According to an article published in the April 2007 “International Journal of Eating Disorders,” emotional eating is defined as “eating in response to a range of negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, anger and loneliness to cope with negative affect.” Emotional eating can sabotage weight-loss efforts and even lead to long-term consequences as people condition themselves to turn to food when faced with hardships in life. Following these steps can help you stop this unhealthy behavior.
Step 1
Identify your emotional eating triggers. According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the most common emotional eating triggers include unemployment, financial pressure, health problems, relationship conflicts, work stress, bad weather and fatigue. Examine your situation to determine if these triggers are relevant in your life and if you started eating more often at the time they surfaced. Keeping a food diary could help you pinpoint when emotional eating occurs.
Step 2
Learn to distinguish between physical hunger and psychological hunger. In her book “Why Weight: A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating,” Geneen Roth offers the Hunger-Satiety Rating Scale as a tool to gauge your hunger. The scale ranges from a 1 (starving, dizzy, irritable) to a 10 (stuffed to the point of feeling sick). Rating how satiated you are at any moment can help you determine when you are really hungry and help you identify when to stop so you don’t overeat.
Step 3
Distract yourself from food. Instead of eating when you feel stressed or anxious, try replacing the behavior with another activity. You may find stress management techniques, such as yoga, meditation or massage, to be a more relaxing option. Or, if you prefer more rigorous activities, try working your stress out in a kickboxing or indoor cycling class.
Step 4
Avoid temptations. If you recognize your tendency to eat under stress, avoid contact with high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods, since the Mayo Clinic reports these are the foods emotional overeaters consume most often. You can’t overeat comfort food if it isn’t there to tempt you.
Step 5
Get help. Try talking to understanding friends and family about your emotional eating, or join a support group. Being able to talk through your problems and learn from the experiences of others can help you find ways of managing your situation. If you cannot confront the issues troubling you, or if you can’t stop emotional eating, you may want to consider therapy. A therapist can help you understand the motivation behind your behavior and help you develop new coping skills.
