How to stop emotional eating

I am a big believer in dieting. And I think dieting is  the best remedy thus far to ward off any potential odors coming from your body. But, I am an emotional eater and this habit clashes with any potential success I have with staying on a diet. I am pretty sure there are other people out there who feel the same way. Who really want to stick on a diet that will possibly diminish their odor. However, since they receive comfort through food it is hard to give up on their eating lifestyle because they are also giving up on their biggest stress reliever. So with that, people who depend  heavily on comfort eating will have a extremely difficult time to transition into longterm dieting. I think the best way to remedy these bad habits is to find  alternative solutions that relieve your stress or make you capable of controlling your emotional eating. You see, emotional eating is a coping mechanism that soothes negative emotions like stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness, and loneliness. There are many life stressors that trigger an emotional hunger like unemployment, financial pressures, health problems, relationship conflicts, work stress, or fatigue. But if you are anything like me the major problem is the stress you get from being around people. The disappointment you receive when people talk behind your back or mock you. This burden that we have causes greater stress which might compel us to go onto binge eating. Moreover, people who binge eat uses the food  as an distraction because focusing on comfort food  distracts you from all of your painful situations.

Learn Stress Management

Now there are positive ways to counteract these negative habits that are harming us. Some ways to control your emotional hunger is by utilizing stress management techniques.Some helpful stress management techniques include avoiding unnecessary stress, altering the situation, adapting to the stressor, accepting the things you can't change, making time for fun and relaxation, and adopting a healthier lifestyle. For more information on useful stress management techniques visit this blog

This is a great video describing ways to relieve stress

Recognize the Problem

Another helpful technique is to recognize what is causing your emotional hunger. The common causes for it have to deal with stress, repressed emotions, boredom , the  feeling of emptiness, etc. . When you are in a moment where you feel like you need some type of comfort food  to make you feel better (i.e: chocolate, pizza, ice cream, hamburgers), ask yourself what is causing me to want these types of foods. Is the desire for these foods caused by the stress I'm dealing with? the loneliness I'm experiencing? the frustration I'm having with people? Knowing the exact cause that is compelling you to become emotionally hungry and acknowledging that it is not real hunger can allow you to bypass an emotional hunger incident.

This is a thorough analysis on emotional eating

Know the Differences

Some times people can't understand the difference between emotional hunger and actual hunger. If you learn how to distinguish between the two you will be able to pry yourself from any emotional hunger situations. One way to tell if you're emotionally hungry or not is through the hunger pains. Emotional hunger is an instant urge to eat food while stressed whereas  physical hunger comes to you gradually. There are other ways to determine if your hunger is an emotional one or a physical one, I have created this chart so you can see the differences between the two hungers. By observing the chart you see the emotional hunger outcomes are on the left and the physical hunger is on the right.

Emotional Hunger v.s. Physical Hunger
The Hunger Responses
Emotional hunger is a sudden need	Physical hunger is a gradual response
The Need for Satiation
Emotional hunger needs to fulfilled immediately	Physical hunger can be postponed
The Yearning for Foods
Emotional hunger craves for comfort foods	Physical hunger can be satisfied with a variety of foods
Never Satisfied
Emotional hunger will never be satisfied even having a full stomach	Physical hunger pains cease when you are physically full
The Emotional Consequence
After indulging in emotional eating you have feelings of guilt and shame	You have no ill feelings after satiating you physical hunger

Hunger Journal

This next option has been mentioned before in another post I wrote about concerning food. In any case,  another way to cope with emotional eating is to have a journal to write in to. But in this case you should try to write  in one that is designated to your  cases of emotional hunger. Writing down what you ate, when you ate it, how much you ate, and  what were you feeling when you ate it will track down what type of food  you eat when you are in a certain mood. In addition, writing in a journal is great stress reliever and  this can reveal to you what exactly is putting you in a bad mood.

Emotional Support 

IS A MUST

Family and friends can provide emotional support if you need it. Sometimes talking with someone that can relate to you or understand your problems will be beneficial in the long run because it will alleviate any built up stress you may have. If you don't have any emotional support there are a lot of forums on the internet that you can lean on or  go to for support. Two websites that I can think of off the top of my head is curezone and breath and body odor forum . If you're anything like me, your family always states that they cannot smell you  and believe that you are exaggerating your situation. That's why it is very necessary to have close emotional friends that can relate to you or at least understand where you are coming from.

When Boredom or Stress Strikes

Boredom can be  the ultimate emotion that may lead you into binge eating whatever you want. You always hear cases of people constantly eating snacks  like potato chips or cookies  while watching television because there is nothing else to do. Or situations where  you continuously eat a carton of ice cream until you eat through the whole container without even noticing. In order to avert that, keep yourself busy by doing interesting things like watching a movie, taking a walk, playing a game, etc.  A great way to prevent yourself from boredom is to write down 10 fun things or hobbies you love to do, so when boredom strikes you can easily move into those hobbies. I can testify that playing videogames and listening to music are some of main sources of my entertainment that will drive boredom away.

Don't Tempt Yourself

Trying to get off a bad habit of emotional eating is  already burdensome. Yet, attempting to avoid comfort food when its encompassing you is even more arduous. Make it a mission to remove any temptations of comfort food from your house, work area, or any place that you visit regularly. Creating an easier environment for you to succeed will help you in the long run. In addition, if you have a strong need to eat something in between meals because you feel a little hungry. There's nothing wrong with eating a little snack, but make sure that it's a healthy snack ( ex. baby carrots, grapes, apples, celery).

Don't Beat Yourself Up

Finally,  if you do have one of those days where you are driven into temptation and you are about to eat something that you know you are going to regret later on. Try to put off  that urge for 5 minutes, and within this moment of resistance ask yourself how are you feeling and how can you you fulfill this need in a healthier way? However, if you do give in to those urges do not beat yourself up over it. Just try to recognize what caused you to slip into that habit. So then next time you can learn how to avoid that circumstance again.

References

Mayo Clinic Staff(2013) Weight Loss: Gain control of emotional eating. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MH00025

Melinda Smith(2013)Emotional Eating. Retrieved from  http://www.helpguide.org/life/emotional_eating_stress_cravings.htm

Melinda Smith M.A(2013)Stress Management.Retrieved from  http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm