STEPS TO END EMOTIONAL EATING
Step One: Identify Your Triggers
The first step to
handling emotional eating is to identify your emotional eating triggers. We all
have different reasons for giving in to emotional eating. While you may never eat
when you're happy, your best friend may celebrate each small victory with a
binge. Some people clam up and subsist on water and saltines when she's
depressed; I eat anything within reach.
By identifying what
triggers our eating, we can substitute more appropriate techniques to manage
our emotional problems and take food and weight gain out of the equation. One
way to identify your triggers is to put it in writing. By keeping a journal
where you document your food and feelings you'll be able to record how you're
feeling and how much, how often, and what you eat. It doesn't have to be
anything fancy, just a plain spiral notebook will do the trick, Simply write
the date at the top of the page and then jot down what you're eating and how
you're feeling before and after you do. Also identify what stressors, thoughts,
or emotions you identify as you eat. You should begin to identify patterns to
your excessive eating fairly quickly. In time, you will find that your
emotional eating has a pattern to it. When you see it in black and white you
will begin to understand the true measure of your own personal emotional eating
triggers.
In short, every time you
put something in your mouth, write it down. It's helpful to write down more
than just the food item itself. Record the following information:
§ Date, including both day and month.
§ Time of day.
§ Where you were at when you ate (in your car, at
your desk, etc).
§ What you were doing when you ate? Were you
working? Driving?
§ How did you feel before and after you ate?
§ What prompted you to eat? Did something in
particular happen that day?
§ Who were you with? Were you alone?
§ What did you eat?
§ How much did you eat?
§ Were you hungry? How hungry?
§ Rate of eating. Did you eat quickly? Slowly?
Be honest — the diary is only for your eyes. Plus, it won't
be helpful if you're not truthful. Record the information for a few days.
Afterward, you likely will see patterns. Perhaps every time you get angry or
upset you find yourself reaching for cookies. Or perhaps you can't resist the
sight or smell of tempting foods, no matter how recently you've eaten. Whatever
your patterns, once you become aware of them, you can work on changing them.
Step Two: Recognize Hunger Signals
An important step in
dealing with emotional eating is to get to know your body’s hunger signals.
Have you ever noticed that we eat when we're "supposed to” from early on?
Starting from when you were a child in elementary school, lunchtime at school
meant that's when you are supposed to eat. Same goes for work lunch break.
Instead of eating when you are “supposed to”, try listening to your body and
eat when you're hungry. True hunger actually feels like a mild gnawing
sensation in the gut. Have you ever noticed when your stomach growls loudly?
That’s a sign of TRUE
hunger.
To find out if you're
feeling a craving or getting hungry, give the urge to eat a 10-minute waiting
period. If you've moved on to doing something and you suddenly realized you're
not hungry, it was a craving; if the urge to eat is still there, chances are
you're getting hungry.
Learn to recognize true hunger. Is your hunger
physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don't have a
rumbling stomach, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving a few
minutes to pass.
Step Three: Limit Trigger Foods
STOP stocking your fridge and pantry with the foods
you binge on!
§ Don't keep unhealthy foods around. Avoid
having an abundance of High-calorie comfort foods in the house. If 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.
§ Snack healthy. 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 unbuttered popcorn. Or test low-fat, lower
calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy you’re craving.
§ Eat a balanced diet. If you're not
getting enough calories to meet your energy needs, you may be more likely to
give in to emotional eating. Try to eat at fairly regular times and don't skip
breakfast. Include foods from the basic groups in your meals. Emphasize whole
grains, vegetables and fruits, as well as low-fat dairy products and lean
protein sources. When you fill up on the basics, you're more likely to feel
fuller, longer.
Step Four: Don't Skip Meals Skipping
Skipping meals almost
always leads to over-eating.
Step Five: Create Alternatives to Eating
The only way to put this
record to use effectively is to plan alternative activities to eating so
you'll have another option the next time the situation and/or feelings arise in
your life. Whether it's a bubble bath or curling up with a good book, planning
other activities will help you relax and avoid binges.
Look elsewhere for comfort. Instead of unwrapping a candy
bar, take a walk, treat yourself to a movie, listen to music, read or call a
friend. If you think that stress relating to a particular event is nudging you
toward the refrigerator, try talking to someone about it to distract yourself.
Plan enjoyable events for yourself!
Step Six: Exercise regularly and get adequate rest.
Your mood is more
manageable and your body can more effectively fight stress when it's fit and
well rested.
Step Seven: Believe in Yourself and Don't Give Up
Give yourself some
credit! When you trip up -- because we all do, don't give up! Forgive yourself
and start over the next day. Learning from your mistakes and focusing on the positive
will go a long way in ensuring your continued weight loss success.
Here is a helpful list of ways you can break
habits:
Usually, by the time you
have identified a pattern, eating in response to emotions or certain situations
has become a habit. Now you have to break that habit! Developing alternatives
to eating is the second step in this equation! The next time that those
cravings come on and you start to reach for that cupcake in response to a
trigger, try one of the following activities instead.
• Read a good book or magazine or listen to music.
• Spend time with a loved one
• Go for a walk or jog.
• Take a bubble bath.
• Do deep breathing exercises.
• Play cards or a board game.
• Catch up with an old friend
• Be productive around the house- do housework, laundry or yard
work.
• Wash your car
• Do some charity work
