Strategies to Avoid Emotional Eating

We all know what can happen. We get ourselvesgreat way to avoid emotional eating. These
on a diet, losing weight, feeling good about ourfriends or family members can also act as a
health and appearance, and then, bam, somethingsupport group in your efforts to stop overeating.
happens in our lives and we reach for the goodieSupportive friends will encourage you to stick with
bag. We get stressed about work, about oura diet and exercise plan, and can probably even
finances, about family and the holidays. And it's sobe convinced to exercise with you. You can also
easy to find comfort in food, especially stuffkeep each other strong in times of stress, lending
that's not so good for us. However, there area listening ear instead of a trip to the kitchen.
strategies we can use to avoid emotional eating.Being mindful of how and when you eat is
First off, one of the biggest culprits in emotionalimportant too. Sometimes we are not conscious
eating is stress. When we are stressed, we eatof what we eat and why, and instead tend to eat
to cope. Thus, finding effective ways to combaton autopilot. We come home from a busy day of
stress will reduce our chances of binge eating. Aswork, and we pop open a tub of ice cream
many studies have shown, daily exercise reduceswithout considering why. Did something unpleasant
stress, ridding the body of chemicals that producehappen at work that we are trying to smooth
stress reactions. Just 10 or 20 minutes a day ofover by emotional eating? If we are mindful about
vigorous exercise can lead to a less stress-filledwhy we might engage in emotional eating we can
life. Then, not only are we less likely to engage inbetter keep ourselves from relying on it as a
emotional eating, the exercise will burn off caloriescrutch.
as well.One last strategy to avoid emotional eating is to
Another cause of emotional eating for manybreak the cycle of food and guilt that is so often
people is boredom. You sit around the house,at the center of this problem. You eat because
watching television or surfing the internet, and toyou've had a hard day and aren't feeling too good
give you something to stimulate yourself, youabout yourself. But then, you feel bad about
head to the refrigerator. Yet a healthier and moreyourself for overeating! Key to breaking this
productive reaction to boredom is to find a newdebilitating cycle may lie in being nicer to yourself.
hobby or activity. Getting involved in volunteeringKnow that sometimes you will slip and eat too
or joining a sports or gaming club takes your mindmuch. When this happens, pat yourself on the
off eating and gives you people to spend timeback and say you'll do better the next day. You'll
with.feel better about things and less likely to succumb
Having people around you to have fun with is ato emotional eating.