Hands up if you feed your feelings?? Do you eat with happiness & celebration, boredom, anxiety, stress, sadness, fatigue, relationship problems, habit, or out of loneliness? We all do it at some point in our lives but some of us do it regularly, it's called emotional eating!
For emotional eaters, the emotion instead of actual hunger triggers eating and it becomes a primary coping mechanism. Most often we are so caught up in the feeling or the action that we don't even notice we are doing it until we are at the bottom of the family sized bag of chips.
With emotional hunger you crave a certain food and nothing else will do. It's a comfort food, it helps you and you reach for it without thinking, leading to binge eating. While mindless eating may feel good at the time it doesn't address the real problem or feelings that drove you to the fridge in the first place. Using food in this way to numb, soothe or celebrate can lead to the risk that we always associate that food with that core emotion and consistently use it as a crutch.
The type of trigger food you crave depends on your mood... ice cream after a break up, chocolate at that time of the month, chips for boredom, fried food at a social event.
Willpower and Moderation become nonexistent! While many experts suggest that suggest that dividing large portions ie a big bag of chips into smaller bags and only eating one small bag... in reality is that really going to happen... you're feeding your emotions and you know where the rest of the bags of chips / cookies are... one small bag becomes 2, becomes 3 and before you know it you have eaten the original large bag. Let's be realistic... how can we stop ourselves?
When you eat to satisfy hunger you stop when you are full. With emotional eating you keep going because you don't feel full and you don't feel satisfied. This becomes a real issue it's used to manage emotions on a regular basis. A stressful period of life can mean it's all too easy to try to make yourself feel better every day but it's not a cure and it results in guilt, depression, regret, loss of your goals, and feeling of shame. It's a negative vicious cycle... you overeat - feel guilty - beat yourself up mentally - get off track with your goal - feel bad - EAT!
Research from the University of Maryland shows that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions, so dealing with those emotions in a positive way is all too important.
So don't beat yourself up... learn from your binge attack, pick yourself up and set goals for the rest of the week
Tips to reduce emotional eating:
Recognise that you are not actually hungry, Learn what your trigger is and prepare yourself
Don't keep your emotional foods in the house or your desk.
Replace your craving with a healthy comfort food... chocolate ice cream can be replaced with Greek yogurt mixed with chocolate PB2 or organic cocoa powder
Eat regularly and often... 5 times a day(3 meals and 2 snacks), include protein and healthy fat with each meal
Drink a tall glass of water or chew gum when the craving hits
Do something! Go for a walk, take a break, read a book, call a friend for a chat or a coffee
Learn to manage your stress level: try yoga, a warm bath or see a professional
Keep a food diary and be honest
Get support - join an online support group or arrange to stay accountable with a friend
If you are a chronic overeater then consider seeking the help of professional Therapist to help you discover your triggers and how you can cope with them.
Daily exercise helps boost your mood and energy level while reducing stress
Get plenty of sleep...
Take time to relax... recharges your batteries
Spend time with positive supportive friends
Learning how to control your emotions and moderate your comfort eating are key. Healthy habits help break the cycle of mindless eating, healthy habits help you cope when life throws you for a loop.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7743938
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