5 Steps to help you put an end to emotional eating
Emotional eating is an effective way of finding temporary relief from a variety of life’s challenges. It works really well, and you do feel better for a short time, but then the unhelpful thoughts creep in which will put an end to your best intentions of eating healthy. You can get trapped in a loop, but you can put an end to the cycle of emotional eating and take away the power that food has over you.
The way to do this is, first of all, make the commitment to work at it, as you have to look inside yourself and get to know what is driving you to emotional eating.
Here are 5 steps you can take now to help you on this journey:
1) When you are experiencing difficult feelings, allow yourself to really feel them. Name the feeling and think about where in your body do you experience it. For example, if you are feeling stressed, does your heart race?
Acknowledging your feelings will help you to pause, and then you have time to think, which will prevent you from trying to numb your feelings with food.
2) Become mindful of what you are eating. This can be a bit tedious, but slow down how you eat. Taste, smell and feel the food. Chew slowly and really get the texture and taste of each bite. This is really effective as your mind has to focus on this task instead of thoughts about what to eat next and unhelpful thoughts criticizing yourself.
3) Eating sugary and fatty foods releases opioids in our brains and eating those types of foods will temporarily soothe your stressed, anxious or exhausted self. The answer is to find other ways to reward yourself. Make a list of things you enjoy doing and when you are thinking “I can’t wait to get home and eat a tub of ice-cream”, have a plan B that ready which is not food-related. At the same time, remember point 1) accept uncomfortable feelings and remember eating food is only short-lived relief.
4) Eat regular meals. Eating every 3 to 4 hours will not only keep your metabolism ticking, but it will stop your body sending strong messages to your brain to find food. It will also keep your blood sugar balanced if you eat the right foods.
5) The last point is to ensure you get plenty of sleep. A tired mind can’t make clear decisions. You want your mind to be in top shape to give yourself the best chance to put an end to emotional eating.
ONE SMALL STEP AT A TIME
The most important point to remember is, to take it slowly. It is a process that takes time and patience. Set yourself a small goal every week, for example: “this week I will focus on eating slowly and really tasting my breakfast”. Notice how I say “breakfast” not “every meal “. Keep all your goals that small, that way it does not become overwhelming you will more than likely be able to achieve that goal. This, in turn, will keep you motivated for the next goal you set yourself.
Now complete the worksheet in the Materials section of this lesson to discover what emotions lead you to overeat.