22 Mar How to Stop Eating Your Feelings

What do you gain from eating your feelings?

We all have reasons for our emotional eating.  But feeding our feelings with warm, fluffy, gooey, rich, salty, crunchy, everything-in-between carb-bombs is just a cover-up.  In fact, as a coping mechanism, it’s downright destructive to ALL of your health and fitness goals.

If you reach for treats to boost your mood, here’s how to quit eating your feelings and stop emotional eating for good.

OWN your emotional eating.

A lot of people don’t want to actually own up to the fact that food makes them feel better.  But it should come as no surprise that you can’t fix what you don’t identify.  So swallow your pride (instead of your edible comforts) and own it.  Once you do, everything else will fall into place.

Figure out what sets you off.

Common triggers include stress, depression, anxiety, and boredom.

Next, pay attention to what’s happening around you.  What takes you from being well-balanced and even-keeled to raiding the kitchen for cookies, mac and cheese, and ice cream?  For some people, it’s an argument with their partners; for others, their kids drive them up a wall.  Emotional eating typically results from stress, loneliness, anger, and even boredom when you have nothing else better to do.

Remove yourself from the situation.

Use the seconds you’d spend getting up for food you weren’t otherwise concerned about just moments before to instead remove yourself from the situation.  Walk in the opposite direction.  Step outside your house or office for a few minutes.  Send your kids to play in their rooms.  Walk the dog.  Do whatever it takes to get away from your trigger.  And if you slip up and give in, remind yourself that you CAN stop.  You don’t have to complete this binge, or punish yourself with this food any further.  Drop it, and walk away.

Replace this (bad) coping mechanism with another (good) one.

Sorting and talking about feelings sometimes sucks.  We get that.  But the way you cope with unpleasant feelings doesn’t have to be a diet-wrecking disaster.  Squeeze in a quick workout, take a luxurious bath, or stream your favorite show or music to boost your mood and keep emotional eating at bay.

Don’t buy foods that feed your triggers.

No way you’re reaching for this when you’re eating your feelings.

If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it—it’s that simple.  This not only saves you money, but knowing that you’ll have to get up and put clothes on, then drive to the Walmart/gas station/burger joint/ice cream place to get your fix will definitely make you think twice about eating your feelings.  Emotional eating is nearly impossible (and far less fun) when your kitchen is stocked with natural, unprocessed foods that taste like nutrition… instead of fun.

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