Emotional Eating
Anger, depression and anxiety wreaks havoc with our eating habits. Our lives revolve around food which makes eating healthy difficult. We start out as children loving candy and dessert. We celebrate special events, birthdays, holidays and weddings with fatty, sugary, high calorie foods. We subconsciously turn to food during our trials in life or when things go wrong. We also turn to food as a reward for some accomplishment—sometimes even weight loss. That's why in order to prevent emotional eating it is important to always be aware of our emotions. Examine your feelings everyday. Are you feeling depressed? Angry? Anxious? Eating healthy becomes easier when you ask yourself these questions.
When you do slip up and emotionally overeat—we all have done it and most likely will do it again—don’t give up. It’s one day. Yes, the diet imay be blown today, but tomorrow is a brand new day. Beating yourself up and consuming yourself with guilt about it is probably the worst thing you can do. It leads to anxiety and depression which leads to overeating and binging. It's a ruthless cycle. When you're depressed, anxious or angry food becomes a comfort. You may start out with a light snack which quickly turns into a 4000 calorie binge. Then, you begin to question your will power and then self doubt creeps in. And then your best plan for eating healthy goes straight out the window.
To avoid this, plan your meals each day: the content of your meals, the portion size and the time you will be eating and stick to it. Many people eat to fill a void in their lives, and many times don’t even realize it. Examine your life and keep records of your eating habits. If you eat when you're not hungry, you may be trying to obtain comfort from food. You, also, just may be bored. Learn to eat only when you're hungry and plan to eat four to six small meals a day. Once the habit of eating healthy is established by consuming smaller portions of healthy food more often throughout the day you will not be as at risk of over-eating, binging and spontaneous eating—eating when you’re not hungry. You can prevent emotional over-eating by identifying the issues that cause you to over eat. Get a support system of friends to talk to when you feel the urge to over-eat. Get regular exercise. It helps alleviate anxiety and depression.
Tips to help
you overcome emotional eating:
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Determine your mood especially before eating. Be
prepared for the urge to over eat or binge when upset.
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Develop hobbies that take your mind off food.
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Plan your meals each day
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Walk regularly
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Strive to develop closer friendships
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Develop better spiritual health
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Drink 8 – 10 eight-ounce cups of water per day