nothing to do with food.

It took me years to identify any of this as emotional eating. I think because almost all of my girlfriends experienced the exact same thing. We’d even declare Sunday as the “Day of Eating” which made it OK to binge on the “bad stuff,” i.e. s’mores, pizza, bagels with cream cheese, to list a few. And the next day, of course, we’d all be at the gym, furiously working off the excess calories.

Looking back, I see how incredibly unhealthy and unbalanced this was. Yet, so many people turn to food to comfort themselves. In order to forget feelings from sadness, anxiety, loneliness or boredom, they reach for high-calorie, sweet, salty and fatty foods. And usually, they wind up eating way too much, which of course contributes to weight gain and guilt.

The good news is, all of us can regain control of these habits and get back on the healthy path.

1. Learn to Recognize True Hunger
When a craving hits you suddenly, ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?” It’s important to gain awareness of what is making you want to eat. If you just ate an hour or two ago, it’s likely this is simply an emotional urge. Wait and allow the craving to pass.

2. Know What Triggers Your Cravings
Start keeping a journal of everything you eat and make note of your emotional state with each snack or meal. This will reveal any negative eating patterns and will allow you to become conscious of what triggers your emotional binges.

3. Find Comfort Elsewhere
Instead of grabbing that bag of Doritos, go for a walk, clean your room, create a list of things you’ve been meaning to take care of and start taking care of them!! If you feel stressed or sad, vent to a friend, write in your journal, deal with your emotions head on instead of numbing the pain with a candy bar. Food is a temporary relief; obviously, it does not fix the problem.

4. Remove Unhealthy Foods from Your Space
Having high-calorie snacks lying around will only tempt you as you try to overcome your eating habits. Get rid of any chips, cookies, ice cream, cheese … anything that is unhealthy. Refill your pantry and refrigerator with low-calorie items and avoid urges to shop for the bad stuff. Again, wait for those cravings to pass. This is about disciplining yourself. You can do it!!!

5. Eat a Balanced Diet
You’re transforming yourself by putting the effort into ending the emotional eating. Now it’s time to become passionate about your body. It is a temple and deserves to be fed only the best. So give it the good stuff — veggies, lean protein, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy. All of these things eaten in balance will give you more energy and promote all over wellness. Number one, eat breakfast. Number two, don’t skip meals. Number three, include foods from the food groups listed above.

6. EXERCISE!!
I doubt anything can combat bad moods better than physical activity. It is the absolute best way to relieve boredom, fatigue and negative emotions. Why? Because exercise releases endorphins which give you an almost euphoric feeling post-workout. I know it’s difficult to jump into a cardio routine when you don’t already exercise regularly, but it can be done. And I promise you’ll feel like a new person once you do.

Here’s to beating emotional eating! Every one of us deserves to feel good about ourselves and you can and will accomplish this if you utilize the strategy I’ve discussed. Share your experience with us!

7 Comments on "Body Blog: End Emotional Eating"

  1. Amy says:
    Mon, 6th Jul 20095:49 pm 

    So sad… I recognize that Ben & Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream… and two weekends ago I ate one in less than 24 hours…

  2. beth says:
    Mon, 6th Jul 20096:13 pm 

    This is a great article- usually the ones involving food end up being demeaning, or insinuating those of us who eat are disgusting pigs.

    I agree with every point you made, especially the exercise one- I take a mixed martial arts class 2x a week for about an hour and a half each time- it's very intense, but I feel great after class, and for the rest of the week.

    I've never been an emotional eater myself, however I eat out of boredom ALL the time- I've found out that for me, the only way to avoid it, is to stop stocking my fridge and pantry with unhealthy stuff. I generally try to keep junk out, and healthy stuff in- and usually stuff that has to be prepared as well… If I have to actually prepare my snack, or meal, I am less likely to eat out of boredom, and more likely to only eat when I am truly hungry.

  3. Lily says:
    Mon, 6th Jul 200910:28 pm 

    I just ate a bag of potato chips because it was there and I was bored. Usually I chew gum in between meals – it forces me to really think about if I wanna spit out the gum and have a weirdly minty taste of whatever else I’m considering – but today, the bag of chips was closer than the pack of gum…

  4. Stop emotional eatin says:
    Sun, 18th Oct 20096:42 pm 

    great article I agree on finding comfort elsewhere, I am an emotional eater especially when I am stressed out I recently signed up for some online coaching with http://www.totellwellness.com to help me stop emotional eating. They also suggest finding other activities to distract you. I like to go for a walk or if it's too late or cold I just start cleaning, or read a book. I would suggest to stay away from watching TV as there are too many food commercials.

  5. Sheena Furnace, CHHC says:
    Mon, 13th Dec 20103:29 pm 

    I'm a health coach and compulsive emotional eater so I can certainly relate to this article and to many of your comments.

    Something that I find crucial to dealing with compulsive emotional eating is to develop a mindfulness routine around eating. Picking at least one meal or snack per day (and then hopefully working your way up to all or most meals and snacks per day) to eat completely without distractions. That means no TV, no computer, no books or music, no negative conversations. Light a candle, close your eyes, whatever you need to do to keep you present with the food.

    Something to ask yourself, Why are you rushing? Why aren't you present? Do you rush sex? Do you want to just get through that? Not to be crass but my guess to that question is that of course you don't want to rush sex. Sex is pleasurable and connecting. Well, food can and should be pleasurable and a way to connect with your body. But if you're eating quickly, eating too much, and/or eating foods that don't serve your body well, you're taking out the pleasure and connection with the food.

    So, start here. This isn't going to untangle all the reasons you compulsively emotionally eat.. that takes a long time of talking it out, journaling, meditating, etc. But eating mindfully as often as possible is a great start.

    SimplyHealthywithSheena.com

  6. Weight Loss Program says:
    Sat, 13th Oct 20124:50 am 

    Effective tools to start weight loss program and helpful for those who are struggling to lose weight. To lose weight we must prefer raw food over processed food, increase water intake, drink green tea, avoid beverages and soda. Exercise is must to lose weight so be regular in exercise.

  7. Emotional Eating says:
    Sun, 11th Nov 20122:02 pm 

    Emotional eating is a relatively common problem for both men and women. If you eat in response to your feelings, especially when you are not hungry, you are an emotional eater. Emotional eating means your emotions not your body dictate when and how much you eat.

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