Kimberley Clark

Emotional Eating. Is this your Diet Killer?

Are you an emotional eater?  Identifying the triggers that make you want to eat even when you are not hungry is the first step to help you stop binging.  In this article I discuss my battle with emotional eating and some things I do that help keep me on track.

It’s late evening, all the kids are in bed sleeping, hubby is downstairs working on his projects, and here I sit, in front of my computer, with the television on… and I am bored.  That’s my cue.  “Let’s find a little snack”, my inner voice tells me in that soft comfortable tone…. “c’mon, you know you wanna”.

I know that I have already had a great dinner, I am not hungry, but yet why am I thinking about food?  It’s an all too common occasion.  I know it is my boredom that triggers it. 

Another trigger is having a bad day.  It happens, we all have them.  Whether I feel angry or sad, that can trigger a want or need for food.  Does this sound familiar to you?  Does this kill your diet?

So how do I cope with these triggers?  First I recognize them for what they are.  Using food for comfort, or simply for something to do… that means that I am an emotional eater.  If I don’t try to avoid these situations they can impair my weight management.  So I have come up with a few ways to try and not eat when I am not hungry. 

1. I keep a picture of what I consider a woman with the kind of body I aspire to on my fridge.  This helps to keep me inspired and on track.
   
2. I never skip a meal.  I always have at least 3 meals a day regardless, and sometimes I have 4 or 5 smaller meals and I make sure that I include some form of protein every time I eat.
   
3. I hold off as long as possible.  If I am bored, then I will try and go to bed early and get some extra sleep, have a nice bubble bath, or pick up a book and read.
   
4. I replaced all of the foods that I normally binge on with healthy alternatives, like raw veggies, fruit, IsaDelights®,  Slimcakes®,  and those little bran snack bites. 
   
5. If I absolutely have a craving.. (which really isn’t that often since I started a cleansing lifestyle), then I will indulge in one of my healthy snacks.

Emotional eating can be a vicious cycle, because if you binge, then you feel guilty and ashamed, and then what happens?  You eat to comfort yourself.   It happens, I know that all to well.  Just remember, every day is a new day, a new beginning… and those times of emotional eating will get fewer and far between. 

I hope this helps. 
Have an Amazing Day!

Article Tags: Emotional Eating

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