Overcome Emotional Eating
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Emotional eating is a term used to describe the process of eating when you're not really hungry. When you're eating from emotions, you usually are drawn to sweet, fatty foods, or crunchy, salty ones. Emotional eating usually happens when you're upset, angry,
sad, bored, lonely or depressed. If you think of it another way, emotional eating occurs anytime you eat due to a feeling, rather than true hunger.
Sweet, fatty goods are comforting- and it makes sense that you'd want to eat more of these when you are feeling sad, lonely or depressed. Crunchy, salty foods tend to be selected when you are feeling stress, because the act of chewing these actually reduces tension in your face and neck.
The problem with emotional eating is that most of us go through a range of feelings each day, and if we ate each time something upset us, or made us happy, we'd be eating most of the day- which is much too frequent, if you want to manage your weight. And this creates a vicious cycle, as you eat when you're upset, and then you get anxious or depressed because you're gaining weight, and, in this way, overeating is linked to anxiety and mood problems.
You can know if you're an emotional eater by your initial reaction when you receive bad or upsetting news. If you automatically reach for cookies, candy, cake, or chips, you are likely to be an emotional overeater. This is not the only choice, of course, as you could reach out for social support (such as calling a friend- zero calories) or you could go for a walk (which would burn calories, and could help you feel better faster, because exercise reduces stress, and can release endorphins.) Exercise and physical activity can cure many problems.
Emotional eating can also occur at certain times in the day, such as in the mid-afternoon, where your energy starts to lag and you feel tired. It's advisable to eat snacks during the day, in order to keep your energy high, but be careful of immediately reaching for "bad for you" foods when you're already feeling badly.
You won't feel better after eating too much food- you'll just make your body feel worse too. Find other ways to deal with your negative feelings, rather than eating. Clean the house, do a craft project, go for a bike ride- do everything you can think of to distract yourself. Opt for activities that don't add calories to your diet.
Choose healthier food options if you decide to eat. You can satisfy your crunchy cravings with carrot sticks or celery, and can satisfy your sweet tooth with sugar substitutes.
Coping with your negative feelings effectively will reduce your need to eat. Really, that is the best way to get over emotional overeating. If you want to manage your weight for the long term, you need to reduce emotional overeating to create a mindset for weight loss success.
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