Emotional Eating – Sandra found her weight ballooning 60 pounds after her separation from her partner. While part of the weight gain was obviously connected to the medication she was taking, the rest appeared to be the result of what can be described as emotional eating. Recently, greater attention has actually been concentrated on the problem of emotional eating for both ladies and men.

In fact, some experts have actually presumed as to claim that most weight gain can be blamed on emotional consumption. According to Women Today publication, it has been approximated that as much as 75 percent of overeating is credited to the feelings.

For a variety of people, eating way too much stems from anxiety. For example, if you find yourself taking in a whole bag of potato chips, it’s possible that anxiety is the cause. While many people realize that alcohol and illegal drugs are not an antidote to stress and anxiety, they may not comprehend that delighting in comfort food in order to combat stress and anxiety can be hazardous also.

In other cases, overindulging may be the result of anxiety. If you feel tired, hopeless, and have disliked your typical activities, you may be struggling with a depressive episode. In order to handle these unpleasant feelings, individuals may turn to food in an effort to comfort. The problem is that the food can result in weight gain, which can cause additional depression.

At times, overeating may be a symptom of monotony. An individual may figure that he or she has absolutely nothing better to do than overindulge. This can be especially true when one is seeing television or surfing the Internet. Rather than attempting to identify a cause for the dullness, an individual might simply try to “fix” it by enjoying high-fat, high-calorie food.

How do you understand if you are a emotional eater? Ask yourself some essential questions: Do I tend to eat when I’m fretted? Frightened? Sad? Do I find that eating lifts my spirits? Am I spending more time consuming than engaging in other activities I enjoy? Do my binges come after I’ve suffered frustration? Am I relying on food in order to deal with the death of an enjoyed one … a divorce … or the defeat of my favorite team? If the responses to any of these concerns is “yes,” you might be overindulging simply for emotional reasons.

After you’ve determined yourself as an emotional eater, you’ll require to take steps to correct your behavior. Possibly the most effective method is diversion. In other words, if you discover yourself grabbing the cookie jar, find another activity to take part in. The answer might be taking a walk, kickboxing, or dancing. Or it might be something less physically requiring, such as needlepoint or crochet. The idea is to get your hands … and perhaps the rest of your body … moving. In time, you might discover the urge to overeat subsides as you become included with other activities.

Another effective action you can take is to recognize the triggers for your emotional consuming. Do you tend to binge in mid-morning, mid-afternoon, or right prior to bedtime? Are you snacking while watching television, while at the computer system, or when you’re being in your favorite chair? By asking yourself these questions, you can recognize the time of day when you eat way too much, along with the location for your binging. With this information, you can find out to re-direct your behavior to less fattening pursuits.

Yet another practical technique is to develop a support network to help you fight overeating. The members of your support group could include your partner, children, moms and dads, friends, or other over-eaters. You may even consider signing up with a support system which focuses on helping those who participate in binge eating. If you feel the need to eat way too much, call a member of your support group. Talking through your feelings could offer you with the emotional release you require, making eating way too much unneeded.

If your anxiety or depression persists, think about seeing a psychotherapist. He or she can assist you develop more reliable coping systems. If you discover it hard to talk to buddies or household about your overindulging, a psychotherapist can supply you with the talk treatment you need to conquer your problem.

Emotional Eating – Is that You?

Food is a source of nourishment and energy. Without food, we would not be able to perform our daily activities. Our muscles would wither, and our nervous system would fail. So, we all need food.

However, food also has another role in our lives – a role of comfort and entertainment. Culturally and instinctively we prepare and serve foods to comfort those who have experienced loss, to celebrate joy, or to show friendship and love.

So what exactly is emotional eating?

Seeing food as more than just a source of energy and enjoying it simply for the satisfaction it gives is not wrong. In fact, science shows that food can promote good feelings through chemical reactions caused in our brains.

What IS a problem is when an individual cannot experience pain, anxiety, joy or even boredom without turning to food as means of dealing with those feelings, or they are obsessed with food, weight, and dieting.

Emotional eaters turn to food as a source of distraction from dealing with feelings. However, eating these foods leads to feelings of guilt which can only be soothed with more eating, restrictive dieting, excessive exercise or purging.

Emotional eaters tend to value themselves based on their weight and how closely they’ve stuck to their ‘ideal’ diet. Because of this distorted relationship with food, foods are labeled “GOOD” and “BAD”. Emotional eating can also lead to serious eating disorders and depression.

How to tell if you’re an Emotional Eater

Do you turn to food for reasons other than hunger?

Are you obsessed with thoughts of food – whether you plan to eat it or are concentrating on restricting yourself from eating it?

Do you regularly try diets and fail – leading to guilt and further overeating?

Do you think about or attempt to purge excess food by throwing up or using laxatives?

Do you exercise compulsively when you think you’ve eaten too much?

If you can answer “YES” to any of the above questions then you may in fact be engaging in this dangerous habit.

Overcoming Emotional Eating

Since emotional eating is caused by looking to food as a coping strategy for emotional distress dieting can actually create more problems.

When the emotional eater fails to stick to a diet they suffer feelings of guilt that can only be soothed with more food and in turn, more guilt or punishment.

Instead of trying to focus on what they are eating, the emotional eater needs to learn new skills for coping with stressful emotions. Often this requires the help of a Personal Coach or Therapist who deals with emotional eating.

It is only by finding replacements for the comfort food provided that the individual can put food into its rightful place and learn healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.  Looking for a local gym?  Try Crunch