We all have moments of emotional eating, and it’s different for all of us. Some people eat when they’re bored. Some eat when they are afraid. We eat when we celebrate. Sometimes people eat when they’re lonely or nervous or … well, you get the idea. Find something other than food to cope with your feelings, and overcome emotional eating for good.
Step 1
The first step to overcoming emotional eating is to understand it. When you feel like getting a snack, ask yourself what you’re feeling and why you’re eating. Has it been a couple hours since the last time you ate? Are you actually hungry? Does your body need fuel? Or is this emotional or random eating?
Consider writing down your feelings to learn your triggers. Is eating a distraction from a project you really need to tackle? Do you eat when you’re feeling anxious? Are you confused or upset?
Whatever your trigger is, you have it within you to end emotional eating.
Step 2
Once you know your trigger (or even triggers), devise some productive alternatives to eating. Make a list of options. Some suggestions might be to take a quick walk, take a bath, journal, and break a project or problem into manageable parts by making a list or doing a brainstorm. Instead of avoiding the feeling, confront it with a tactic that is going to actually help to resolve the feeling and create more peace. When we eat emotionally we are delaying the feeling that triggered the snack attack. And we’re consuming calories we just don’t need or want, which cycles into feeling like you’re out of control. Commit to eating when you’re hungry and when you have planned to eat and don’t let random eating sabotage your health.
We are all works in progress, and we continue to learn and change. Be alert to your feelings and the way you let them play out in your life.
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Helpful Resources:
The 131 Method. The new way. The better way to lose weight and overcome emotional eating.
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I have always been an emotional eater. I either turn to food or I cant eat at all. I do find that concentrating on something else helps. However sometimes, when I want a YOYO(two choclolate chip cookies with buttercreme frosting between them, I will drive to the store to get one :/
Thanks for the tips. This is an area that I have struggled with for years and I am ready to get unstuck and move on to a better way of living! Love the post Chalene!
Hi Chalene!
I bought your TurboFire over a year ago, and have only known “of” you from TurboFire until I stumbled upon your site. I love you even more now! I admire your honesty, upbeat personality, and positive attitude. Keep on keepin’ on!
Thank you for being you.
Sincerely,
Kristin
I am an emotional eater. I do try to figure out why I am craving lots of what I call comfort food–chocolate and junk food. I always feel badly after I eat it and think sometimes that if I had just gone for a walk, or listened to music to relax myself, I would never have overindulged and I would feel better if I just went for a walk and maybe had a couple of pieces of chocolate instead of stuffing myself with junk food. Thanks for all the tips!
I love your show! I listen to you at work all day and reply some of your podcasts. They help me to keep a positive attitude throughout the day. I just got married a little over a year. I am realizing my husband’s family can be very negative. It would be nice to hear a prod cast pertaining to how to handle awkward situation when dealing with family members who talk behind other people backs and try to get you to join them. I find myself getting trapped in a corner and feeling forced to say something bad about the person he or she is talking about. I would love to find the right way to communicate to them I am not interested in the gossip. 🙂
Very helpful! Thank you!