Beat Emotional Eating NOW! (Here's How)

You’ve just arrived home after a long and hectic day and what is the first thing you do to relax? You throw open the door of the fridge and scan its shelves eagerly for a little treat to nibble on before dinner. Or perhaps it’s mid-evening, you’re a little bored and your taste buds feel like they could do with a dose of pleasure. Or your relationship has just exploded and you need a bowl of chocolate ice cream to dry your tears.

Sound familiar?

Most of us have turned to food at one time or another in an attempt to soothe our poor battered emotions. Perhaps life wasn’t going the way you expected it to, or your self-image was at rock bottom, or that relationship was in trouble, or you were suffering money worries, health problems or even feeling lonely.

But in truth, eating really didn’t help either. In fact, you felt even worse afterwards because absolutely nothing was resolved and there was a whole heap of guilt added to the burden too.

I’ve discovered 5 easy practices during my time working with clients that will also help you to live the life that you deserve as a brighter and stronger person without needing to resort to comfort eating. Here they are:

STEP 1: Practice mindful eating

Have you ever slipped your hand into a bag to grab a handful more of whatever you were eating, and then felt utterly shocked when your hand hits empty space, and you discover, to your disappointment, that the bag is empty? “Where did all that food go?” You think to yourself.

All that time you were eating, you were reinforcing a ritual that become more and more hypnotic the longer you did it for. You ate and ate and ate without really realizing what you were doing. You ate to suffocate the emotions you were feeling, and not much else. Hunger probably didn’t come into the picture at all.

So instead of falling into this trap, take your time to focus on what you are eating, to eat slowly and mindfully, and to enjoy every single mouthful that passes your lips. When your stomach is full, stop eating.

Additionally, aim to eat the best quality food you can to provide fantastic levels of nutrition for your body. Fresh vegetables, low-sugar fruits, healthy fats, nuts and seed and high-quality meat and fish (if you eat them) are all wonderful ways to boost both your mental and physical health.

STEP 2: Keep a food diary

If someone were to ask you right now what you ate yesterday, or even today, would you even remember? You’d make a good guess, that’s for sure. But you’d probably forget the majority of it, such as those little impulsive extras that you tried so hard to deny.

I’m pretty sure you couldn’t tell me what lead you to eat those things in the first place. How were you feeling at the time? What were you doing? What did you eat?

Try it now. Can you remember?

One of the top recommendations I can give for beating emotional eating is to keep a food diary. It only takes a few moments to jot down what you eat over the course of a day, but it’s invaluable for those times when you want to uncover your triggers and move forward on your path to health.

STEP 3: Interrupt the pattern

Your emotional eating is just a habit that has slowly developed over many years. Maybe your family rewarded you with food when you were a child, or perhaps you’ve always had an unhealthy relationship with food.

Whatever your personal history might be, you still find yourself falling victim to this conditioned habit time, after time, after time. You wonder why you can’t ‘get a grip’, you wonder why you just can’t stop. But the thing is, it’s not your fault at all.

And that’s why many of the approaches that you’ve tried in the past just haven’t made a blind bit of different. They haven’t interrupted this automatic behaviour pattern and empowered you to challenge it.

I have a great solution that I use with my clients all the time called ‘pattern interrupting’, and this is how it works.

Next time you find yourself reaching for the packet of biscuits, or popping the lid off another tub of Haagen Daz, stop yourself immediately.

Then close your eyes, ask yourself ‘Why am I turning to food?’, and then wait for the answer. Doing this will give you the insight that you need into the habits that you are following, all you to recognize the emotion behind your actions, and hopefully prevent the eating.

STEP 4: Tackle the real cause

When we know what the emotion behind it all is, we can focus our attentions on it and resolve them in healthier ways, without feeling the need to turn to food.

This means asking for help and support when you need it, relieving stress, learning a new skill to resolve your boredom, getting out there to meet people if you are feeling lonely, or finally having the conversation with your partner that you’ve been putting off for weeks.

STEP 5: Connect your mind and body

Modern life can be so full of stresses, anxieties and obligations that we often find ourselves nearing ‘burn out’ and can see our mental and physical health slide down the pan.

You see, what you are thinking and your physical health work synergistically; what happens in your mind affects your body and vice versa.

The best way to resolve this is to slow down and give yourself chance to really hear what your body or mind is trying to tell you so that you find the strength to break the patterns, ask for help when you need it and tackle issues in your life. As a result, you’ll feel healthier, happier and stronger.

Great practices to strengthen the connection between body and mind include meditation, positive visualization, correct breathing, yoga, tai chi, getting sufficient sleep (7-10hrs per night), and starting a journaling practice.

Final words…

Emotional eating needn’t be a burden that you carry with you for life. You can finally get to the root of it and stop it in its tracks before it damages your self-esteem and wellbeing any further. In my practice I work with women just like you to do just that.

Please contact me on 07971 651698 to find out how I can help you though.