How to Stop Emotional Eating?

Isn’t it emotional eating a real thing like If I talk about myself I do eat chocolates in stress and sometimes stress takes control over my mind that I cannot stop eating brownies or chocolates or cakes or pizza and the list goes on, even if I want to stop.  Damn! It’s a real thing as my double chin and bulky back are visible.

After all this, I asked myself how to control emotional eating, how to control stress and anxiety. After asking so many questions related to emotional eating, I researched journal articles and books related to stress. Finally, I prepared a check to self-help people who are not able to control emotional eating. In this blog, I have highlighted the working mood-food-weight loss cycle and how to get back on the fitness track. So, let’s get started.

What is the Mood-Food-Weight Loss Cycle?

Emotional eating is a way to soothe or suppress negative emotions like anger, stress, boredom, sadness, fear or loneliness. Stressful lives and hectic schedules can trigger negative emotions, which result in emotional eating and eventually increase body weight. Triggers of negative emotions comprise of:

• Hectic work schedules
• Relationship conflicts
• Fatigue
• Health problems
• Financial pressures
• Fear of exams
• Social anxiety

Binge or impulsive eating, consuming whatever present without enjoying the taste of food means you’re emotionally distressed. This type of emotional eating should be controlled or avoided ASAP! This cycle is known as a “mood-food-weight-loss” cycle.

After some time, these emotions get ties with your eating habits that you automatically reach to food whenever you feel anger or stress. It takes so much control over your mind.

If you are dealing with a painful situation or stuck in a conflict, food serves as a mode of distraction in this situation and you start focusing only on food to avoid such painful situations.

Driving of negative emotions to eat leads to an increase in weight. If you will observe the psychology behind this, negative emotions are temporary, positivity after some time returns back to life. But, the guilt of increased weight never goes. Therefore, it is very important to control or avoid emotional eating. Because, if you will not control the habit of emotional eating it will lead to an unhealthy cycle that will make things bad for you in longer run. You will feel bad, you will overeat, you will regret and the cycle goes on.

How to Stop Emotional Eating: Simple Tips to Overcome

Below highlighted some self-help tips to avoid emotional eating:

1.  Maintain a food diary

Whatever you eat just note down in a diary or you can also use your smartphone to pen down your food timings and stuff. By doing this, you will observe a pattern of your eating habits or you will also get a track of your stressful days.

2.  Reduce your stress

I know reducing stress is not easy. But, you can use stress management techniques to get over your emotional eating habits.

3.  Go through a hunger reality check

Observe if you eat for physical needs or emotional needs. If you’re eating food to prevent emotional breakdowns, you’re required to change your eating patterns.

4.  Get support from friends or family members

If you’re not able to avoid emotional eating on your own, you can take the support of your family members or loved ones. You can also join a small support group.

5.  Avoid boredom

Observe your eating patterns. If you’re eating because of boredom, try to avoid. Meanwhile, you can go for a walk, watch a movie, or read a book.

6.  Eat healthily

Try to eat healthy, so that your body can get all the essential nutrients. Eat less but eat healthy.

7.  Set goals

After you observe your emotional eating patterns, set goals accordingly, and follow them.

A word from Calm Sage-

Calm sage suggests you eat healthily and stay positive. If you’re not able to do so, seek professional advice ASAP!

Additionally, if you face any difficulty or if you have additional tips to avoid emotional eating, please let us know through the comment box. Also, follow Calm Sage on all social media platforms for such motivational and informational content.

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