Emotional Eating

● At some point in time when one is trying to lose weight they will have a craving
for something that may not be considered the best for you when making healthy
food choices.
● Understanding why and when cravings occur can actually help you to develop a
healthy relationship with food that is necessary to manage your weight for a
lifetime.

First identify is there is a time, place or event associated when you have a
craving.
This process will help you to realize if there is an association between the cravings
and a trigger for that craving.

Identify what you are feeling at the time. There are many emotions that can
trigger a craving even when we are not hungry. Common emotions that trigger
eating include:
● Anger
● Anxiety
● Depression
● Loneliness
● Stress
● Being extra tired

Becoming aware of the connection between mind and body is an important

step.

● Once you have identified the emotional trigger, then finding a healthier method
for coping with emotions will pay off in the long run in managing your weight.

● It is not uncommon to use food as an emotional nurture for ourselves.

● Think of other ideas for nurturing your spirit, whether it is reading a book, going
for a quiet walk, or taking a hot bath.

Distinguish the difference between head hunger and stomach hunger.

● A simple trick you can do to help is tell if one’s craving is based on emotions or
true hunger is to do an apple test. Ask yourself, “Does an apple sound good to
me?” If the answer is no, then you might suspect you are having a head craving
that is the result of an emotion that is driving you to eat.

● Most cravings will often fade with five to fifteen minutes, so occupying your time
and mind with something non-food related can sometimes see the cravings
vanish.

● Sometimes we have true cravings for carbohydrates because we have not

provided enough energy to our bodies. The craving is an attempt to supply our
body with nutrients is may be lacking.

● A craving for sweets may be more likely to occur when our blood sugar may be a
little low or when we have deprived ourselves of carbohydrates while we have
been exercising more. This craving may be met by having a high fiber, whole
grain snack, or meal.

It is also important to remember that hunger is on a continuum, so the more

hungry we are when we sit down to eat, the more we will over eat.

● Avoid overeating at mealtimes by having small snacks when you have more than
five hours in between meals. This will prevent you from needing willpower to
control the amount of food you eat, making it easier to practice portion control.

Talk Back to Negative Thoughts!

● Everyone has negative thoughts at times.

● Negative thoughts can lead you to overeat or be inactive.
● A vicious cycle of self-defeat can result.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up from time to time. Instead, try to
recover as quickly as possible. Look at each fallback as a way of finding out
more about how your emotions and diet are linked together.