Emotional eating, best way to deal with it?

Tubs

Full Member
Ok, I know the best way is don't pick up the Crunchie :D

But today for example, I was doing great(doing prep for cdc) until I had a bit of a set back and thought "f&*kit!" and had one of the kids bars(no calories, because it's not MY bar lol).

I realised what I had done about 5mins later, felt crap and almost went for another :eek:

So, do you have any tips or magic formulae for dealing with emotional eating?
 
I was the biggest emotional eater going. There is no formulae unfortunately that I have found however I find that if I fancy something (and I mean really fancy it) then I make the choice to have it. I normally end up eating less of it than I would have if I had just said F*** it and enjoying it more.

Understanding why I felt the need to eat it helped me more than anything else.

TBH CD is great for understanding your relationship with food, You will also find that you will appreciate food much more.

Good Luck with it xx
 
Thanks Nicky!

I'm hoping taking food out of the equation with CD will help me develop a new relationship with food rather than reforming the old one if you know what I mean?

Well here's hoping anyway!
 
oh and read other peoples blogs - especially cd or ll ones. Mikes (icemoose on here) has a great one. Reading about other people having the same feelings and experiences with food as me really helps give me hope that i can control my overeating like they have.
 
Cheers Marie :D

I've read some of Icemoose's blog and passed the link on to DH to read too, he used to thing 'men don't diet' until he read Mikes blog :D He's starting CD with me next week :D

I'll have a read of that forum too, thanks!
 
I want to know, when we emotionally eat....why do we raid the chocolate/crisps/icecream....we never turn to the lettuce or a tomatoe or a stick of celery :eek:
 
I want to know, when we emotionally eat....why do we raid the chocolate/crisps/icecream....we never turn to the lettuce or a tomatoe or a stick of celery :eek:

Exactly. The sugar rush you get makes you happy then it falls and you feel low so get more. the healthy choices dont give you that buzz as they sustain the levels. Damn xx
 
I've sort of reeducated myself to go for fruit or veg with dips :p while im on a diet, but I'm not sure how I will be when I'm off a diet I dont think it ever goes away :/ you just have to stop and think.. also have a look at all the success stories with the photos on here, there so inspirational.
 
I read a book which linked emotional eating to food addiction ... you eat to express your feelings. Apparently, we need to learn how to deal with feelings in another way. There's no formula, I think its a personal journey.
I wish I had cracked it, but alas, not yet.

Good luck on CD Tubs!

~Silence~
 
Thats why we yoyo, the reasons for us eating are still there when we get to target and then the weight goes back on. For me its inevitable really, but I so want to be slim and healthy again x
 
I've managed to stop comfort eating, more or less... still eat out of boredom sometimes though!

The thing that made me stop and think was realising that it actually wasn't all that comforting! When I ate because I was upset, I don't think I even tasted the food. It was just something I did on autopilot. At the start of my diet, I consciously did not eat at all unless I was hungry. I've loosened up a bit on that now, which I think is better because I don't want to have a F*** it moment and binge, but at the same time even when I eat naughty things I am always thinking what I'm doing and limiting the damage by not overdoing it.
 
planning has helped

What has really helped me has been to plan all my meals for the day and get my calories in check. I also have tried my hardest to replace them with exercise....but that is TOUGH!
 
When your emotionally hungry it can actually feel like real hunger, which is why you turn to food. I am an emotional eater, or be it a reformed one thru congnitive therapy. Eating when emotional is a learned behaviour to deal with upset/angry feelings, which are caused by triggers, like seeing someone thin and seeing yourself as huge or someone saying or doing something hurtful (trigger!) then you feel crap upset awful worthless etc....... comfort selves with food, other addiction, withdrawl or other behaviour....... which then can lead to being a trigger.....like weight gain making us feel bad etc.....so your in one big circle hard to get out of....... when I feel bad because of something, i let myself feel the feelings, I sense the time I will automatically do the normal behaviour and reason myself thru it....... dealing with it in a different way like allowing myself to feel sad or cry, to feel angry at these times i put the kettle on and listen to a couple of my favourite songs until I feel better and more in control. reconising it is the first critical defense against emotional eating.
 
what cognitive therapy did you use cherry?
 
hi havent been here for a while! I dont think i will ever get to target but it doesnt matter too much :p I am trying green tea and trying to maintain weight ...
 
what cognitive therapy did you use cherry?
Arranged thru my doctor, I see her once every two weeks, and since I understood the circle of self abuse I am in..... which she made me realise...... I've been dealing with it and I have lost 36lbs thru eating healthily and not emotionally eating, I was very depressed and feeling like i could not complete anything but now i feel that i can achieve anything I really wanted to, day by day, making each day count, bit by bit, progress, i am working on lots of things so its just not about the weightloss but about generally other bahaviours that i have like pushing people away running away from situations.etc.
 
Arranged thru my doctor, I see her once every two weeks, and since I understood the circle of self abuse I am in..... which she made me realise...... I've been dealing with it and I have lost 36lbs thru eating healthily and not emotionally eating, I was very depressed and feeling like i could not complete anything but now i feel that i can achieve anything I really wanted to, day by day, making each day count, bit by bit, progress, i am working on lots of things so its just not about the weightloss but about generally other bahaviours that i have like pushing people away running away from situations.etc.

That's really good.

I'm working on a sort of cognitive therapy programme which is one you do on your own, written by a woman called Judith Beck.
It sounds a lot like what you were talking about, triggers and recognising them. It's helping so far.
 
There's some great advice here. I think having forums like this (a friend? partner?) to turn to is very very important. I like the one about putting on the kettle and playing some favourite songs! Perhaps make an 'i feel down' playlist on Itunes, or keep some low fat hot chocolate in the cupboard for these times? x
 
Some great ideas on here for emotional eating which I shall be using in the future!

I have found in the last couple of months that I stop eating, rather than eat too much when I have been feeling down where as before I have eaten crap to make myself feel better. Neither are good tho!

But it is good to recongise the triggers and be able to act accordingly which is something I need to improve on!

xx
 
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