Have you ever been unintentionally sabotaged by a coworker, spouse or a complete stranger in the car next to you because they said or did something that upset you? You get upset, feel wounded and wonder why people can't be nice. To feel better and soothe yourself you reach for the bag of M&Ms you swore you wouldn't touch until you lost ten pounds. Welcome to emotional eating.
Emotional eating is a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, anxiety, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Sometimes emotional eating doesn't include stress or negative feelings at all but just the opposite. Many times we eat because we are happy and excited about something. The happy feelings can be a common trigger to celebrate with food for many people. Both positive and negative emotions can push the right buttons to make you hunger for the bag of potato chips or bar of chocolate in a nano-second.
Lack of Self Education
Understand the connection between mood and food. Why do our emotion make us run for the cake, ice cream and comfort foods that soothe us? Some foods may have seemingly addictive qualities. For example, when you eat enticing foods, such as chocolate, your body releases trace amounts of mood- and satisfaction-elevating hormones. Rewards may reinforce a preference for foods that are most closely associated with specific feelings. There is also the simple fact that the pleasure of eating offsets negative emotions.
We often use food as a distraction. If your in-laws are heading over for dinner and you are nervous, anxious or worried eating comfort foods may take your mind off it temporarily. If you are dealing with an unpleasant event and you start to eat your thoughts focus on the pleasant taste of your comfort food and not the event. You get a stay of execution so to speak but eventually you have to face the music of what was upsetting you in the first place. The problem now is that you not only have the event still at hand but also you may now feel badly about yourself because you overate.
Knowing all of this can help you plan and make better choices. If you can recognize the feelings coming on you can shift them by doing something different to soothe or distract you. People with anxiety disorders use this type of distraction very successfully. Something as simple as a crossword puzzle, word search, cleaning or anything that changes your focus can be successful. It allows your body to take a break from the stress without sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
When we are upset, anxious and emotional it is hard to stop and think 'what can I do to stop these feelings?', "How can I distract myself?' Having a few items in your head to turn too is a great help overcoming these emotional barriers.
Lack of Support
Most people don't have a support system and having one built into your program is vital to your success. It can help you through those moments that make or break your control when your emotions would have you reaching for the donuts. Having a coach, buddy, family member to text, call and talk to can be the emotional release needed instead of stuffing them down with food.
Instead of plunging head first into a bag of cheese puffs another option is to release your emotions and one way it can be accomplished by keeping a journal with you to write in when you feel the need to vent about someone or something. In addition, checking in at the end of the day with someone by phone or email is enough to keep you on track. Knowing that you will have someone to share your day with as well as the accountability factor is a great help. Being able to say that you handled the situation well verses you went to the drive through and had three happy meals, will build your self confidence each time you overcome the emotional urge to eat.
No Rules or Recognition
Sometimes you just need to make a nonnegotiable rule. Your rule can be nothing goes into my mouth without me thinking about why I am eating it, is it because of an emotion or hunger? 'If I am emotionally eating I am going to eat a piece of fruit or small healthy snack or distract myself. Whatever your rule, stick with it without negotiations. Learn to recognize true hunger. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a couple of hours ago and don't have hunger pains, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving a few minutes to pass. The average craving lasts 5-15 minutes. You can handle that
What's Your Trigger
It is hard to avoid something your are not consciously recognizing. If you don't take time to identify what triggers you it is unlikely you will be able to put the breaks on it. For the next several days, write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you may reveal negative eating patterns and triggers to avoid. Many people avoid this exercise and it is one of the most powerful tools to propel you forward.
Redirect
Redirection is used in many areas of our lives and it works but most people don't think to apply it when it comes to emotional eating. Start by thinking about other things you can do for comfort. Instead of unwrapping a candy bar, take a walk, go to a movie, get into a book or magazine, listen to music, take a bath, or call a friend, spend 5 minutes deep breathing to calm your body down and change your body chemistry. If you think that stress is propelling you at light speed toward the bag of Fritos, try talking to someone or research ways to relive your stress. Go on line for coach or community support or to sites that give you inspiration.
Look to see what other people do when they get upset rather than turn to food. Some people like to clean when they get upset [me] because you get immediate gratification from it [sounds like what you get from food when you eat it when your am upset], some just recognize the incident as a negative give themselves a time limit to be mad and then choose to release the anger [because it doesn't effect the person who made them mad and only hurts them if they hold on to it]. Have a list of quick rewards that don't involve food handy so you don't have to think doesn't about what you should do you can just pick from the list. Splurge on you.
Clean it Up
Avoid having an abundance of high-calorie comfort foods in the house. Also don't go food shopping when you feel hungry or blue, postpone the shopping trip for a few hours so that these feelings don't influence your decisions at the store. Get rid of the unhealthy food. Many people tell me the food is there for their kids. My response is why? Why would you want to feed your kids unhealthy foods that will hurt them in the long run? Did you give them unhealthy formula when they were babies? They are still developing and they still need good food, even more than you do. So you need another excuse. No excuse is a good excuse, just get rid of it and replace it with healthy alternatives.
Lack of a Balanced Diet
Go for the whole grains, vegetables and fruits, as well as low-fat dairy products and lean protein sources when choosing your meal. Try to eat at fairly regular times and don't skip breakfast. Include foods from the basic groups in your meals. When you fill up on the basics, you're more likely to feel fuller, longer. If you're not getting enough calories to meet your energy needs, you may be more likely to give in to emotional eating. Try eating a piece of fruit high in fiber like an apple before your meals. studies have shown people eat less during their meals.
Poor Choices for Snacking
Your snack should be between 100-200 calories or not much more so choose wisely. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a low-fat, low-calorie food, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with fat-free dip or non buttered popcorn or test low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving. If your hungry make it a high fiber snack to keep you full. Snacks are just as important as your meals.
Getting the Right Exercise and Rest
Choosing the right amount of exercise is equally important. Try to work towards 30 minutes a day and then increase to 45- 60 minutes if possible down the road. Remember you can break it up throughout your day. Try not to burn your candle at both ends. As hard as that can be some days it is very important to get enough rest. People who are tired have repeatedly shown in study after study that they consume more calories. Your mood is more manageable and your body can more effectively fight stress when it's fit and well rested.
Get Emotional Release
Many times the emotion [i.e. anger] that we feel is the trigger that makes us turn to food for self soothing and numbing. We find our mind chatter telling us that, We deserve it because they did this to me, or because No one recognizes all the hard work I do. You are feeling frustrated at something or someone. We all have a right to get upset and no one should be treated badly. However, it is how we handle the anger that is important. People do not factor in the emotional elements of their day and how it effects their decisions about food. If you factor it it then you can plan for it.
Plan for the ups and downs and how you will handle them. Everyone always thinks of the perfect day when planning their diet and then wonder why they went off when their day didn't go as planned. When was the last time your day went as planned? I thought so. So make plan B your plan A. Recognize the anger for what it is and how you are reacting to it. Why? Because you are only hurting yourself when you put the food in your mouth, not the person or thing that made you angry. Learn to release the emotion, communicate your feelings so you can redirect the anger to be useful and not self sabotaging.
reinforce your success by learn to S.T.O.P [Step back, Take a deep breath, Oppose the urge to eat and Pat yourself on the back] and empower ourselves with what meets our long term needs as a whole and not feed an non serving emotion for the moment.
SLAM DUNK YOUR STRESS!
Emotional eating is a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, anxiety, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Sometimes emotional eating doesn't include stress or negative feelings at all but just the opposite. Many times we eat because we are happy and excited about something. The happy feelings can be a common trigger to celebrate with food for many people. Both positive and negative emotions can push the right buttons to make you hunger for the bag of potato chips or bar of chocolate in a nano-second.
Lack of Self Education
Understand the connection between mood and food. Why do our emotion make us run for the cake, ice cream and comfort foods that soothe us? Some foods may have seemingly addictive qualities. For example, when you eat enticing foods, such as chocolate, your body releases trace amounts of mood- and satisfaction-elevating hormones. Rewards may reinforce a preference for foods that are most closely associated with specific feelings. There is also the simple fact that the pleasure of eating offsets negative emotions.
We often use food as a distraction. If your in-laws are heading over for dinner and you are nervous, anxious or worried eating comfort foods may take your mind off it temporarily. If you are dealing with an unpleasant event and you start to eat your thoughts focus on the pleasant taste of your comfort food and not the event. You get a stay of execution so to speak but eventually you have to face the music of what was upsetting you in the first place. The problem now is that you not only have the event still at hand but also you may now feel badly about yourself because you overate.
Knowing all of this can help you plan and make better choices. If you can recognize the feelings coming on you can shift them by doing something different to soothe or distract you. People with anxiety disorders use this type of distraction very successfully. Something as simple as a crossword puzzle, word search, cleaning or anything that changes your focus can be successful. It allows your body to take a break from the stress without sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
When we are upset, anxious and emotional it is hard to stop and think 'what can I do to stop these feelings?', "How can I distract myself?' Having a few items in your head to turn too is a great help overcoming these emotional barriers.
Lack of Support
Most people don't have a support system and having one built into your program is vital to your success. It can help you through those moments that make or break your control when your emotions would have you reaching for the donuts. Having a coach, buddy, family member to text, call and talk to can be the emotional release needed instead of stuffing them down with food.
Instead of plunging head first into a bag of cheese puffs another option is to release your emotions and one way it can be accomplished by keeping a journal with you to write in when you feel the need to vent about someone or something. In addition, checking in at the end of the day with someone by phone or email is enough to keep you on track. Knowing that you will have someone to share your day with as well as the accountability factor is a great help. Being able to say that you handled the situation well verses you went to the drive through and had three happy meals, will build your self confidence each time you overcome the emotional urge to eat.
No Rules or Recognition
Sometimes you just need to make a nonnegotiable rule. Your rule can be nothing goes into my mouth without me thinking about why I am eating it, is it because of an emotion or hunger? 'If I am emotionally eating I am going to eat a piece of fruit or small healthy snack or distract myself. Whatever your rule, stick with it without negotiations. Learn to recognize true hunger. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a couple of hours ago and don't have hunger pains, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving a few minutes to pass. The average craving lasts 5-15 minutes. You can handle that
What's Your Trigger
It is hard to avoid something your are not consciously recognizing. If you don't take time to identify what triggers you it is unlikely you will be able to put the breaks on it. For the next several days, write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you may reveal negative eating patterns and triggers to avoid. Many people avoid this exercise and it is one of the most powerful tools to propel you forward.
Redirect
Redirection is used in many areas of our lives and it works but most people don't think to apply it when it comes to emotional eating. Start by thinking about other things you can do for comfort. Instead of unwrapping a candy bar, take a walk, go to a movie, get into a book or magazine, listen to music, take a bath, or call a friend, spend 5 minutes deep breathing to calm your body down and change your body chemistry. If you think that stress is propelling you at light speed toward the bag of Fritos, try talking to someone or research ways to relive your stress. Go on line for coach or community support or to sites that give you inspiration.
Look to see what other people do when they get upset rather than turn to food. Some people like to clean when they get upset [me] because you get immediate gratification from it [sounds like what you get from food when you eat it when your am upset], some just recognize the incident as a negative give themselves a time limit to be mad and then choose to release the anger [because it doesn't effect the person who made them mad and only hurts them if they hold on to it]. Have a list of quick rewards that don't involve food handy so you don't have to think doesn't about what you should do you can just pick from the list. Splurge on you.
Clean it Up
Avoid having an abundance of high-calorie comfort foods in the house. Also don't go food shopping when you feel hungry or blue, postpone the shopping trip for a few hours so that these feelings don't influence your decisions at the store. Get rid of the unhealthy food. Many people tell me the food is there for their kids. My response is why? Why would you want to feed your kids unhealthy foods that will hurt them in the long run? Did you give them unhealthy formula when they were babies? They are still developing and they still need good food, even more than you do. So you need another excuse. No excuse is a good excuse, just get rid of it and replace it with healthy alternatives.
Lack of a Balanced Diet
Go for the whole grains, vegetables and fruits, as well as low-fat dairy products and lean protein sources when choosing your meal. Try to eat at fairly regular times and don't skip breakfast. Include foods from the basic groups in your meals. When you fill up on the basics, you're more likely to feel fuller, longer. If you're not getting enough calories to meet your energy needs, you may be more likely to give in to emotional eating. Try eating a piece of fruit high in fiber like an apple before your meals. studies have shown people eat less during their meals.
Poor Choices for Snacking
Your snack should be between 100-200 calories or not much more so choose wisely. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a low-fat, low-calorie food, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with fat-free dip or non buttered popcorn or test low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving. If your hungry make it a high fiber snack to keep you full. Snacks are just as important as your meals.
Getting the Right Exercise and Rest
Choosing the right amount of exercise is equally important. Try to work towards 30 minutes a day and then increase to 45- 60 minutes if possible down the road. Remember you can break it up throughout your day. Try not to burn your candle at both ends. As hard as that can be some days it is very important to get enough rest. People who are tired have repeatedly shown in study after study that they consume more calories. Your mood is more manageable and your body can more effectively fight stress when it's fit and well rested.
Get Emotional Release
Many times the emotion [i.e. anger] that we feel is the trigger that makes us turn to food for self soothing and numbing. We find our mind chatter telling us that, We deserve it because they did this to me, or because No one recognizes all the hard work I do. You are feeling frustrated at something or someone. We all have a right to get upset and no one should be treated badly. However, it is how we handle the anger that is important. People do not factor in the emotional elements of their day and how it effects their decisions about food. If you factor it it then you can plan for it.
Plan for the ups and downs and how you will handle them. Everyone always thinks of the perfect day when planning their diet and then wonder why they went off when their day didn't go as planned. When was the last time your day went as planned? I thought so. So make plan B your plan A. Recognize the anger for what it is and how you are reacting to it. Why? Because you are only hurting yourself when you put the food in your mouth, not the person or thing that made you angry. Learn to release the emotion, communicate your feelings so you can redirect the anger to be useful and not self sabotaging.
reinforce your success by learn to S.T.O.P [Step back, Take a deep breath, Oppose the urge to eat and Pat yourself on the back] and empower ourselves with what meets our long term needs as a whole and not feed an non serving emotion for the moment.
SLAM DUNK YOUR STRESS!
About the Author:
Recognized as an expert in her field, Patrice Ruggieri has been helping clients lose weight for over ten years.For a limited time you can receive your free personalized weight loss session with Patrice. Need support? Get weight loss strategies & weight loss tips to reinforce your goals free for a limited time.
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