Stop Cravings » emotional eating

Emotional Eating: Fact or Fiction?

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:08:28 +0000

Emotional eating is a subject that is written about over and over. Emotional eating is considered the act of eating as a result of feelings. For example in our society we use things to celebrate. Many people when overwhelmed with happiness eat to celebrate it. Many people also use food to numb themselves from painful feelings and to comfort themselves. This is called emotional eating.

However there are also people who believe emotional eating doesn’t exist. What they see as emotional eating isn’t the fact that one overeats because they are upset, more so that they are eating because their body is craving nutrients. Feeling upset and off balance is a signal to the body that more food is required. This rings true when we remember times we had been hungry and haven’t eaten in several hours or nearly the entire day. We can be snappy or sensitive and on edge with our emotions. Once we feed our hunger we feel better and more balanced. In this sense emotional eating makes sense.

In terms of the typical definition of emotional eating, one will “overeat” as a result of feelings. Is this true? Well emotional eaters tend to be people who do not eat very well. Many emotional eaters don’t eat breakfast or have very light food in the beginning of the day. As a result emotional binges result near the end of the day as the stress of their job or someone upsetting them takes its toll. When we eat enough our ability to manage stress is much better and we are less likely to turn to food to deal with it. We aren’t really turning to the food because of the emotion more because the emotion has reminded us that we are off balance and need to eat more.

In this way it can be very clear that emotional eating can be rectified by simply eating enough and eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. However in some cases it isn’t as simple as this and the notion of emotional eating does seem to exist. For example smells and different meals can remind us of our childhood and we often eat these foods in order to reminisce. Some foods also remind us of people – maybe our mother used to make us a beautiful lasagne and we want to reminisce as that person has died. This type of emotional eating is much harder to resist and overcome. It is only through understanding that not eating the food does not taint or belittle your memories that you can get past it.

Emotional Eating: 3 Consequences To Emotional Eating

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:14:38 +0000

Emotional eating is something that can be very hard to overcome. It is also the biggest factor to overeating and if you don’t get a grasp of it and don’t recognize it, it will almost be impossible for you to lose weight. Emotional eating not only will contribute to weight issues but it also has other consequences to it. This article addresses some of these consequences to get you to think about why it is so important to overcome emotional eating.

1. Bottling Up Feelings – Emotional eating is essentially a way to bottle up your feelings, to numb yourself so you don’t have to feel them. However, despite the stuffing you do, these feelings need to be addressed and they even demand it. You just keep forcing the food down to try and numb them out but they will keep coming back. The more food you eat, the more of a backlog you will get and a bigger pile of emotional issues to deal with. This is much scarier than dealing with one issue at a time and can make issues seem larger than life when they really aren’t The best thing to do is to deal with the feelings. At first you will have a gush of intense emotion because of the backlog you have created. But each time you deal with your feelings the easier and more manageable it comes. You will also grow as a person, be more confident and won’t have to rely on food to aid you any longer.

2. It can damage relationships – Stress in your relationship can push you in the direction of food. Food is a great comfort after a fight or a relationship issue. The more you use food to numb yourself from relationship conflict, the more you will turn to it when it starts getting tough. Instead of working through your problems with your partner, you will neglect doing so in favor of numbing yourself with food. This will ultimately destroy your relationship. If you want any of your relationships to work and if you want to be happy, you have to face problems and work through them, not numb yourself and avoid them with food.

3. It can stop you fulfilling your dreams – Many people feel frustrated and overworked in life. Food maybe your only reward in this world of work and drama. This reward often becomes habit and your habit of eating can get into the way of your ambitions and life goals. Instead of going out and fulfilling your life long dreams, instead food becomes your life fulfilment. Food is a quick instant fix to things but it rarely lasts for long and often results in feelings of guilt and depression. Don’t let it replace what you really want to do. Get it in control and reward yourself by working hard and achieving goals you have always wanted to.

Emotional eating affects us in more ways that just causing us to gain weight. We can become almost obsessed with food as it becomes a source of comfort. Unfortunately food will never fulfil you the way you are trying to get it to. In order to gain control of your life, weight and happiness, emotional eating has to be addressed. You have to stop craving emotionally.

Stop Eating Junk Food – Stop Being Bored!

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:55:49 +0000

It can be very hard to stop eating junk food. The worse time for junk food cravings tend to be in the evening and leading up towards bedtime. There are many reasons for this. Most people become bored after work as they sit down and watch TV. The boredom can lead to eating junk. This is just the way you have dealt with the feeling of being bored. Instead of doing something creative or something your heart desires (maybe because you feel too tired) you numb yourself. So each evening when you come home from work, you start to crave – you crave for junk because it numbs you and solves your emotional issue.

Of course, it isn’t really solving it, because as the next night rolls around, you repeat the process. You put on weight, you feel rubbish about yourself and that ultimately leads to more eating. It is just the way you have learnt to cope in the world. To undo it you need to learn to deal with your emotions another way and you need to get your needs met. Eating junk food doesn’t result in your needs being met; it just allows you to ignore them more effectively for a little while.

If you typically pig out in front of the TV, then its time to do something. Write a list of activities that you can do instead of eat. What things do you like to do, want to do but never thought you could? The bigger the list the better. If you aren’t exercising daily write this down as well because exercise is important. You can write more eventful activities to get a work out to than running or going to the gym! Maybe you like the idea of taking a dance class?

Write down as many as you can think of. May be you have some ambitions that have gone unfulfilled.

Instead of coming home and going straight to the TV, do something else. You may see TV time as your relaxation (although believe me it is far from relaxing you) so replace it with something relaxing. You could take a nice warm bath, do some yoga or meditation. Get yourself relaxed if that is what you want or like to do other work.

Try to plan your evening so that you don’t end up in front of the TV. You will find life much more rewarding if you are doing things that you love and that satisfy your need to be creative and playful.

In fact your best bet is to chuck out the TV or put it away for a week or so, see if that makes it easier for you to resist.

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Stop Cravings: Give Yourself Time To Relax

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:33:24 +0000

Sometimes cravings are a sign that our needs aren’t being met. For most of us, we are working 9 to 5, then coming home to deal with family – potentially cooking, dealing with kids and there just seems to be no time to do what we want to do, to relax, to be creative, to do things we enjoy. Even at weekends it feels like there is no time.

Most of us end up sitting in front of the TV, munching out as a way to deal with life and not having time, not having energy. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you want to overcome cravings you need to first start eating properly. Eat nourishing foods.

And secondly you need to start getting your needs met. One of these needs is relaxation/creative.

Giving yourself time to relax is very important in a world that is full of everyday stressors. Whether this is having a nice hot bath at the end of a long day, or dipping into a book, spending time with your partner etc. it is important for your health.

Being creative is also important. Diving into something you love has incredible power to it – writing a story, playing the guitar or painting a picture. Whatever your interests get creative! Life isn’t all about going to work – bring some spark back into your life and do not neglect your interests. Not sure what you are interested in? Try different things and get creative!

By fulfilling just this one need you should see a reduction in cravings and a better overall sense of well being.

Stop Cravings

Stop Food Cravings Once And For All

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:36:58 +0000

Everyone has a sweet tooth – we all love sugar and crave it, but the refined empty-calorie junk food sugar that is in all the advertised junk foods we have grown to love is not the real sugar we crave.

When we eat refined sugary foods it is our body simply going for the foods it knows and searching out the nutrients it requires (despite the fact the food rarely contains any nutrition benefit). If it knew better and was used to an abundance of fruit then these would be the first foods it would search for.

On top of this our cravings are usually emotional cravings. No one really reaches for junk foods for their nutritional benefit do they? And this is where the idea of what society sees food as goes wrong.

Food has a purpose, a function. It isn’t to entertain us (although you may disagree), it is to provide us with fuel, with nutrition so we can keep going. When we look to food for more than this, then we have a problem. Many of you probably know this, if you crave sugar, cheese, chocolate etc.

So what can you do to kick your food cravings in the butt?

First start adding in NUTRITIOUS foods. Make sure you eat plenty of whole raw foods. This will help keep physical cravings to a minimum.

Second, if this isn’t enough for you to stop craving and give up the junk, observe yourself and see what triggers yourself. Work on your emotional eating issues. This can be tough so use a program liek Roger Gould’s Shrink Yourself, to really get to the root cause of your proble,

Third – go cold turkey. The first bite is the EASIEST to resist. Once you go past that you will most likely end up bingeing. It’s inevitable. Just give up your prized junk food and start treating your body the way you should and deserve to. It can take some time to muorn the loss of your emotion comfort but it isn’t doing you any favors (and most likely leaves you moody and depressed the next day).

Lastly, believe you can do this because you can. You can give up your favorite junk foods, you will give up your favorite junk foods andy ou DESERVE to be free from food addiction for good.

Stop Food Cravings

Emotional Eating help: ShrinkYourself.com

Previous Post: Overcoming Overeating: Creating The Right Mindset

Overcome Cravings/Overeating: Creating The Right Mindset

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:49:08 +0000

Overcoming cravings can be as simple as erasing the physical causes (poor nutrition) of the cravings. But usually there is an emotional craving attached also. Emotional cravings are when an emotion triggers you to crave a food or feel hungry (Roger Gould calls this phantom hunger).

When we experience emotional cravings that are out of control, we need to start observing ourselves and seeing exactly what emotions are causing the triggers. Maybe we eat out of boredom. Maybe we eat because we are dissatisfied about our relationship. Cravings – emotional cravings – are telling you something. Instead of eating you need to listen.

A good start pointing when tackling this issue is to tackle our mindset first. Negativity is something many people habitually part take in. Our inner critic tells us we are not good enough and we constantly play the worse case scenario in any situation instead of weighing up all the facts.

Your weight loss outcomes can depend on many things but at the core of it all you need to believe in 3 things in order to successfully lose the battle with the bulge.

You need to believe:

POSSIBILITY: It is possible for you to overcome cravings.
ACHIEVEMENT: You are able to stop craving.
WORTHINESS: You deserve to stop craving and lose weight.

Possibility

Possibility is almost always mistaken for competence. We think that something isn’t possible, that we aren’t able to give up our favorite junk foods or stop craving when really we don’t know how to do it – we don’t have the knowledge or resources to be able to stop craving.

It is possible though, regardless of your situation. You can’t prove that it isn’t possible – you can only say that you haven’t achieved it yet.

Beliefs are not fact.

Beliefs are just our best guess at something and we often sell ourselves short. Do you think you have put a mental ceiling on your achievements? Do you think you have hindered your ability to stop craving through your beliefs about yourself?

Ability

Most of us tend to make others aware of our short comings, when we can’t do something. If you take a day out and observe people and what they say, you should notice how often people say they can’t do this or they can’t do that. We all think this is being modest, when in fact its not. Modesty is not boasting about what we can do, it isn’t boasting about what we can’t!

Once you become aware of yourself voicing your inability to give up chocolate/junk/sugar, you can stop yourself voicing it. If you continue to voice your inability to give it up, it will hold you back from achieving your lifestyle/weight loss goals. If you find it difficult to stop voicing your inability, a good alternative is to add the word “yet” to the end of your statements.

“I haven’t been able to give up chocolate…yet”

“I can’t stop craving…yet”.

It is also important not to make excuses for your craving failures. If you do not have the knowledge to prevent cravings, go out and get it. Set tasks that you need to do in order to achieve your slimmer figure.

A general belief that you should try to hold is:

You have not yet reached the limit of what you are capable of.

Keeping this in mind will help you to achieve your craving and weight loss goals.

Worthiness

Do you deserve to give up junk food/lose weight? Does it make you feel uncomfortable to say you deserve to? If it does, this should help you figure out any obstacles that are in your way to achieving your goal. List them and work out how you can overcome them.

e.g. I don’t have the correct knowledge to stop my sugar addiction – to overcome this I am going to do some research and find a suitable diet program or expert to help me.

Allow yourself to believe these 3 things and you will be on the right path to a positive mindset to help yourself overcome cravings.

Overcome Overeating

Click here for help with emotional eating

Previous Post: Binge Eating Disorder – What is Binge Eating Disorder?

What is Emotional Eating: An Introduction to Emotional Eating

Sun, 31 May 2009 12:05:51 +0000

For many people, simply following a balanced diet and exercising is not enough to lose weight. Many find it impossible to stick to a diet and to control what they are eating, despite their best efforts. Maybe you are one of these people?

You already know how to lose weight – you know you must eat more nutritionally but you seem to slip up at every turn. So what is getting in your way?

The answer is most likely a mix of physical addiction to food and emotional eating. Emotional eating is the hardest part to overcome and is what I will discuss below (physical addiction will be discussed in a later blog post).

The thing I have found is that a lot of the information available out there (including diet programs) is that they do not addresss this issue and if they do, they just touch on it.

However this issue is a big one and can stand in the way of someone achieving the healthy lifestyle changes they want. Especially if you are following a diet that restricts you in anyway. For some this can lead to a blind panic and before you know it you will have just engulfed a large chocolate cheesecake and will still be wanting more.

Food is a security blanket for many and to be restricted can make us feel vulnerable and exposed, even if we aren’t completely aware of it (which we usually aren’t because by the time we have become rational again, after a good old binge, we are too numb to feel anything).

What is emotional eating?

Emotional eating means to eat to satisfy emotional hunger. You eat food for comfort or a way to help you cope in life. You eat for reasons other than nutritional.

We all do this. Emotional eating is part of our culture. We use food to celebrate, to deal with upset, to deal with a hard day at work and even boredom (ever sit in front of the TV eating mindlessly?) It is a part of our culture. The problem with this is, it isn’t really seen as a problem in society, but it is one.

We spend so much time numbing ourselves, that when we do not have an opportunity to do so, we don’t know how best to deal with the emotions that arise in us. Food also has physically addictive properties within it that can affect our mood as well (I will discuss this later in a blog post) so everything can be very overwhelming. When we don’t live in the present moment and allow emotions to flow through us, but instead numb ourselves, we carry a lot of baggage around unknowingly. Sometimes this can surface in a bout of aggression or other form. The thing is, if we don’t face it, don’t learn to deal with our emotions then we just continue to live a life of numbing, of bingeing or craving. You miss out on the potential of life, of embracing emotions.

People suffering with this way of eating are driven to eat so they don’t have to face what is bothering them internally. They become addicted to the way they handle life. This is why dieting and calorie restriction doesn’t work. And since most diets do not teach you about emotional eating, we never become fully aware of it and think it is something wrong with us.

If others can do it, why can’t I?

Unless you learn to stop emotional eating and deal with your emotions in the present moment, you will find it impossible to lose weight and keep it off. Not to mention you will find it pretty hard to enjoy life fully if you are constantly battling with this issue with your weight loss.

If this resonates with you, then you are not alone and you can overcome it.

Kelly Aziz is an expert in the field of nutrition and addiction psychology. She is the author of the acclaimed “Free to Eat” Natural Weight Loss plan and Combat your Cravings ebook that helps you eat well and combat cravings for good. For more information please visit: http://www.Eating-Naturally.com

For more information about emotional eating please visit www.ShrinkYourself.com

Overcoming Overeating & Emotional Eating with the Shrink Yourself Program

Mon, 25 May 2009 21:19:56 +0000

Many food cravings and overeating issues can be eliminated when one provides the right nutrition for their body. However, not all overeating is a result of physical addiction to food or because one isn’t being a healthy eater. Sometimes it isn’t as simple as this.

As a society that uses food for celebration, mourning and for social interaction – the emotional element to food cravings and overeating cannot be ignored. For many people their emotional eating issues can be addressed with some self awareness and journaling, but many need more guidance and can’t overcome it alone.

It can be difficult, very difficult to overcome our attachment to food – the comfort it gives us, but it IS possible.

If you find that becoming self aware – finding your emotional eating triggers, getting support from others and nourishing your body to decrease physical cravings isn’t enough to stop you overeating, then ShrinkYourself.com’s step by step, 12 week online program may very well be the solution to your emotional eating.

ShrinkYourself.com offers a 12 week program that teaches you how to overcome the bad feelings and emotions that cause you to overeat. It has been developed from a proven program used in hospitals to help individuals overcome overeating. What the program will teach you , step by step, is how to become mentally stronger, to question your emotions and overcome bad feelings for good.

ShrinkYourself.com is also a wealth of information on emotional eating and overeating. It has many free interactive tools to help you become more aware of your patterns of eating and also has many articles on the subject. If you are struggling it is a great resource, whether or not you feel the 12 week program is for you.

Click Here to Visit ShrinkYourself.com

Previous Post: How To Beat Cravings For Good

Emotional Eating: What Is Emotional Eating