Emotional Eating

Do you eat when you are under stress? How about when you feel sad or angry? Although emotional eating is very common- among men and women- it’s also destructive. In fact, it’s the main reason David Schipper, one of our clients, regained his weight. After losing 33 pounds and keeping it off for 6 months, he took on more responsibility at work. The longer hours and stressful dead-lines had him derange of bagels and cookies.
To overcome emotional eating- whether you eat out of stress, sadness, anxiety, or even happiness- you must break with the association that links your emotional state with eating.
First, get honest with yourself. There’s probably a little voice inside your head that’s whispering phrases such as “But I’m really hungry”, “But I really need it” or “But I can’t stop myself”. Oh, hush, True hunger comes on slowly. You can satisfy true hunger with any food, including broccoli. Emotional hunger surfaces quickly and centers on one or two specific foods. With emotional hunger, broccoli or meatballs won’t do. You must have the bread or bagel or cake or cookie or whatever it is that calls to you.
As soon as you realize that you are craving a specific food, you need to find a way to soothe yourself with something other than food. There are plenty of nonfood-related activities you could employ, such as going for a walk, listening to music or calling a loved one. Think about which emotions drive you to eat and think about other ways you can deal with these emotions.