Are you having trouble listening to that voice within that says, “I’m full?” Or your inner food demons saying things like “just one more bite?”
Don’t let your inner food demons get the best of you! The problem with your relationship to food is rooted in your mind and not your body.
What is emotional eating?
Obviously, food is important. However, if you eat in response to difficult emotions, you are probably an emotional eater. If you’ve had a stressful day at the office or have a test coming up, you may resort to comfort foods to relieve stress. It’s unhealthy! Occasionally indulging under stress is normal, but eating regularly is not.
Emotional eating results in a lot of overeating. If you’re trying to lose weight, emotional eating can interfere with how HCG injection works. It can be a deterrent for your weight goals as it causes weight gain and other health issues. While it’s hard to stop eating when you’re stressed out, there are several ways to recognize and stop emotional eating.
How to stop emotional eating
Try these tips to stop emotional eating:
- Relax. When you experience negative emotions and become emotionally triggered, try breathing deeply or meditating to calm yourself.
- Deal with stress. Stress is the main cause of emotional eating. Knowing what kind of stress you’re experiencing is important if you want to end your bad habit. Work out if you are anxious about something. Get some of those worries out of your system by taking a walk, a run, or even a swim.
- Do not give in to temptation. Make it a habit not to keep foods that are difficult to resist and to not go to the supermarket when you are feeling hungry; otherwise, you will purchase foods that are high in fat and calories.
- Get a grip on your hunger. If you feel that you need to eat, stop and think about it. Are you really hungry or do you just want to eat?
- Determine your triggers. Emotional eating is usually a symptom of emotional distress. Find out what makes you eat. Is it boredom or physical hunger? Are you trying to suppress any uncomfortable thoughts or feelings? Finding out what causes the problem is the first step to solving it.
- Savor your food without overeating. When you eat to gratify your emotions, you tend to consume food quickly and mindlessly. You eat so fast that you miss the real flavors of your food, along with your body’s signals that you’re full. If you slow down and savor each meal, you’ll enjoy your food even more, and you’ll be less likely to overeat.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. You’re better able to handle life’s curveballs when you’re physically strong, relaxed, and well-rested. When you are already exhausted, any little blip can force you off track and send you straight into the refrigerator. Getting enough sleep and exercising will help you avoid emotional eating during difficult times.
