emotional eating

[aintnosunshine]

I hope someone can help me breaking the emotional eating cycle

I cant seem to stop doing it even thought i want to so bad.

It all started when i was trying to lose weight and starving all the time. But know im not dieting, not even close. but whenever i get board or sad i start eating. its like an addiction ( which i have had issues with in the past )

Any advice on how to break addictions would be very much appriciated.
Thanks for your time.

 

[Jazcam]

Emotional eating is more common than you may think. The way I try to combat it is by having lots of healthy snacks on hand, such as protein bars, apples, 100cal prepackage snacks etc. I was once on the zone diet (low-carb, low-fat) and I drop 25#. Then the holidays came around and I drop this diet and never went back. I think that our bodies are fine-tuned towards starvation and an extreme diet will cause cravings. I also listen to my IPOD when I'm stress at home or I drink fluids. Sometimes I am dehydrated and not really hungry at all.

Good Luck

 

[spyrosmom]

I used to struggle with this too, and still do a small degree. I now tend to drink (not alcohol) instead. I reach for no cal beverages, water, tea, and (too much) diet pop. I know that the pop isn't good for me - it's all chemicals, but better than a pan of brownies. When I was really struggling with it, I decided to carry baby carrots around with me. One day I ate a whole bag in like an hour, trying to avoid the candy machine at work. I never felt so over full and miserable in my life!!! I couldn't stand to look at a carrot for about a week. But I thought if overeating on the good, healthy stuff is making me feel so crappy, them imagine what the bad for me stuff is doing. Yikes!!! That just kicked my butt into gear, and I haven't had too much prob since. I now stick to the no cal beverages when stressed.

Also, to address the eating because you're bored, try to find a hobby that uses your hands. I assume bc you're on this board, you workout frequently, so adding more exercise probably isn't the solution. I play video games, I do cross stitch (have to have clean hands - no eating!!), reading in bed - I don't like to sleep in crumbs. Or take a bath - relax, de-stress (I don't think I know anyone who eats in the tub). Play fetch ball with the dog - no one wants to eat with slobber-ball hands. Maybe take the time to learn a new hobby? What're your interests?

I've also heard it takes 21 days to form a habit, so I wonder if the reverse would be true? Maybe it'll only take 3 weeks to replace the bad with the good? That's not that long.

Good luck,

Nan

 

[jasper]

I read the Dr. Phil book on how to lose weight and one thing that really stuck with me was "replace bad habits with incompatible actions" - basically sustitute activities that interfere with overeating and other self-deafting behaviors.

I made a list of things to do when I feel like noshing (and it's not meal time and/or I'm not "really" hungry) - things like walk the dog, doing a manicure, put white strips on my teeth, etc.

I must admit it doesn't work all the time, but more times than not, it distracts me long enough to move past the urge.

Good luck!