Overcome emotional stress eating

Emotional eaters eat large amounts of food in response to emotions. This practice does not take place because of hunger. People who indulge in emotional eating usually consume junk foods.

This is quite a common problem and studies show that about 75 percent of overeating is directly influenced by emotions.

Food does provide temporary comfort and many people turn to food occasionally to feel better. However, some people become excessively dependent on food because of their emotional issues.

As a result of their reliance on comfort foods for coping with emotional stress they do not learn to apply the necessary skills that will help them to effectively manage and resolve those issues. People emotionally overeat for many reasons such as stress, anxiety, depression, anger, loneliness, frustration or boredom. Low self worth and conflicts in personal relationships can also drive an individual to overeating. Some common triggers of emotional overeating are as follows:

Social factors – If you find yourself overeating when you are around other people or when encouraged by others, you may be experiencing feelings of inadequacy in social situations. You may feel an urge to fit in which may lead to overeating.

Emotional factors – Anger, stress, tension, depression, loneliness and anxiety are some common emotions that often lead to over-dependence on food. You may overeat as a defense mechanism to cope with emotional stress, depression or loneliness.

Situational factors – Some people eat whenever they see an opportunity, such as when at a restaurant or when they see an advertisement for a type of food. Certain activities such as watching television or going to the theatre may also be associated with eating.
Physiological factors – Some people eat in response to physical cues such as when they have a headache or when they skip a meal.

Psychological factors – People with eating disorders may overeat because of their feelings of low self-esteem.

Emotional overeating can affect your life in many ways. Some of the consequences that emotional eating causes are as follows;

Fights or tension in interpersonal relationships can make you turn to food for comfort. However, the more dependent you are on food, the less likely you are to work out those relationship troubles. This habit may become so ingrained that you may stop communicating effectively.

People usually overeat to find comfort and an escape from frustrations in their life. When this happens, they often neglect their goals. Instead of pursuing their ambitions to feel a sense of worth, they turn to food.
Emotional eating suppresses negative feelings. Any conflict or negativity must be addressed so that it can be effectively resolved. Turning to food may help to avoid such issues in the short term, but major conflicts will keep coming back if left unresolved.
Since emotional overeating prevents an individual from facing their problems directly, they begin to take on a life of their own. They tend to grow until they seem frighteningly huge.

Emotional eaters, like other addicts, may perceive themselves as failures due to their lack of control. Addictive habits like emotional overeating can make people feel terrible about themselves even if they have achieved other goals in life. Such a negative self-image can then lead to more overeating.

If you find yourself indulging in emotional overeating, use the following ways to break the habit;

Pay attention to your hunger. Before you eat something, examine your hunger and rate it on a scale of one to five. One indicates that you are extremely hungry and five indicates that you are full. If your rating is about four or five, try your best to avoid eating.

Substitute eating with other activities such as taking a walk, chatting with a friend or listening to music. These activities should be enjoyable ones that are also easy for you to do. You can even take a warm bath or read a book to relieve feelings of tension.

One of the best ways to keep track of your eating habits is to maintain a food journal. This will help you to determine your most difficult phases. It will also add a sense of accountability and make you less prone to emotional overeating.
Another great strategy is three-food interference. This involves making a commitment to eat three healthy foods before eating any comfort foods. Most of the time, after eating those three healthy foods you will be less likely to eat anything more.

Exercise regularly in order to alleviate stress and improve your mood. This will also give you strength and enhance your fitness levels.

Not getting enough sleep can increase your hunger because it lowers the levels of leptin, which is a hormone that controls hunger.

Sometimes distraction techniques may not be entirely effective in dealing with emotional overeating. In such cases, it is advisable to try out relaxation exercises, meditation or counseling.