Weight Loss 911: Help, I’m an Emotional Eater

Do any of these situations sound familiar:

• It’s been a tough day. The kids are finally in bed. You sigh in exhaustion and start walking towards the kitchen looking for comfort. You grab a scoop of ice cream, a handful of cookies or a slice of cake.
• You’re stressed out at work. You walk towards the vending machine and buy a candy bar.
• You’ve got a bad case of the blahs. When you’re home alone, you dive into the chips, cookies, or other desserts.

When faced with stress, anger, boredom, anxiety or loneliness, it’s very easy to overeat. Maybe you turn to a childhood favorite like ice cream when you need a pick-me-up. Emotional eating isn’t about being hungry physically; it’s about being hungry emotionally. And that’s why no amount of Twinkies or bonbons will truly satisfy. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to find comfort, you’re packing on pounds.

But there’s good news! You don’t have to live as a prisoner to emotional eating. Get control of your eating habits before they take control of you. Here’s how:

1. Call Weight Loss 911 (figuratively speaking!). Call up a friend when you feel down instead of turning to a lifeless carton of ice cream, no matter what flavor. Ask someone to be your accountability partner.

2. Recognize the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. Here’s a great test for true hunger: do you want to eat snap peas, celery or broccoli? If the answer is no, you’re probably just craving something sweet or salty to eat. If the answer is yes, then eat as many veggies as you like. You’re really hungry!

3. Journal what you eat. For the next week, write down what you eat all day long. Look for patterns. Do you eat poorly at certain times of day? Maybe you overeat when you’re alone. When you see negative patterns, start making some changes in those areas. For instance, if you’re a late night snacker, brush your teeth at 8 pm and don’t eat anything afterwards.

4. Look for comfort outside the kitchen. Relieve stress in your life by stretching or taking a walk in the park. Rent a chick-flick and have a good cry. Get a manicure. Listen to your favorite music CD. Think of things you enjoy doing that don’t involve food.

5. Keep your perimeter secure. Don’t allow unhealthy, high calorie foods into your kitchen. If your pantry is stocked with potato chips, cookies, cakes and sodas, you’re asking for trouble. Save your treats for social events.

Emotional eating is a very hard habit to break, but it can be done. Some days, you’ll do better than others. The key is to keep trying. There will come a day when you’ll automatically turn to a friend instead of the pantry. When that happens, you’ll know you’ve gained a weight loss victory!