I know very few people who eat only when they’re hungry and stop as soon as they’re full. They don’t overeat. They don’t eat for emotions. They eat because they’re physically hungry and that’s it.
Most of us fall into a different category. We’re emotional eaters. We eat when we’re miserable – stressed, angry, sad, bored, lonely – and we eat when we’re happy – celebratory, relaxed, or excited.
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How many times during the day do you eat when you’re not hungry?
If you stop and check the status of your stomach before you reach for food, you may find you’re often eating for reasons other than hunger.
During these times, you probably experience strong cravings for salty snacks, sweets, or fatty foods. (It’s doubtful that you’ll crave a salad with tuna.)
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When I’m really stressed out or overly tired, that’s when I want to eat. The problem is, I know too much information about emotional eating. So I have this whole internal conversation with myself – while debating whether or not I’m going to keep eating.
“Lis, you know food doesn’t fix anything. You’re just going to feel worse if you eat that. So, why do you want to eat anyway? What’s going on?”
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Emotional eating happens to everyone at times. We feed our feelings, trying to meet an emotional need with ice cream, chips, or fast food. But instead of feeling better, we feel worse – guilty and disappointed in ourselves.
Emotional eating is anytime we reach for food when we’re not physically hungry. It’s times when we eat because we’re sad, lonely, angry, or rewarding ourselves. This kind of eating, however, can really mess up our diet efforts.
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Many times when I talk to clients who struggle with their food, they relate their weight loss failure to emotions. “When I’m stressed I eat. If I have a bad day I eat. If I’m upset I eat.” And the list goes on.
Emotions, especially negative ones, trigger us to find an escape. We look for a way to cope and to find relief. This leads us to pleasure foods like cookies, candy, ice cream, chips, or pretzels.
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