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I was hesitant to write this post because feeling/acting like a stuffed turkey isn’t sexy. Recently (for about a month or so) I have been eating my emotions rather than dealing with them. Which brings me to this post: 5 Tips To Stop Emotional Eating.
Feeling stressed? Head straight to the fridge. Bored? To the pantry. Sad? To the new bar of chocolate, you purchased for the 9th day in a row. It’s a vicious circle that I need to snap out of which is why I did my research on how to stop.
Top 5 Tips To Stop Emotional Eating
Mindful Eating -For weeks I have been craving Special K, but I stuck with an egg white omelet and fiber one muffin because…Special K would never be labeled as “healthy” in 2020. As soon as I gave into my cravings, my mind wasn’t fixated on food. I ate it and moved on. Mindfulness is defined as non-judgmental awareness. It’s about being present and paying attention to your mind and body without placing judgment on them. When we start paying attention to our feelings without judgment, we can then work toward identifying triggers and taking action to change them.
Identify Your Feelings -Once you identify how you feel, you can start taking the steps to resolve those feelings rather than eating your way through them. Trust me when I say that eating your feelings will NEVER make you feel better. Instead, it leads to extreme disgust and guilt. I really recommend journaling or talking to a therapist. It doesn’t have to be long and complex, just get those feelings out!
Know And Note Your Triggers
Know Your Triggers – Are there trigger foods that lead you to binge? Yogurt is quite healthy, right? But eating 6 of them within 25 minutes? Not so much. I used to be addicted to frozen yogurt, so much so that I would buy about 5 pints at a time. I realized that this was an unhealthy habit and turned to smoothies instead. THEN, the protein powder that I used lead to extreme bloating, so that was the end of that. I looked for a healthier alternative that left me full and satisfied my sweet tooth – greek yogurt. This soon turned into another UNHEALTHY addiction and the next thing I know, was eating through 1000 g of Greek yogurt a day. Kid you not. If you’re likely to binge or emotionally eat on a certain type of food, I really recommend keeping it/them out of the house or buying portioned containers if that helps.
Get Moving – I’m trying to get into a new routine of moving past the kitchen rather than TO the kitchen when I’m feeling bored, lonely, or sad. Take your dog for a walk, go for a drive, or even try a 10-15 minute workout. One of the ways to decrease anxiety is to discharge the excess energy it provides, so you can come back to it later and figure out what you really need!
The Seven Minute Rule – I recently heard on a The Blonde Files podcast that if you’re having a strong craving for something-give yourself 7 minutes. After 7 minutes re-evaluate. More times than not, that strong craving/urge has disappeared.
and there we have it! My top 5 tips for reducing emotional eating. Is this something you struggle with? If so, what tips do you have? I’d love to know below!
Need some meal inspiration? Check out my what I eat in a day posts here.
