Emotional Eating: Why We Stuff our Face to Feel Better

Posted by georgel on Nov 7, 2010 |

Emotional Eating: Why We Stuff our Face to Feel Better

Emotional eating is a very common problem. In fact, I would say emotional eating is one of the key reasons many people fail with their weight loss goals.

Today I have a guest post for you on exactly this topic. Joseph Gustav is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of earning your High buy generic acomplia School Diploma at Home for the Guide to Career Education.

Enjoy.

———————————————

For many Americans, it is second nature to grab a candy bar or a bag of chips when faced with a difficult situation. This is called emotional eating, and it generally involves impulsively (and often binging on) foods as a way to cope with stress, depression, social anxieties, and many other issues. It is a quick way to sabotage any weight loss plans, as the foods of choice for emotional eaters are “comfort foods” like sweets or junk food, and oftentimes only leaves the eater feeling guilty about their habits afterwards. This can lead to a vicious cycle where emotions are closely tied to eating: you feel bad, you overeat, you feel bad about overeating, you eat again.

To combat emotional eating, it is essential to understand what triggers it. Triggers vary from person to person, but include:

Work Stress
Anger
Fear
Boredom
Relationship Conflicts
Bad Weather

The triggers are really varied, but derive from a lack of being filled or some kind of desired return to normalcy. Emotional eating is truly an impulsive reaction, so much so that ampicillin 250 mg many emotional eaters do not realize what they are doing and why. Food is used as a distraction, one that shields us from dealing with more complex emotions.

westernunion kentucky eating” src=”http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/photos/alex.jpg” buy levitra medication diflucan purchase alt=”emotional eating” width=”400″ height=”265″ />

emotional eating

Instead of eating, which promotes unhealthy habits and only makes people feel worse, try these ways to break the habit and stop eating emotionally:

Keep a food journal. It will help to identify habits and what triggers them, which will only give you ammunition in your fight against emotional eating.
Have a meal routine. Only eat during normal meal times, such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner; no snacking allowed. Developing a new routine is essential to ending another habit. That said, do not deprive yourself of your favorite foods. Treats yourself occasionally, because self-deprivation will only intensify cravings.
When cravings hit, do something productive. Of course, emotional eating is not necessarily a matter of routine. One’s biggest struggles will occur when cravings hit. Find something more healthy and productive to replace eating. Go for a walk or jog, listen to or play music, read a book, call up a friend to talk, really anything to help take your mind off the craving at hand. Most emotional eating results from boredom or not knowing what to do when faced with certain emotions; give yourself something to do.
Find a support group. Emotional eating often stems from loneliness, so don’t go it alone when trying to overcome it. Join a support group to share your successes and struggles with others feeling the same way, and work together to overcome emotional eating — together.

Have you ever fallen victim to emotional eating? Does this hit home with you? Is junk food a normal part of your diet?

I’d love to hear your strategies for combating emotional eating.

Let me know by posting below.