How to Overcome Emotional Eating

Eating is a part of life. Your body gets its nutrients from healthy food. At Sometimes we have all gone overboard with excessive eating resulting putting on weight. One issue with food is emotional eating.

Emotional eating may end with dietry and weight problems but it begins in the mind. When we are put under Stress it takes a toll on your life. When your health defenses are compromised your emotions will also takes a hit.

We all have good days and bad days. Some deal with the bad by turning to eating. You will look for comfort for your emotional hurts. We look use food for comfort find a coping mechanism that won’t judge them, hurt them or tell them “no.” To complicate the issue, eating pleasurable foods can stimulate the release of endorphins just like exercise. So, after you eat, you feel better.

Eating is used to relieve stress. We hide behind the food instead of seeking solutions to the problems. This is common when the stress is something horrible such as physical abuse or a death.

How do you know you are using food in this way?

The first sign of Emotional eating are clearly obvious. Weight gain if you eat too much. In light of the weight gain, also look at other areas of your life:

* Have you been under work stress or at home lately? * Have you had any traumatic happened in the last year? * Are you dealing with any family or relationship issues but haven’t found a solution?

Answering “yes” to any of these questions could mean that you are an emotional eater. You eat but you are not necessarily hungry at the time.

The foods that you choose are what we term “comfort foods”:

* High fat foods like French fries, fried foods * High carb foods like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes * Sugary foods like chocolate,ice cream, donuts, cookies, cake

Emotional eaters can get help. Recognizing that you have a problem is The first step. You’ll experience feelings of helplessness and guilt. The guilt will continue to ruin your health and the helplessness lies in the fact that you cannot see a way out.

Secondly, look for counseling it will help. You will find a counselors out there that can meet your need. Emotional eating has nothing to do with dieting or changing your eating habits but gaining control over your emotions.

Some of the things a counselor may suggest like visualization, practicing problem solving skills, relaxation techniques and family support. Visualization helps you to see your emotional hurt in a realistic way and not blown out of proportion. You will learn to see food as nutrition for the body and not an emotional crutch.

Thirdly, family members can learn your triggers to stress and look for changes in your eating habits. Family can help you be aware of the foods you are eating, assist you changing your eating habits and making healthy food choices and exercise along with you. Proper diet and exercise increases immunity, blood flow and positive thinking. Yoga enhances the mind/body connection so you don’t eat when you aren’t hungry. Finding new ways to solve your problems and deal with stress will push food out of the equation. You’ll feel good about finding solutions which will replace the dependence on food.