how to break away from emotional eating??

[mumofone2818]

I have done this mainly all my life & more so now stuck in lockdown.

I'm wondering if anyone can share their stories on how they managed to stop it? I have tried so many times but as soon as I feel any sort of emotion that isnt happy, i turn to food. With my depression getting worse due to lockdown i find myself eating so much more.

Has anyone ever actually been able to control this? For context we are a healthy household (apart from me) with plenty of fruit veg etc available but i always seem to fall back on to eating stuff unhealthy for me.

anyone?

Reading intuitive eating book and seeing a good health coach helped me deal with my eating differently. There is a book brain over binge that came up many times but I haven't read it yet. Good luck!

Read a book called The Fuck It Diet. It unpicks the reasons behind binge eating and makes so much sense. It's backed up by science but is engaging and not too wordy or sciency if that makes sense.

I genuinely feel it cured my binge eating disorder. I no longer binge and my therapist was impressed when I showed him the book.

For me it is to try to find comfort in other ways and keep busy with activities I don't normally associate with eating. It's hard though.

I paid for private blood tests which came back as abnormal - some very much so. This gave me the impetus I needed to make changes... because in black and white I could see what I was doing to myself, my over eating had caused high cholesterol, high levels of CRP, a vitamin D deficiency and an iron deficiency. Oh and pre diabetes

That was in November last year. I repeated the blood tests last month after 5 months of healthy eating and exercise and losing almost 3 stone. Tests all normal. I've reversed the diabetes and the high cholesterol and I have no deficiencies

I'm not sure I recommend the above to you - depends if you need to see 'proof' as it were. I did and it was the kick up the arse I needed

Recognizing that you're indulging in emotional eating is a great first step.

For me, the emotional eating was triggered by bullying. So when I changed school (after punching one of my tormentors in tje face... Such a fond memory !) that solved a lot of issues. Took me years to lose the weight though.

My best advice is :

• in the short run, make sure to have healthy snacks ready in advance so if you feel the urge to eat, you can just open the fridge door and help yourself. One of my favorites is carrot sticks with low fat yogurt dips, or gherkins, or yoghurt mixed with frozen berries (makes an awesome milkshake !)

• in the medium run, try to learn to enjoy healthy foods. Fast food and such really don't taste that great (to me, anyway). Spices and low-cal salad sauce can really make a huge difference. Exercise (post covid obviously) can also help, not so much with the actual weight loss as diet is key there, but to help you have more energy and feel better about yourself. I hate the gym but I love long walks (as in, I can happily walk 5-10k if I have the time and leisure, and preferably music). See what works for you, it can just be walking, or you can treat yourself to dance lessons, or martial arts, whatever works for you.

• in the long run you really need to address the emotional issues that you're trying to bury under the food. Either seeing a counsellor, or talking to loved ones, or just reflecting on what it is that you're running away from. Whatever works for you. The emotional part of emotional eating is just as important, if not more, as the actual eating.

Help and support from a friend/partner can help too, especially if they're willing to explore other food options with you.

Changing your eating patterns can also sometimes help, for several years I had only one meal a day (dinner) because this way I figured I could eat as much as I wanted and not worry about calories (this worked for me as I have a fairly small appetite, I appreciate it may not work for everyone). So figure out what works best for you, be it one meal a day or six smaller ones.

Also sometimes if I think I'm hungry I just have tea or coffee, and by the time I'm done I realize i'm really not hungry anymore.

I have the same problem :(

I will have a look for the books and try them! I do have depression/anxiety/panic disorder and as soon as I feel any of them taking over me i just eat anything unhealthy and with lockdown and not being able to jump out for it i'm finding myself either buying lots more when I do buy food necessities etc to last longer but there all eaten the same day, and embarrassing that I dont want to admit, i will bake a full cake or batch of cupcakes to sit and eat them all myself when i cant get any crap like sweets. My fridge and fruit bowl are always full of fruits veg healthy stuff but i would rather go out my way to eat rubbish than eat healthy? eventhough i like fruit amd veg. it's wierd

@mumofone2818 I find to break the habit with sweet stuff I need to abstain for 2-3 weeks, it's really hard but it definitely gets better! My advice would be not to buy sweet stuff, just put it back and walk away, don't think about it. Don't keep flour and other ingredients at home. I am sane I'll bake cakes when I need something sweet and eat it all! You can have bananas and peanut butter cookies, they are lovely, easy to bake and though high in calorie actually good for you. You can through oats there too and a bit of honey. Make a smalller lot, like 10 pieces rather than 20. I also love drinking tea with honey and lemon for a sweet fix. Also ice lollies are great in summer. You can do this, girl! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻