Emotional eating may be a factor in as much as 75 percent of all overeating, according to the Department of Nutrition Therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. When you eat to feel better instead of to address hunger, you are engaged in emotional eating. Learning how to change emotional eating habits can be challenging, but the rewards--in the form of improved physical and emotional health--are worth the effort.
Step 1
Learn to recognize your triggers--the situations or events that cause you to crave food when you're not hungry. Try keeping a food journal for a few weeks or months, and record your eating habits, including what was happening in your life that could have caused you to turn to food. Look for patterns. A post-workout snack is probably the result of hunger, while an ice cream binge after a phone call from your mother might suggest something else. Recognize that you might have more than one trigger, and keep a list of triggers as you identify them.
Step 2
Make a list of snacking alternatives--activities you enjoy that don't involve food. Consider things like taking a bubble bath, going for a walk, meditating, sending an email to a friend or doing other things you enjoy.
Step 3
Substitute one of your alternative activities when you suspect your food cravings might not be due to hunger. If doing something else for a little while takes your mind off food, it's likely that you were seeking food for emotional rather than physical comfort.
Step 4
Consider taking a course or visiting a counselor to learn stress management techniques, such as yoga, deep breathing or therapy. If emotional eating has been part of your coping methods for a long time, you may need help to completely break the habit.
Step 5
Reward your success with small, non-food treats now and then to keep you motivated to maintain your progress. Choose something you'll look forward to, such as a manicure, movie tickets, a new book or another item you enjoy. Just be sure to select something that's not one of your food triggers.
Tips and Warnings
- Don't try to impose a strict eating plan on yourself to curb your emotional eating--most people can't make such dramatic transitions, and you'd be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, focus on making small, consistent changes that will add up to new habits when you stick with them.
