When you are stressed, angry or depressed, food can become a source of comfort. Maybe you start with a light snack but turns into a 3000 calorie binge. You begin to question your will power and self doubt creeps in. Your best plan for eating healthy goes out the door assuming you have a plan.
Anger, depression and stress can play havoc with our eating habits because life revolves around food. Eating healthy can be difficult because we love to eat candy and desserts from childhood. We celebrate by eating fatty foods at birthdays, weddings and other special events.
We subconsciously use food as a reward or to subdue the pains of life. We naturally turn to food as comfort when things go wrong. That's why we must always be aware of our daily emotions to prevent emotional eating. Examine your feelings everyday. Are you feeling anxious, depressed or angry? Eating healthy becomes easier when you ask these questions.
Don't give up if you blow your diet for the day. Tomorrow is a new day for eating healthy foods. The worst thing you can do is beat yourself up with guilt after overeating or bingeing, and you're most vulnerable when anxious or depressed.
Plan the time, portion and content of your meals each day and stick to it. Many people eat to fill a void in their lives. 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. Learn to eat when you're hungry and plan to eat four to six times a day. Cut down on portion but eat more often.
Once you establish a habit of eating healthy by consuming smaller portions through the day, you will not be as vulnerable to overeating.
Help prevent emotional eating by identifying issues that will cause you to overeat. Find supportive friends to talk with when you feel the urge to overeat. Weight Watchers is a good support and accountability organization for weight management. Regular exercise and good friendship help fight depression and anxiety.
Here are tips to help you fight the battle of emotional eating:
1. Determine your mood especially before eating
2. Develop interesting hobbies that take your mind off food
3. Know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) by using a BMR Calculator
4. Keep a food log
5. Plan your meals each day
6. Walk regularly through the week
7. Strive to develop closer friendships
8. Develop better spiritual health
9. Monitor your emotions. Be prepared for the urge to overeat when emotionally upset.
10. Drink 8 cups of water per day
11. Replace junk food with fruits or low fat treats
Calculating your BMR with a BMR Calculator is an important step. This tells us how many calories we burn a day by just existing. Breathing, hearts beating, kidneys functioning and everything our bodies do takes calories. Knowing how many calories these functions use is important knowledge in you weight loss program.
We have years of training under our belts the make us want to eat for comfort. It is a very difficult thing to go cold turkey and When you blow your diet.....Don't beat yourself up. Tomorrow is another new day.
11 Tips to Help With Emotional Eating