corporatehippieconnection The strongest cravings can hit when you are at your lowest point emotionally. When facing difficult problems, feeling stressed, or just bored – you might turn to eating for comfort.
It’s a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, anger, fear, sadness, loneliness, relationship conflicts, health issues, work or getting laid off, fatigue, difficulty with raising children, financial pressure, or simple boredom and lack of purpose.
Sometimes stress makes people eat less, and then impulsively binge and eat without enjoyment. Food can also be a distraction, and you might eat for comfort instead of dealing with the uncomfortable situation or problem that needs solving.
Whatever drives emotional overeating, the result is often the same. The comfort is fleeting, and this leads to a very unhealthy cycle of fasting and overeating. It’s a vicious cycle.
How do you gain control?
- Turn your bad days into good data. Learn from all setbacks. Keep a journal, forgive yourself for being human, learn, and get right back on track.
- Don’t deprive yourself. Learn to plan in and budget in all the food you enjoy.
- Keep a food diary. I can help you with an online tracking tool if you need it. Be patient as it takes time to learn.
- Get support. Ask your family members to help you. Consider joining a support group. You are welcome to join Nibbles Fitness on Facebook with me.
- Take away temptation. Keep trigger foods out of the house. When I needed to lose 85 pounds over 3 years Randy helped me by not bringing home ice cream and cookies!
- If you are bored, find projects that need to be done around the house and stay determined to finish them. Do a project to help a friend you can’t think of one for yourself. There is always something that needs to be done!
- Check your hunger. Is it really hunger? Or is it emotional? If you just ate a few hours ago, you probably don’t need to eat.
- Engage in stress relief activities; yoga, meditation, prayer, a walk outside, reading, listening to music, a hot bath, a cool breeze, a pet, a hot cup of tea or a cool drink of water.
- Drink enough water.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Get your blood pumping and your good feeling endorphins with some exercise you enjoy.
If you need help, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.
These are hard times for all of us, together we will get through it!
Roberta