Overcome Emotional Overeating In 4 Easy Steps
Overcome Emotional Overeating in 4 Easy Steps
Do you feel like you have a never-ending battle with the scale? Are you tired of
gaining weight that stays with you forever? The cause of your weight gain might be
emotional overeating.
What is emotional overeating?
Emotional overeating is a complex topic, but it has essential elements that are easy to
recognize.
- Emotional overeating is defined as disordered eating that is characterized by the
compulsion to eat even if you’re full. It tends to be a response to negative emotions
or thoughts. It’s also seen as a coping strategy for those who are under stress or who
have suffered abuse.
Food often provides comfort for emotional eaters. But the comfort is only
temporary! Emotional overeating can sabotage your diet and weight-loss goals. It
can also negatively affect your health.
Luckily, there are easy steps you can take today to stop emotional overeating!
Try these strategies:
1. Figure out your triggers. In many cases, emotional overeating is triggered by an
event, thought, or feeling.
If you can figure out your triggers, then it will be easier to take control of
them and stop them from encouraging you to overeat.
The most common triggers are stress and negative emotions.
1.Other triggers can be difficult days at work, fights with your family or spouse,
and issues with friends or coworkers.
Therapy may also help you deal with your triggers.
2. Try to eat only when you’re hungry. Teach your body to accept food only when
you’re really hungry instead of viewing it as a constant source of comfort.
This step will take time because changing your eating habits is
challenging. However, you can take small steps to make dietary
modifications. Learn to listen to your body and pay attention to real
hunger pangs.
3.Create alternative plans. For example, if you know that you overeat after a
difficult meeting at work each week, then plan ahead and try to prevent it. Try
substituting a more positive action that also brings you comfort or reduces your
stress.
By creating alternative plans that don’t involve eating, you will be
setting yourself up for diet success.
For example, you can plan a long walk or gym workout after work to get
rid of stress.
Instead of turning to your fridge and ice cream after an argument, you can
binge watch your favorite TV shows or get on the phone with a friend.
The key is to find other ways to deal with stress and negative emotions.
4. Surround yourself with people who care. One of the main reasons many people
turn to emotional overeating is because they feel like they don’t have a support
network. Do you feel alone and isolated?
Reach out to family, friends, coworkers, and others for help.
Build a strong support network around you that can help you deal with
negativity and stress. Find those whom you can call or visit without
worrying that you’re intruding or upsetting them. In turn, be open to
offering them support, too.
Explain to friends or loved ones about emotional overeating so they can
understand why you overeat. Discuss effective techniques that can
motivate you to stick to a diet or exercise plan. They can remind you of
these techniques when you need help, without being authoritarian or
critical, to help you get back on track.
Emotional overeating doesn’t have to control your life. You can fight it and
overcome it with these easy strategies