Wellness Tuesday: 9 Ways to Deal with Emotional Eating

To Avoid the Pitfalls of Emotional Eating….

Last week, I discussed the difficulties of losing weight and caregiving.

Often I discover that I am emotionally eating, which means it is not because I am hungry.

Make Healthy Choices

Caregiving often increases my changes of emotional eating and I have come to recognize.

One ongoing struggle I deal with is how to prevent myself from emotional eating.

1. Recognize the triggers that lead to emotional eating
2. Recognize the time of day—for me this is often in the evening after GG* has gone to bed
3. Find other ways to distract myself instead of eating—this is my biggest challenge.  Even though I may be reading a book, I’ve become accustomed to eating at a certain time.
4. Self-Care—reminding myself that I have what I need and I am not truly hungry
5. Talk with a friend—talk with someone in place of eating and share your feelings and emotions
   

   Talk to a Friend

6. Find healthy alternatives—if I MUST snack, finding healthier alternatives such as fruit and vegetables, instead of chips and cookies
7. Redirect the energy—this is harder when caregiving, but if I can take a walk, punch a punching bag, ride a bicycle, hit a pillow, etc.
8. Remember this too shall pass—sometimes if I drink a bottle of water or distract myself for 30 minutes the idea will pass
9. Be honest—sometimes just being honest about what I eat, why and the number of calories is enough to shock me into stopping the self-destructive behavior. This also means that I keep those tempting, but unhealthy foods out of the house.

Join the Conversation: How do you deal with emotional eating?

*Name altered of my Grandmother

Squash the emotional monster