I Am An Emotional Eater

There I said it out loud. I am not proud to admit it, but I am after all only human.  I eat when I am stressed out. I also eat when I am happy, when I am sad, when I am lonely, and when I am mad.  That sounds a tad like Dr. Seuss, but it’s the truth. Ok, but seriously I also eat when I am bored.  Why? Well I don’t know, but if you are like me you may turn to food for comfort; consciously or unconsciously. We all know that there are worse thing out there than being addicted to food in times of stress or when you are feeling low, but emotional eating can really sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods.

SO if you are like me and prone to emotional eating, there is hope. You can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals. First thing you need to do is identify your individual “triggers”. You know the things in your life that stress you out or drive you into a binge eating frenzy. There are some people who actually eat less and loose weight when they are stressed out…I hate those people. Just kidding, we all have our own battles to fight and mine is with food.

Personally, my biggest trigger is schoolwork. When I have a big project due I find myself reaching for guidance from the fridge instead of my textbook. Your triggers could be work or family related, perhaps an illness or your feeling financial pressure, it’s different for each of us. Food serves as a distraction, it provides pleasure, and can even sooth a broken heart (Ben and Jerry is always my go to rebound). The worst part of emotional eating is that it often becomes a vicious cycle. Your emotions cause you to overeat, and then depression over blowing your diet makes you feel bad about yourself, so you overeat again.

The key to breaking the cycle is identifying your emotional triggers like I said, but there are some other steps you can take to minimize the power your emotions have over what you put in your mouth.  This is what has worked for me. I keep a food diary of everything I eat. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are.  I know this sounds tedious, but the cold hard truth in black and white is often enough of a deterrent to prevent overeating.

Snack healthy and take away temptation. Don’t buy the unhealthy treats and snacks that you just cant resist. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, take a moment to think if you are really hungry or just bored. Then choose healthy low-fat, low-calorie snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with hummus or unbuttered popcorn. Finally if you have a set back, let it go. Don’t beat yourself up over it because that will start the cycle again. Just count that as a cheat day and get back on the wagon in the morning and make better choices.

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