Emotional Eating

So the past two weeks have been absolutely awful for me. Everything from family to job and school things had gone wrong for me. I stayed at my Nana’s house for a couple days to cool off and as much as I love my Nana, I swear she has every one of my favorite food cravings at her house. As I hid in my guest room eating my 3^rd ice cream cone; I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I saw nothing, but a really depressed and upset person. It was then that I realized that I am an emotional eater. As unfortunate as this is, I was bound and determined to stop myself. Realizing that I was an emotional eater only upset me more, but it was a different kind of upset. I was freak’n pissed at myself! All of the hard work I have been doing had gone down the drain because I was so upset that I decided to turn towards food for comfort. I threw away my ice cream and started doing Jackknife Crunches. I ended up doing an entire work out.

After I was done I felt so much happier with myself than I was after finishing an ice cream cone. Working out makes me feel so accomplished and proud of myself. Also when Im pissed it helps me work out my anger. Learning to channel my anger, depression and other feelings into my work out is definitely a process, but it’s something I’m working on. I found a photo on Pinterest that helped boost my motivation.

Also here are some facts I got from WebMD:  

How to Tell the Difference

There are several differences between emotional hunger and physical hunger, according to the University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center web site:

1. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly; physical hunger occurs gradually.

2. When you are eating to fill a void that isn't related to an empty stomach, you crave a specific food, such as pizza or ice cream, and only that food will meet your need. When you eat because you are actually hungry, you're open to options.

3. Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satisfied instantly with the food you crave; physical hunger can wait.

4. Even when you are full, if you're eating to satisfy an emotional need, you're more likely to keep eating. When you're eating because you're hungry, you're more likely to stop when you're full.

5. Emotional eating can leave behind feelings of guilt; eating when you are physically hungry does not.

Managing Emotional Eating

Here are a few tips to help you deal with emotional eating:

Recognize emotional eating and learn what triggers this behavior in you.

Make a list of things to do when you get the urge to eat and you're not hungry, and carry it with you, according to the Tufts Nutrition web site. When you feel overwhelmed, you can put off that desire by doing another enjoyable activity.

Try taking a walk, calling a friend, playing cards, cleaning your room, doing laundry, or something productive to take your mind off the craving -- even taking a nap, according to the Tufts Nutrition web site.

When you do get the urge to eat when you're not hungry, find a comfort food that's healthy instead of junk food. "Comfort foods don't need to be unhealthy," says Wansink.

For some, leaving comfort foods behind when they're dieting can be emotionally difficult. Wansink tells WebMD, "The key is moderation, not elimination." He suggests dividing comfort foods into smaller portions. For instance, if you have a large bag of chips, divide it into smaller containers or baggies and the temptation to eat more than one serving can be avoided.

When it comes to comfort foods that aren't always healthy, like fattening desserts, Wansink also offers this piece of information: "Your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you'll recall it as just a good experience than if you polished off the whole thing." So have a few bites of cheesecake, then call it quits, and you'll get equal the pleasure with lower cost.

Lastly, remember that emotional eating is something that most people do when they're bored, happy, or sad. It might be a bag of chips or a steak, but whatever the food choice, learning how to control it and using moderation are key.