It's perfectly normal to eat when we're physically hungry. Emotional eating, on the other hand, doesn't work the same way. It's human nature to crave and turn to food during hard times in our lives. We all like to believe that food helps us feel better during stressful situations by providing the comfort we seek. All too often though, we end up feeling worse than before after we overeat. This is mainly because eating hasn't solved the underlying problem after all. As well, if you're prone to emotional eating while trying to stay on diet plans for weight loss, you may end up feeling even guiltier after "falling off the wagon," so to speak.
When you're hoping to lose weight, you will especially want to understand the reasons behind your emotional eating. This is important so you can determine how to put an end to it and start focusing on ways you can eat for the right reasons - and achieve successful weight loss.
Please contact us if you have questions or want to learn more about our weight loss programs or Botox and Fillers:
- To reach our AZ Clinics, call 602-374-7226 (2 Clinics in Mesa and Phoenix)
- To reach our NM Clinics, call 505-888-9575 (3 Clinics in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe) or 575-222-4994 (Las Cruces)
- To reach our TX Clinic, call 214-296-0269 (Dallas)
- Or visit us online to schedule an appointment: http://fitmedicalweightloss.com/
The following tips will help you understand and begin to break free from emotional eating:
1) Identify your personal triggers
What situations, places, or feelings make you seek out the comfort of eating? Stress, boredom, or even old habits are common triggers. Knowing the situations and patterns which cause the desire to eat and/or overeat when you aren't physically hungry will help you begin to think of better ways to handle these cravings.
2) Find alternatives and healthier ways to feed your feelings
Simply understanding the nutritional advice you receive as part of a weight loss program doesn't work alone for losing weight. The knowledge of eating properly works only after you learn how to fulfill yourself emotionally in ways that don't involve eating. Some good options include talking with good friends, taking walks, reading books you enjoy, or watching shows you like on TV.
3) Take 5 minutes to pause and reflect when your cravings hit
If you feel the sudden urge to eat something for comfort - especially when it's food which will most likely sabotage your diet plans - put off eating it for 5 minutes. Take those 5 minutes to think about how you're feeling and why. Learning how to feel and accept your emotions, even the negative ones, is a big step towards being able to deal with those feelings in better ways besides eating.
4) Adopt healthy lifestyle habits
Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways to break free of the emotional eating cycle. Take time to exercise regularly, get enough sleep, relax, and socialize. Adopting these habits will help you feel much better overall. This lifestyle also provides you with better alternatives than overeating when you're going through rough times.
Please contact us if you have questions or want to learn more about our weight loss programs or Botox and Fillers: