Are You an Emotional Eater? I’m Here to Help You Stop Emotional Eating Right Now!

If you’re an emotional eater, then welcome to the club. My emotions have controlled so much of my life. I eat because I’m bored or because I’m sad. If I’m stressed, I’ll not eat food but I’ll get empty calories from alcohol or pop.

The good news is that I managed to stop emotional eating. This was essential to help me lose weight and keep it off after my first daughter. It’s been key to help me maintain my weight and now lose it over the last few months.

I don’t have any secret tips or advice for you. Everything I’m about to tell you, you’ve probably heard in the past. But I’m hoping that by letting you see how it’s worked for me will help you stop emotional eating too.

I Find Something Else to Do

This is the most important part of no longer being an emotional eater. My main problem has always been that I eat because I’m bored. So I’ll try to find something that keeps my hands busy.

For me, it’s writing. If I’m typing away then I can’t pick up food to eat it! Other people find sewing or knitting a great way to keep their hands busy.

What you do doesn’t need to keep you rooted in the spot, either. You could get out for a walk, take up photography, or even take up a new sport. Just find something to do that keeps you busy and stops the emotions taking over.

I used to be a stress eater a long time ago. When I was in university, I could that running helped to ease the stress instead—and it was so much better for me! I stopped running for various reasons, and that’s led to the drinking instead (not good for me, but I do have two kids that need watching all the time) but I’m making a conscious effort to drink less and run more again.

Figure Out Your Triggers

We don’t all have the same triggers for emotional eating. Most people attribute stress to their eating, but any emotion can cause it.

You need to work out your reason for eating. Which emotion is it that makes you reach for the stuff that just isn’t so good for you? Be honest with yourself about this.

Once you know the emotion that causes you to eat, you can tackle it when you start feeling it. You know it’s coming, so you can make sure there are other ways of dealing with it. And make a conscious effort to find other ways to deal with your emotions.

Have Healthier Snacks Around

Okay, so the last thing we want is a piece of fruit when we’re an emotional eater. I know I didn’t, but there are healthier snacks than the chocolate and chips.

I like trail mixes. They’re not going to be super low in points on the Weight Watchers diet, I think they will have syns on Slimming World, and depending on what you put in them they won’t be suitable for the likes of Atkins or the paleo diet, but they are better alternatives to the big bags of chips.

Have a mixture of nuts and seeds with some dried fruit. Just pout into a small tub and enjoy them while you deal with the emotions. I like these for watching TV when I’m not writing to keep my hands busy.

You can stop emotional eating. Okay, you can at least keep it under control. I’m not perfect, but I have managed to control my bad habits to help me lose weight. These tips have been gold for me, so why don’t you follow them?