Emotional eating is trying to use food to make yourself feel better. It gets to the point where you are eating not because you’re hungry but because you’re bored or lonely. There are several types of emotional eating; eating when you’re stressed, eating when your depressed or sad, and eating when you’re bored or lonely. If you find yourself eating more during these times you may be an emotional eater. Emotional eating can lead to different things such as guilt, nausea, and weight gain. Here are some simple tips to help kick whatever emotional eating habit you struggle with.
Stress Eating
- Drink green tea- drinking green tea regularly helps to reduce your stress levels.
- Get more sleep- having a lot of restless nights can increase stress levels and increase those midnight snacking habits.
- Meditation and deep breathing- practicing meditation and deep breathing can reduce the stress in your life.
Bored Eating
- Make an eating schedule- plan out your meals and snacks and try to stick to them so you don’t find yourself eating when you’re not hungry.
- Keep busy- try to keep yourself busy during the day so you are getting bored and craving food.
- Occupy yourself- if you find yourself getting a little bored try doing something you like to do such as going out with friends, reading a good book, going outdoors, or watching a good movie.
Sad Eating
- Call a friend- if you are feeling sad instead of picking up a snack try picking up the phone. Call a friend to try and make yourself feel better and have someone to talk to.
- Get out of the house- siting in the house is the worst thing you can do when you’re sad. Try getting out and doing something that makes you happy like going shopping or over to a friend’s house.
- Listen to music- listening to your favorite music is a great way to get yourself in a better mood.