How to Overcome Emotional Eating and Overeating
You have to know how to stop emotional eating and stop overeating if you want to lose weight and keep it off successfully.
Emotional eating and overeating can't really satisfy an insatiable appetite anyway.
And whether or not you've been trying to use emotional eating to sooth feelings of stress, depression, loneliness, frustration or boredom, in the long run, overeating to feed those feelings only makes them worse.
But learning how to stop overeating and control emotional eating can support healthy permanent weight loss and make you feel powerful.
Stop Emotional Eating – Don't Use Foods to Sooth Moods
You probably already know that overeating high-fat, high-calorie, sweet, salty and unhealthy bad carbs won't fill that empty void inside for long.
But what can you do to learn how to stop emotional overeating?
Most of us learn emotional eating at a very young age. We get into the habit of using food to sooth stressful feelings, alleviate boredom, reward and comfort ourselves, boost our sprits and celebrate with others.
But even though almost everyone's overeating, you don't have to. If you're ready to take that old-frenzied feed-your-feelings bull by the horns, here's our basic 12 step program for how to stop emotional eating.
1. Make a Commitment. Like any established bad habit, nothing will change unless you make a commit to changing your behavior.
2. Practice awareness. To be more conscious of what's happening, jot down when and what you eat and how you feel before and afterwards.
3. Manage your stress. Healthy emotional stress management techniques are important life skills to learn. Positive ways to reduce stress include regular exercise, relaxation techniques and getting support from family and friends.
4. Be physically active. Exercise reduces stress and is a great mood enhancer too. So be sure you make time for regular physical activity.
5. Create new comforts. Make a list of healthy activities you enjoy. And, whenever you feel the need, treat yourself to something on your list.
6. Start eating healthier. Eat for great health by choosing more this list of healthy foods high in fiber, like vegetables, beans, whole grains and fresh fruits, and by choosing more from the list of nutritious protein foods, such as omega 3 fish, lean poultry and low-fat dairy.
7. Eat mini-meals often. By eating 5 or 6 small healthy meals a day, including breakfast, you help keep your blood sugar and moods stable.
8. Get rid of temptations. Don't keep unhealthy foods in the house, don't shop for food when hungry or stressed and plan ahead before eating out.
9. Get enough sleep. When you're tired, it's easier to give in to emotional eating. Consider taking a nap and be sure to learn how to get a good night's sleep.
10. Use healthy distraction. Instead of overeating, take a walk, surf the Internet, pet your cat or dog, listen to music, enjoy a warm bath, read a good book, watch a movie, work in the garden or talk to a friend.
11. Practice mindfulness. Mindful eating means paying attention to the act of eating and observing your thoughts and feelings in the process.
12. Get some support. It's easier to stop emotional eating if you have a support network of friends or family. And if no one you know is supportive, make some new health-oriented friends or join a support group.
Learning how to stop emotional eating and overeating is a life-changing experience. Just make sure you stay on track and enjoy the journey.
Be sure to subscribe to my free Natural Health Newsletter.
Click here for the Site Map.
Articles you might also enjoy:
Top 10 Healthiest Foods for Eating Healthy
Stress Management Tips, Causes and Relief
Why Is Exercise Important. Benefits of Exercise
7 Healthy Permanent Weight Loss Tips for Women
To subscribe to the Natural Health Newsletter, just enter your email address in the subscribe box at the bottom of this page.
© Copyright by Moss Greene. All Rights Reserved.
Note: The information contained on this website is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.
Emotional eating and overeating can't really satisfy an insatiable appetite anyway.
And whether or not you've been trying to use emotional eating to sooth feelings of stress, depression, loneliness, frustration or boredom, in the long run, overeating to feed those feelings only makes them worse.
But learning how to stop overeating and control emotional eating can support healthy permanent weight loss and make you feel powerful.
Stop Emotional Eating – Don't Use Foods to Sooth Moods
You probably already know that overeating high-fat, high-calorie, sweet, salty and unhealthy bad carbs won't fill that empty void inside for long.
But what can you do to learn how to stop emotional overeating?
Most of us learn emotional eating at a very young age. We get into the habit of using food to sooth stressful feelings, alleviate boredom, reward and comfort ourselves, boost our sprits and celebrate with others.
But even though almost everyone's overeating, you don't have to. If you're ready to take that old-frenzied feed-your-feelings bull by the horns, here's our basic 12 step program for how to stop emotional eating.
1. Make a Commitment. Like any established bad habit, nothing will change unless you make a commit to changing your behavior.
2. Practice awareness. To be more conscious of what's happening, jot down when and what you eat and how you feel before and afterwards.
3. Manage your stress. Healthy emotional stress management techniques are important life skills to learn. Positive ways to reduce stress include regular exercise, relaxation techniques and getting support from family and friends.
4. Be physically active. Exercise reduces stress and is a great mood enhancer too. So be sure you make time for regular physical activity.
5. Create new comforts. Make a list of healthy activities you enjoy. And, whenever you feel the need, treat yourself to something on your list.
6. Start eating healthier. Eat for great health by choosing more this list of healthy foods high in fiber, like vegetables, beans, whole grains and fresh fruits, and by choosing more from the list of nutritious protein foods, such as omega 3 fish, lean poultry and low-fat dairy.
7. Eat mini-meals often. By eating 5 or 6 small healthy meals a day, including breakfast, you help keep your blood sugar and moods stable.
8. Get rid of temptations. Don't keep unhealthy foods in the house, don't shop for food when hungry or stressed and plan ahead before eating out.
9. Get enough sleep. When you're tired, it's easier to give in to emotional eating. Consider taking a nap and be sure to learn how to get a good night's sleep.
10. Use healthy distraction. Instead of overeating, take a walk, surf the Internet, pet your cat or dog, listen to music, enjoy a warm bath, read a good book, watch a movie, work in the garden or talk to a friend.
11. Practice mindfulness. Mindful eating means paying attention to the act of eating and observing your thoughts and feelings in the process.
12. Get some support. It's easier to stop emotional eating if you have a support network of friends or family. And if no one you know is supportive, make some new health-oriented friends or join a support group.
Learning how to stop emotional eating and overeating is a life-changing experience. Just make sure you stay on track and enjoy the journey.
Be sure to subscribe to my free Natural Health Newsletter.
Click here for the Site Map.
Articles you might also enjoy:
Top 10 Healthiest Foods for Eating Healthy
Stress Management Tips, Causes and Relief
Why Is Exercise Important. Benefits of Exercise
7 Healthy Permanent Weight Loss Tips for Women
To subscribe to the Natural Health Newsletter, just enter your email address in the subscribe box at the bottom of this page.
© Copyright by Moss Greene. All Rights Reserved.
Note: The information contained on this website is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.
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