Is Emotional Eating Sabotaging Your Weight Loss?

Emotional eating is one of the biggest setbacks of weight loss. But don’t feel alone. It affects a large percentage of people. There are tons of people everyday that turn to food for comfort. To make matters worse, emotional eating can be very counter productive. After the initial comfort wears off, many times you feel worse. It can be very difficult.

You do your best for days or even weeks, eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. Then something comes along and causes you to eat an entire pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream or a whole pizza. This makes you feel guilty for breaking your diet, leading to more emotional eating. It’s a viscous cycle that needs to be broken.

Of course, there are times when you don’t even realize you’ve fallen into the emotional eating trap. So the first thing you need to do is create a food diary. Each day you should write down everything you eat, how hungry you are, and what you’re thinking and feeling. This will tell you not only if you eat to satisfy your emotions but also what triggers you need to look out for.

For instance do you eat more when you’re alone, or after a stressful day at work? Does eating that cheesecake when you’re upset make you temporarily happier? Once you identify when you’re eating and why, you can plan an alternative.

The best way to counter emotional eating is to create a diversion. Whenever you feel the urge to eat when you’re not hungry, find something else to do. If you know you are going to gorge on cookies when you’re stressed, find a de-stressing alternative. Exercise is a great stress reliever. Maybe you could take a kickboxing class or learn yoga.

If being alone is your trigger, give someone a call. You could also join a group or volunteer to visit nursing home patients. You won’t be alone and you’ll brighten someone else’s day as well. Most importantly, find out what works for you.

And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Do what it takes to get the support that you need. It can be from your family and friends, a weight loss group, or even a counselor. I’m sure there are several people who would be happy to help you.

Just be consistent. You can use your food diary for as long as you need. Make sure you eat only when you’re hungry, find alternatives when you’re not, and take advantage of your support.

Tags: strength training, weight loss exercises, raw food diet, diet programs