Emotional Eating..

Let’s consider the emotional side to our journey towards a happier and healthier person and how different emotions affect us.

It’s often not what we are eating it’s WHY we are eating it!

So what pushes your buttons? Do you know what is likely to send you over the edge?

Boredom/Anger/stress/tired/no time/celebrating/disappointment etc.

By knowing where our triggers occur we can make strategies to overcome them.

Which foods are you most likely to turn to, it’s usually similar ones? Know your weakness! It’s also important to understand how you feel when you have eaten them, there is a good chance it won’t be proud, happy, or successful. Where’s your self-esteem rating high or low? Was it worth it? Did it achieve the desired results? Has the issue you responded been resolved by eating?

So regardless of the trigger we all need to ask ourselves Who/When/Why/What/Where and then we have the beginning of the information we need to overcome it. To every problem there is a solution, the key is knowing what could divert, remove or replace the behaviour. It needs to be thought out and ready in place for whenever the trigger is pulled. For example if you know when you’re tired you can’t be bothered to cook from scratch try to make sure you have either batch cooked and it’s in the freezer, or you’ve thought ahead and have got a tasty ready meal just in case. We can often to do a lot of damage before thinking it through, so being prepared is half the battle!

We then need to work hard at practising our defence techniques so that it’s easier for us to win week after week. The greater success these strategies have, the more likely we will continue to use them and they then become our natural response. Which is exactly the right outcome long term. Over time our emotional eating responses may have served the purpose, however for now they are not and it’s time to learn new alternatives. Does that mean we’re cured? No, those old responses will try to appear, remember they didn’t solve the problems then, and they won’t now.

Just remember comfort eating does not make you feel comfortable. It just gives you another problem to worry and stress about!

Food can distract you from your pain, but food cannot take away your pain. In fact, overeating the wrong foods can create more pain.

KAREN SALMANOHN