How To Overcome Emotional Eating

written by Jan Jergenson

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Emotional eaters use food to relieve stress. They hide behind the food instead of seeking solutions to the problems. This is not uncommon when the stressor is something horrible such as physical abuse or a death.

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But, how do you know you are using food in this way? The first sign is obvious. You will gain weight if you eat too much. In light of the weight gain, examine other areas of your life:

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•  Have you been under stress lately at work or at home?

•  Has anything traumatic happened in the last year?

•  Are you dealing with a problem but haven’t found a solution?

•  Answering “yes” to any of these questions could mean that you are an  emotional eater. You eat but you are not necessarily hungry at the time. The foods that you choose are what we term “comfort foods”:

•  High fat foods like French fries, fried foods

•  High carb foods like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes

•  Sugary foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies, cake

 

There is help for emotional eaters. The first step is recognizing that you have a problem. You’ll experience feelings of helplessness and guilt. The guilt is over potentially ruining your health and the helplessness lies in the fact that you don’t see a way out.

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Secondly, seek counseling. There are many types of counselors out there that can meet your need. Emotional eating has nothing to do with dieting or changing your eating habits but gaining control over your emotions.