Emotional eating is problematic for many over-eaters. When stress goes up – food and calories often go up as well. When depression sets in, food can be used as a way to stop the hurt. There is some truth to the phrase “comfort food”. Food has a way of making us feel better or it can take the focus off what is making us feel bad. This is emotional eating.
Using food based on our emotions is similar to how an alcoholic uses alcohol. After a period of emotional eating or a food binge the results are not unlike an alcohol binge. We can be left feeling empty and often self-loathing is a consequence of this behavior. This begins a cyclical practice. We look to food to fill a void; make us feel better and ultimately end up feeling far worse. This is a viscous cycle that can be very damaging.
How can we make healthy food choices when life becomes overwhelming? Making poor food choices is easy. There are always reasons to make bad food choices. Fast food restaurants and junk food is always convenient. Oftentimes healthy food requires more time and attention to prepare. When we are feeling down – it’s that much more difficult to exert the energy into healthy food.
Perhaps a new or different approach to eating healthy should be considered. A different attitude about diet can be very beneficial. Eating healthy should be viewed the same way you view brushing your teeth. Most of us wouldn’t consider not brushing our teeth just because we didn’t feel like it. Try making healthy food choices a priority – the same as brushing your teeth. If the urge to eat or your emotions are such that you feel you must eat – eat something healthy. Subsequently getting away from food altogether may be necessary to avoid the temptation of making bad choices. But how do you get away from food when food is everywhere?
Divert your attention from food with a favorite hobby; a phone call to a friend; or even exercise. Ofttimes the desire to eat will pass and if you make yourself busy with something else – you will forget about eating. Diverting your attention with exercise can be beneficial emotionally too. Exercise can get the endorphins flowing. Endorphins have a way of changing moods; making your feel better overall and take your mind off food. Although exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing when you’re feeling down – it’s most definitely a worthwhile and profitable choice. And if you reward your body with something good and your mind or emotions may return the favor.
We may not always feel like making good food choices or eating healthy. In fact, eating unhealthy may be just what we feel like doing. When emotions start to rise and unhealthy food is looking good – an attitude adjustment is necessary. When you’re feeling good – begin to train yourself to eat healthy even when you’re feeling bad and know that there are alternative and constructive choices that can be made that don’t rely on food to heal us emotionally.
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This is what my friend once said when I asked her about her gaining weight, she said coz she’s depressed and she turns to food for comfort. You’d most likely find her on eat all you can restaurants … but the exact opposite is whats happened to me … I lose weight coz am depressed … down to 25 inches from 30 inches in less than a month’s time.
Great article, so many health sites and promotions are trying to hide the truths to why we gain weight, then they purpose bogus solutions. You are straight forward and honest, and it is very refreshing keep up the great work and keep the great advice coming.
Sweet article and so true. It is truly amazing how patterns in eating change with the way your mind is. The slightest little thing can alter eating for the worst. In this case it also may be good to make sure and always have a safe food fall back to turn too. Mine is celery, I will have that around no matter what, instead of the chips I eat celery!
There are so many motives to eat more than usual. If I’m stressed because of some exams I eat. If I try to quit smoking I’m always hungry and usually eat junk food. I sometimes get into a fight with my husband and to calm my self I run to the fridge and eat a bucket of ice cream. I know this is not healthy but it’s the only thing that calms me.
Yes, a person should definitely replace this automatism of eating every time it confrunts with a problem with a hobby.Hobbies relaxes the mind and fills the free time in a more constructive way .
I always eat fruit or drink skim milk when I get hungry.
I enjoy eating but due to my healthy,i stopped to eat junk foods.
Nowadays i’m eating only greeny vegetables,which makes my body healthy and fresh too.Your article was very inspirational. Thanks for contributing healthy article.
i love to eat..the best thing we can do is to take what is the best for our body
I try to drink water when I am hungry. It’s easy to just start nibbling on stuff and than you realize you just blew it. So, keep water glass next to you and grab that before grabbing a fattening snack.
Diverting your attention can be as simple as having a short walk outside. Hey, my dog is always willing and able to accompany me. Thanks.
My problem is I sometimes go days where I hardly eat simply because I forget, then have days where I can’t stop eating and have to resist eating to much! I’m sure there is a term to describe this but I’ve never been able to find it. I agree about exercise always preventing over eating food when you feel down but it’s always so difficult to get in the right mood to exercise. I just hope one day I will automatically exercise like automatically brushing my teeth.
The problem is twofold, not only do we turn to food in times of emotion, but also many of us do it automatically without thinking about it, in other words it is a habit.
Breaking habits is difficult, the first step is to recognize the times when you are eating emotionally. Every time you are about to eat, stop and ask yourself the reason why you’re eating. Is it because you are hungry or is there some other reason?
Once you have learned to recognize the difference, don’t try to stop emotional eating immediately, or you will probably fail. Instead, recognize and acknowledge that you are not hungry, but tell yourself that you can still have the ice cream/chocolate/whatever in half an hour if you still want it.
If you do still want it half an hour later then go ahead and eat, but very often the desire has passed away, thus you are taking the first steps towards breaking the habit.
Good advice. I find it helpful to try not to be a perfectionist. I am human and I have my fair share of weaknesses and indulgences, but I don’t use that as an excuse to give up on my goal of eating healthy all together. Two days of falling off the plan, but five days of doing the right things is better than all the days being reckless.
Take care,
Tri
Diverting your attention can be as simple as having a short walk outside. Hey, my dog is always willing and able to accompany me. Thanks
This is some good information about about emotional eating. I firmly believe that our eating habits need to be changed if you really want to lose weight. I lot of people have been searching for the right dieting plan only to fail and left wondering what they are going to do. Maybe, you have made these mistakes in the past. I sure hope not.
Anyways, here is some useful info on fad dieting. If you would like to read what people are talking about with some of the most popular fad diets please check out my blog on fad dieting.
i love to eat..the best thing we can do is to take what is the best for our body
i support your post. healthy food sometimes doesnt taste good. like “amapalaya”
i hate to eat this. but its good cleanser as well as blood circulation.. the best thing you can do is to make some dish that is great to taste.
I thnk that people can always make food to be healhy and taste. I like to enjoy in eating and this choice between taste and healthy - is not for me.
I always try to drink as much milk as I possibly can. I like semi-skimmed, not too much cream but at least there is some taste to it.
Very sound advice! You remind me of a good friend who once gave me advice on how to not eat right before sleeping. Thank you for your excellent site!
If you want to be slim you have to be smart: change your eating pattern permanently. In this way you’ll lose those pounds forever! Remember this: after eating (five to) nine pieces of fruit a day for a few months you’ll notice that your appetite for fruit has increased structurally and moreover your appetite for stimulants will certainly have decreased! Try it out, it really is magic!
I myself have had problems with my weight for years, ive tried all sorts of diets low fat, low carb, you name it ive tried it, i got poorly a lot through dieting and i agree that different mood swings make you eat more or less, depending if you are happy or sad, all i do now is just watch the calories, i dont avoid any foods at all, if i want donuts ill have donuts, if i want bacon and egg, ill have it, i just watch the calories and it works for me, i think that trying to stay positive and happy is a big factor also. Mick…
Great post on the topic of emotional eating.
I certainly agree that often diets give the useless advice of trying to avoid junk foods and processed foods. However often times the food isn’t the real problem. The real issue is why we are eating in the first place.
Are we eating because we are physically hungry? Or are we eating because we are trying to deal with a tough emotion?
I myself dealt with emotional eating, overeating, and binge eating for 4 years. And I tried everything. I first started with diets. And found out that diets don’t work. The problem is that diets require self control and discipline. If I had either, I wouldn’t be overweight in the first place now would I?
After diets I tried joining overeating support groups. This is when I started experiencing some progress and it was very encouraging. There I learned about emotional eating. I learned why I was tempted to overeat at the end of a stressful day etc.
After that I also tried therapy and did that for 4 months. I have to say this is where I made most of my progress when it came to emotional eating. While working with my therapist I was able to pin-point my emotional issues.
Anyways currently I’m writing on the topics of emotional eating, binge eating, and overeating. I’m trying to help others dealing with those same issue. Sadly many overeaters are looking for the next diet. When we all know diets don’t work. And they have very little or helpful advice out there. Here is a related article I’ve written:
Stop Emotional Eating the Easy Way - 3 Tips
http://howtostopeating.com/blog/stop-binge-eating/stop-binge-eating-the-easy-way-3-tips-18
I hope you check it out and let me know what you think.
This is a very interesting post and it’s nice to hear everyone’s input on the issue. I have a similar issue as Rowena. I cannot eat when I feel stressed or depressed. I guess I’m lucky with respect to gaining weight, but not eating is not healthy for you in other ways. Comfort eating is a serious problem but I’m sure there are ways to fight it. There are some natural appetite suppression remedies, however, I believe that it is all in our head and that there are ways to trick our minds. People just have find a way to convince themselves that other activities such as riding a bike or going for a walk is what makes them feel better, not food.
I really like buying whole chickens, they are very cheap and you can make sandwiches with the leftovers.
I usually prepare them as follows:
* 1/2 an onion, diced
* 1/2 a lemon or lemon zest
* a carrot
* a piece of celery
* sprigs of rosemary
* sprigs of thyme
* 2 cloves of garlic
* salt and pepper
Enjoy!
Your right, eating healthy does seem to be difficult. It’s like all the fattening foods seem to taste better. I found that in order to counter this effect, go out and do some things that you haven’t done in a long while. Such as fishing, boating, canoeing, biking, walk in the woods or up a big hill.
Doing things like this that you haven’t done in awhile seems to counter the effects of wanting to eat junk foods.
But honestly in order to keep sanity for me at least, I will eat one good meal on Sunday for lunch such as something I used to eat before I was on my diet. Just one meal doesn’t seem to affect negatively in a bad way so that is why I do it.
Laura,
Every time you are about to eat, stop and ask yourself the reason why you’re eating. Is it because you are hungry or is there some other reason?
Once you have learned to recognize the difference, don’t try to stop emotional eating immediately, or you will probably fail. Instead, recognize and acknowledge that you are not hungry, but tell yourself that you can still have the ice cream/chocolate/whatever in half an hour if you still want it.
Eating healthy can be tough at times but in the end it can really benefit you from personal experience. What I do to stay fit even when i don’t want to is just work out but i heard if it gets really bad you should have a detox to flush your system.
it´s true, a lot of people eat because is sad or have a problem..
the obesity is more danger than the people think, because may cause serious emotional and psychological problems, and in this case the people enter in a vicious circle…eat because is sad, and is sad because is fat, and then, as they can´t control their problems, they continuous eating
I know what you mean , I’m a bit of an emotional eater myself , when I’m stressed , frustrated or facing a crisis situation , I get a serious case of the munchies and make for a beeline for the fridge.
Unfortunately after indulging on a bag of chips or a pack of cookies , I’d feel guilty which only worsens the situation. And of course my waistline suffers along with me as well.
Your right we should find healthier outlets for our stress and stuff like exercise or doing something relaxing.
Just weighing in with my two sense worth.
Sometimes its not possible to stop unhealthy eating habits on your own. This is after all a lifestyle change and true lifestyle changes are usually brought about by a death in the family, a birth or a marriage.
yeah, that sounds like a little bit of an exaggeration right? Perhaps it is, but truth is overestimating the difficulty of a lifestyle change is similar to trying to climb a slippery glass wall - it nearly can’t be done.
My suggestion, is find a partner, pledge to that partner what you would like to do or achieve, have that partner or coach help you create small but achievable goals then report truthfully to this partner on a daily then weekly basis about how you are doing.
We have used this technique to buddy up while doing door to door sales and other emotionally difficult things and its one of a handful of processes that appears to help people make a lifestyle change.
Good luck everyone.
Actually, I’ve found watermelon to be a great fruit. you can fill up on it really easily and it’s very few calories.
[…] Your brain requires the same things the rest of your body needs to be healthy. Things like plenty of sleep, good nutrition and low stress levels can help your memory retention and recall significantly. […]
Whenever I feel depressed, I tend to crave for junk foods. Thanks for this great advice. Maybe I can just divert my attention to other things like boxing. Release my depression through punches. at least, that way, i’ll be able to put off some weight.
As for me when Im in a bad mood I dont eat more , I drink a lot cups of cofee!
I agree that emotions can drive hunger and eating behavior, and you can end up gaining (or even losing) weight if these mood changes become chronic. However, by making your will power strong, you can avoid these binges. At times it is not as easy as it sounds, but taking one step at a time helps a lot. And as you have said an attitude adjustment is surely necessary.
Are you hungry or are you just bored or fed up? The trick is to divert your attention to other activities avoiding food. Get out, away from the fridge or just do something to keep your mind active. It takes 3 weeks to break a habit and 10 days to form one so harder to resist of course but not impossible. It’s attitude… no one needs to over eat and I’m certain you are never really ‘hungry’. Fad diets are crazy - eat less, exercise more. Look at the Europeans, the French women are thing, Italians & Spanish are healthy and you don’t see diets there. Learn to cook like the Europeans and you’ll be eating good healthly food without the dieting - that’s what I do anyway - keep active and eat well and treat myself sometimes - everything in moderation.
I have noticed that from time to time when I’m bored ( depressed ) I find my self eating for no reason than something to do that I enjoy. Its more than likely the problem isn’t food so much as it is my lack of control over my life. I find the more I have going on the better I am.
This was a great article and thanks for the post.
Thanks
Karen
Narconon Vista Bay
I’m currently battling with this emotional eating issue
I’ve always found it hard to have certain things in moderation..like cereal and sweet stuff. I’m definitely not overweight and can go for a week being active and healthy..then all of a sudden s**t hits the fan and i have a binge.
It’s got worse since my dad died. It seems any sort of change or stressor can trigger it and i know now what im doing yet at the time i think..i dont actually care about my body and do it anyway! Then maybe the next day im all strict again..i feel happiest when im strict and in control.
A horrible thing to contend with
dont know whether to seek help..just sounds so easy to stop but it’s really not
good article ad post guys xxx
I am thinking of trying the GM diet. It is again healthy food, though the restrictions on just fruits and vegetables is a pain to start with…
There are times when I do not eat at all. I know it’s bad! That is why I am going to make an effort to do what you say and munch an apple or a carrot even when I do not feel like it.
I used to have a weight problem but I eventually lost the pounds I wanted by watching what I eat and drink. This sounds very simple, and it is. If you burn more energy than you take in, you will lose weight. That’s what worked for me.
Well Written!
nice piece of work with lot of useful information…it helps thank
I am currently going through a ‘eat what you see’ phase but I find that making myself busy through going out jogging and even work takes my mind off thinking about food.
Lee
Exercising can definitely become a habit just like smoking once you start seeing the results, and that’s one habit we should all be hoping to get into. When it comes to eating unhealthy to feel better, a good technique to avoid this would be to not have any junk food in the house. If it’s in the house we are more tempted to eat it as opposed if it wasn’t. Here’s a tip, if you have been exercising on a regular basis and you have a sweet tooth, then the best time to eat such foods would be in the morning since an insulin spike after fasting for 8hours is actually very anabolic. But again this is only if you have been consistently working out for a couple days.
well..eating healthy is like living healthy..if we love to eat, we must eat the right foods with the right quantity and nutrients..even if there are times that we want to eat those not-so-healthy comfort food,maybe it is just a matter of self-control..
Hi,
For being healthy and for a healthy life,people should eat natural organic food. Depression may cause over-eating and after over-eating,a bad fat person.
In order to be slim and healthy,we should be careful for our eating habits,no fast food,no over eating and always should do exercises.
I agree. When I’m feeling down, it’s hard to maintain a healthy diet. I also feel lazier at these moments. Here is a solution. Maintain a stock of your favorite healthy foods in your fridge. Have them prepared or simply shipped to you. When you feel down, you will also not be motivated to cook. If there is a large stock of yummy (healthy) food available, you just dive in. There are many diet food outlets - that will set you up with ample supply.
Yeah, food is everywhere but is not that bad thing, just look what u eat
Our dispositions in life could really affect the way we eat. I find myself in the same position too. Eating a lot whenever i’m stressed. But one thing that helped me get through it is by engaging myself in other activites. I decided that I should not remain that way. We always have a choice.
i like body building i eat daily protein related food like egg and fat food i want to growth my body. useful information about the eating.
Thanks
I put together a healthy diet that can boost your mental health as well. It’s really important to have more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. You may also keep portion sizes reasonable, it’s easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy.
I try to eat as healthy as I can, but sometimes it’s just too hard to resist to a big juicy steak or a hamburger. I’m only human after all
Thanks for the great and easy-to follow instructions. I am total dummy when it comes to designing my own blog but your tutorials are really very user friendly!
Thanks a lot!
Great to see another advocate of the mind body connection.
The desire to eat un healthy food can be reprogrammed - phew thats a relief.
We need to reprogramme our habits to the healthy option. Train our inclination like we did when we learned to brush our teeth every day. There’s no need to think about it you just do it and probably wouldn’t consider any other way!
@ Top Torrent - for me it’s the snacks, crisps, chocolate, I just can’t help myself!
Sight has a lot to do with emotions too. When you are depressed or frightened you remember (”see”) a lot of less things. It’s awesome to understand how much emotions affect us.
Proudly speaking, I have changed my eating habit for a long time. Not emotional eating, I am eager for food that is more natural now.
An interesting note is that, if you change your habits, even “pretend” for an extended time, you become that person. So pretend to like eating healthy, and you’ll find that eventually you’ll actually just enjoy it for real.
“How can we make healthy food choices when life becomes overwhelming? Making poor food choices is easy. There are always reasons to make bad food choices. Fast food restaurants and junk food is always convenient. Oftentimes healthy food requires more time and attention to prepare. When we are feeling down – it’s that much more difficult to exert the energy into healthy food.”
I’m not even sure where to begin, this is so far off. Healthy food takes so little time to prepare.
1) Fast food can also be healthy. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from going to subway, or some place moderately more healthy than Burger King.
2) Preparing healthy food is so easy, I’m not sure where this idea that it takes time comes from. I can throw a few fresh veggies on a plate, a quick splash of dressing, and I have a salad in minutes. I can sear a piece of tuna in about 4 minutes while I prepare my salad, and now I have a meal that would cost $20 in a restaurant.
A week or two ago I discovered this website and have been reading along quietly. I decided I should give my opening comment. I dont know exactly what to write except that I have really loved reading. Nice blog. I shall carry on visiting this website frequently. I have also taken your feed to get updates.
I recently discovered this website and have been following along steadily. I felt I might give my opening comment. I dont know exactly what to write but that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I shall continue visiting this website in the future. I have also taken the RSS feed to get any updates.
Emotional over-eating doesn’t necessarily mean stuffing your face with chocolate cream cakes (although I must admit that can be very comforting!) A large bowl of strawberries or blueberries often does the trick for me. I think I read somewhere than foods with natural red or blue/black colouring can contain mood-enhancing chemicals - so win-win!
This is a wonderfully written article and these are all great tips. I too eat like when I am bored. I started chewing some gum though. That has worked wonders.
Eating a balance of healthy foods that contain carbohydrate, protein, and fat every day will help your blood glucose stay in balance and keep your weight where you want it to be. Healthy foods are an important issue because healthy eating is important to good health.
nice work…
I think that emotional eating is a problem for a lot of people! I like the idea of comparing it to not wanting to brush your teeth. If you pack your house or office with healthy snacks it’s what you’ll eat. That way you wont have to go to a fast food joint. Also, drink water when you are hungry. That helps a lot and water is necessary for any great diet.
We found a lot of useful info on this blog , can you blog back to us and we will be happy! Really alot of info that we needed We wish You good luck.thanks
I try to get a healthy food and i use healhty pill too, to get a healthy body but… the result is not to good..Please give me some guide to get a healthy body with a nature medicine and food.
thanks
Really great site, full of good advice. Thank you for posting, it might help a lot of people. btw, great name for a site!! I’ve spent so much time looking for a good weight loss program, it’s so hard to find… Have you seen this other site about easy healthy diet Easy Healthy Diet
Hello and thank you. You are 100% correct with what you said. I was and still am an emotional eater but like you said it is times like this that we should be eating healthier foods. I found a great website that gives me all the info about what foods to eat to cause fat burning and what to avoid. It has a lot of great easy to prepare recipes for foods that cause me to lose weight by increasing my motabalism. This gives me more energy to exercise and I find the combination of exercise and increased motabalism soon helps pull me out of my down mood. I call it my smart diet. Thanks again.
It’s New Year and the excess eating has definitely been done… not sure how I can come back from here - diet in order now
This really is a good article. Thanks for posting. I hope others find it as useful as I did.
I have to eat healthy.. I don’t know of a better way to live.
I have a big problem with comfort food. Whenever i get depressed I always go to my favorite restaurant when I know I should be eating a healthy meal. I recently began a detox diet and incorporated an Ion Foot Bath and it has been going well so far.
A very informative article (many useful advices!) with a great conclusion.
I truly agree to attitude adjustment….healthy living is a step by step process, and it’s all about making small, gradual changes every day
Omg I love food… I don’t know how I am ever going to stop eating unhealthy. Although I don’t really know if its worth it D: