How to Curb Emotional Eating and Stay on Track to Lose Weight

Learn what your triggers are so you can choose healthier behaviors that don’t involve food.

Are you a person who is obsessed with ‘comfort food’? When things feel stressful or out-of-control in your life, do you reach for a snack? If you’re an emotional eater, don’t worry because many people can relate to what you’re feeling. It’s easy to grab food and beverages as a way of crowding out unpleasant thoughts and feelings. It will, however, catch up to your waistline eventually, which causes other areas of concern.

Change Your Mind, Change Your Habits, and Change Your Life

What if there were better ways to deal with your feelings than to eat more than you should or reach for the wrong foods? Would you be willing to change your habits and thoughts about food? We know that it can be challenging to cope with things that tend to bother and upset you. That’s why we want to offer solutions that you can easily implement in your daily routine so that your first thought isn’t to grab something to eat to stuff down your feelings.

Below are some things for you to consider doing to deal with emotional eating in new and healthier ways.

Keep a food journal.

Record what you’ve eaten and the quantity of the foods and beverages you’ve consumed. Keep track of the amount of water you are drinking by writing it down or recording it in a fitness app kept on your phone or tablet.

Note how you feel after eating certain foods and drinking specific types of drinks.

It helps you better understand how food can affect your mood. By avoiding overly sugary and salty foods, you can have better control over your emotions.

Come up with a list of things you can do in place of eating.

Note some of the things that you enjoy doing the most. Make it a point to engage in activities that fill you up in a positive way and motivate you to keep going.

Remove all traces of temptation.

Replace junk food with low carb, high protein foods, and beverages instead. Make it a point to eat only things that fill you up fast if you do need a pick-me-up during the day.

If you must have a snack, choose a smaller portion size and take at least 30 minutes to eat it.

Savor the flavor of your food. The faster you are eating it, the more likely you are to grab a second portion or binge on something you shouldn’t eat.

Get to know what triggers you emotionally so you can prepare for instances of high stress. You won’t reach for the food closest to you to eat. Instead, you’ll make rational decisions that allow you to observe your emotions without giving them power. You’ll notice them when they come up and have a few ideas of ways to deal with them that don’t involve food.

Become Mentally and Physically Fit and Healthy By Changing Your Habits

Becoming the healthiest version of yourself often takes as much effort mentally as it does physically. The better you get at identifying what’s triggering you, the easier it becomes to combat your feelings with something other than things you eat and drink. You’ll substitute eating with exercising, journaling, volunteering, art, music-making, or a similarly enjoyable experience.