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How to Stop Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is a worldwide phenomenon and a dangerous one at that. People who have trouble dealing with their emotions tend to stuff themselves with comfort food even when they are clearly not physically hungry, and apart from the obvious weight gain, sublimation of feelings can be explosive.

The vast majority of us derive comfort from food, especially junk food, but emotional eating becomes a real problem if you are doing it mindlessly. There are several triggers known to cause emotional eating and these can often stem from a poor self-image or lack of self worth. These triggers often have deep roots in childhood circumstances that created false perceptions of self, which might need to be sorted through with the help of another person, such as a life coach or someone you trust who is mature and stable enough to walk alongside you and aid you in deconstructing your faulty default setting.

Stress overload a major dilemma

One of the easiest triggers to deal with, however, is the one directly resulting from a stress overload. Increased stress in the body leads to an increased secretion of the hormone cortisol and one of the factors attributed to this increase is a craving for both sweets and snacks with a high salt content, both of which are incredibly bad for the body in uncontrolled doses.

The simple solution to the problem is to alleviate your stress in other, more health conscious ways. Yoga, meditation and any form of exercise should do the trick but it is also wise to confront the kernel of your stress head on.

Face problems head on

If your boss is giving you a hard time, be assertive and appeal to his better nature. If you wife is flirting with the neighbour, confront her and tell her in no uncertain terms that her behaviour is unsuitable for a married woman. And if the dog next door won't stop yapping, get hold of the relevant authorities and lodge a complaint.

Another factor, closely related to stress, is nervous energy. This often manifests itself in bruxism (teeth grinding) and uncontrollable nail biting, while in others it reveals itself in binge or emotional eating. Here the victim is simply stuffing food into his or her mouth to relieve tension.

Deal with the emotions responsibly

Emotional eating also occurs when you feel emotions like sadness, anger or depression (an implosive, or internal, form of anger), and many prefer to cry on a friend's shoulder with an oversized slice of black forest cake than to be proactive and deal with the emotions in a responsible way. Lastly, people who abuse food in adulthood have more than likely picked up bad associations in their childhood. How many of us were given sweeties for being a good girl, or an ice-cream to feel better when we fell and hurt ourselves, or were taken out to for a big meal as a reward for passing our exams? These incentives or comforts can stick as an acceptable form of behaviour for rewarding/comforting ourselves and instil lifelong bad habits like emotional eating, depending on the person, even when we are successful and in charge of our destinies.

Kick the kiddies habits

One way of dealing with these inherited eating defects is to choose a healthier alternative, so instead of stuffing crisps into your mouth you could opt for vegetables or fruit instead. You will still be placating the ‘emotional eating fairy', but this way your physical well being won't be taking a beating along with your emotions. Obviously the ideal would still be to confront what the root of the behaviour is so that it can be stopped altogether.

Quick solutions to sentimental scoffing

· Before you start the sentimental scoff, determine whether you are really physically hungry and if not, try to ascertain the trigger or emotion attached to this uncontrollable need to eat.

· See if you can resolve the emotion behind the ‘hunger'.

· If you really can't resolve the problem then pamper yourself with something other than food.

· If you can't stop yourself at the last point, try to at least make a healthy binge choice, or to drink 2 big glasses of water before you start your binge to

a) fill your stomach and decrease the size of your kilojoule-laden binge that will only leave you feeling worse than when you started on it, and
b) give you a little more time to consider what you are about to do and why you are doing it.

The most successful and longest-lasting solution if this is a continual pattern in your life, however, would be to find and talk to a life coach, or someone you feel comfortable with, about your difficulty (bear in mind that everyone has a weakness, even if it doesn't seem like it) so that you can pick up the phone if you sense that you may turn to food for comfort when you're feeling a little glum or negative about yourself or situation. People are far more effective at helping you sort through your feelings than food will ever be, because

a) they can offer advice and comfort where food can't, and

b) are a lot less judgemental about your difficulty than you think.

After all, we are only human and all need someone to lean on at some stage in our lives.

About the Author

www.kimknightcoaching.com