Overcome Emotional Eating in 4 Easy Steps
Do you feel like you have a never-ending battle with the scale and your energy? Are you tired of being tired and gaining weight that seem to stay with you forever? If you answered yes to any of these questions. The cause of your problem might be emotional eating.
Emotional eating is a complex topic, but it has essential elements that are easy to recognize.
What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating or stress eating is defined as a disorder that is characterized by the compulsion to eat even when you’re full. It tends to be a response to negative emotions, thoughts or feelings. It’s also a coping mechanism for those who are under tremendous stress.
Food often provides comfort for emotional eaters however, the comfort is only temporary! Are you nourishing your body or feeding your emotions? A hole in your soul can’t be filled with food. Emotional eating can sabotage your diet and weight-loss goals. It can also negatively affect your health and well being.
Here are 4 easy steps you can take today to stop the overeating!
1.Figure out your triggers. In many cases, emotional eating is triggered by an event, thought, or feeling. If you can figure out your triggers, then it will be less challenging for you to take control of them and stop them from encouraging you to overeat.
The most common triggers are stress and negative emotions. Other triggers can be difficult days in your business or on the job, fights with family members or a spouse, and issues with friends.
Having a Therapist or Life Coach may also help you deal with your triggers, provide support and encourage you every step of the way.
2.Try to eat only when you’re hungry. Teach your body to accept food only when you’re really hungry instead of viewing it as a constant source of comfort. This step will take time because changing your eating habits are challenging. However, you can take small steps to make dietary modifications. Learn to listen to your body and pay attention to real hunger pains.
3.Create alternative plans. For example, if you know that you overeat after a difficult meeting at work or with a client, then plan ahead and try to prevent it. Try substituting a more positive action that also brings you comfort or reduces your stress.
By creating alternative plans that don’t involve eating, you will be setting yourself up for success.
For example, you can plan a long walk or workout after work to get rid of stress.
Instead of turning to the refrigerator, ice cream, cake, alcohol or other indulges after an argument, you can binge watch your favorite TV shows or get on the phone with a friend.
The key is to find other ways to deal with stress and negative feelings.
4.Surround yourself with people who care. One of the main reasons many people turn to emotional eating is because they feel like they don’t have a support network. Do you feel alone and isolated? Reach out to family, friends, coworkers, and others for help.
Build a strong support network around you that can help you deal with negativity and stress. Find those whom you can call or visit without worrying that you’re intruding or upsetting them. In turn, be open to offering them support, too.
Explain to close friends and loved ones about emotional eating so they can understand why you overeat. Discuss effective techniques that can motivate you to stick to a diet and exercise plan. They can remind you and hold you accountable of these techniques when you need help, without being authoritarian or critical, to help you get back on track.
Emotional eating doesn’t have to control your life. You can fight it and overcome it. Start with the today with these 4 steps to reclaim your health. Engage and be aware of your intake not so much of what you are eating but, what’s eating you!
