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Emotional Eating Tips

According to Dr. Susan Albers of the Cleveland Clinic, signs of emotional eating include eating when not hungry and having difficulty finding satisfying food. Mindless eating and cravings triggered by emotions such as anger or sadness are also signs. Fortunately, there are several techniques that can help combat emotional eating. If you slip up and have an emotional eating episode, take the advice of the Mayo Clinic: forgive yourself and start fresh the next day.

  1. Change Your Eating Habits

    • Eat regularly to avoid hunger, which can lead to emotional eating binges. Try consuming a healthy snack every three hours to keep your body going. Eat a variety of foods and allow yourself the occasional treat so you don't feel deprived. Deprivation can lead to a binge when you have a bad moment. Stock up on healthy food such as fruit, vegetables, unbuttered popcorn and other low-calorie snacks. Give away your stock of comfort food so you won't be tempted by it.

    Know What Causes Your Emotional Eating

    • Keep a food journal of what you eat and when. Simple details, such as where you are, for example, at work or at home, as well as what preceded the eating can help you to identify what stresses are leading to your emotional eating. Include a rating of how hungry you are every time you eat. Use a scale of one to five, where one is not hungry at all, and five is very hungry.

    Take Steps to Relieve Stress

    • Engage in activities that relax you and relieve anxiety such as yoga or meditation. Ensure you get enough sleep. Low energy throughout the day can lead to emotional eating. Spend positive time with family and friends. Assess your own emotions and try to work through them. Seek professional help for stress, anxiety or depression if you need further counseling to begin on a path towards positive thoughts and feelings.

    Distract Yourself

    • When you sense a craving, either give it time to pass or engage in another activity. Go for a walk, play with a pet or call a friend. Do a breathing exercise, give yourself a foot rub or sip black tea instead of eating. By the time the replacement activity has finished, you may find your craving has passed, in particular if the activity engaged your inherent ability to relieve your own stress.

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