Are you an emotional eater? Do you tend to eat a lot when stressed? If so then you are probably suffering from emotional eating disorder. Emotional eaters consume large amount of foods, usually, in response to feelings. It has been estimated that about 75% of people who overeat is triggered by emotional factors. Unwanted weight gain due to overeating can be triggered by boredom, chronic anger, frustration, loneliness, stress, depression and poor self-esteem. The first step to stop emotional eating is to identify what triggers it. Once identified you have to replace your poor emotional coping skills with appropriate stress managing techniques. You should also learn how to manage your emotions and prevent yourself from turning into food for comfort.
However, stopping emotional eating will go beyond exercise and diet. You also need to be mindful of your eating habits and gain control over your emotions. It is a must that you overcome mindless eating and snacking, especially when you are under a lot of stress (a common triggering factor). Emotional eaters should also know how to identify the difference between emotional and physical hunger.
To stop your habit of eating mindlessly, you have to be honest to yourself. Instead of denying that you have a problem you have to acknowledge it. Remember that emotional eating is an issue that you have to solve on your own.
Physical vs Emotional Hunger
Most emotional eaters eat not to satisfy physical hunger but to soothe themselves particularly when their emotions start to overpower them. Emotional eaters eat even if they do not feel physical hunger. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, you have to stop for a moment and determine whether you are really hungry or not. Emotional eaters must know how to express themselves so they do not have to turn to mindless eating to feel relief or find comfort. Instead of eating, find someone to talk to, or you can keep yourself busy (to keep you from thinking) by doing worthwhile activities, like weeding the garden, mowing the loan, doing yoga, or cleaning the house.
Tips to Prevent Yourself From Becoming An Emotional Eater
Good news is that, there are plenty of ways that will keep you from turning into an emotional eater. Be sure to keep the following tips in mind.
- Stop mindless snacking while watching tv. Most often than not, people tend to eat more when watching tv. This is because they are not mindful of how much food they are consuming.
- Savor your food by eating slowly. You will eat less and aid good digestion if you chew your food properly.
- Listen to your body and watch out for clues indicating that you are already physically satisfied.
- Know what triggers you to eat mindlessly and deal with it appropriately.
- Look for ways to better cope with your feelings.
- Find someone to talk to when you feel like your emotions are starting to get the best of you. Rather than eating, there are a lot of more effective ways to deal with stress and emotional problems. Talking to a friend or a relative will help you cope with problems and stress more effectively.
