Emotional Eating - Conquering the Demon Within

Emotional eating is something many of us have experienced throughout our lives. Overcoming emotional eating is possible by first understanding what it is, why we do it and taking small manageable steps to eliminate the cause and regain our lives.

Emotional eating or comfort eating is a common way to suppress unpleasant feeling within ourselves. When overweight, many people perceive life would be great if they could just get thin. Life would be happier, they believe they would love themselves and consequently be loved more. However this does not always happen. In fact, looking better does little to combat the feelings of self worth instilled when an individual becomes ashamed of their physique. They still experience the feelings of being unlovable, unworthy and damaged. This can lead to disappointment and spiralling back down the road of emotional eating.

Firstly identify if YOU are an emotional eater. Does this sound like you?

-I try, but fail to maintain the body shape I want
-I feel I am out of control of my eating
-I eat when I am not physically hungry
-I turn to food when I am stressed or upset
-I use food as a source of pleasure or reward
-I think about food a lot
-I sabotage my efforts by eating
-I binge or graze eat
-I feel ashamed of myself and my eating
-Food helps me deal with my feelings

If any of these statements applies to you, then emotional eating could be what is stopping you from regaining your health and your life. Here we have identified 12 simple steps to overcome the obstacles and effects that emotional eating has on your mind and your body.

Give up Perfectionism - We live in an imperfect world. If you have a bad eating day, realise it is just one day and not the end determinant. Start again tomorrow.

Break out of the 'Being Nice' Trap - How many jolly fat people are crying inside? Many larger people allow others to violate their boundaries and insult them whilst they continue to smile. They often reach for the comfort food to deal with the hurt. Recognise that there is a difference between being nice and being humiliated.

Find another way - Sharing problems, journal writing, mediating, are all excellent ways of coping.

Find your focus - Become more aware of the goal you are trying to achieve and focus on it. Recognise that this is your goal and you set your own limitations. Dare yourself to be more than you think you can

Love yourself - Understand all that you are. Know your own shame, fear, anger, grief and so on. It does not matter how many 'diets' you have broken, how far you have let yourself go, the person within is loveable and the surface can be improved.

Your eating - How many times to we use factors out of our control as an excuse? Organise your meals in advance. Take your lunch to work or similarly if you are on the road, pack lunch to avoid the dreaded 'drive thru'.

Identify why You eat out of emotion - Is it boredom, loneliness, fatigue, anxiety, anger, stress or tension or the desire to be normal? There are many strategies that can help overcome these feelings. Make an effort to find out what to cause is so you can effectively control your outcome.

Seek inspiration - When you are experiencing unpleasant emotions, think of someone who has inspired you. Chances are they have done something that appeared difficult. If you have the strength to face up to your own issue, then you too could be someone who inspires others no matter what their battle may be.

Find a comfort food that is healthy - There are plenty out there. The fruit section of your supermarket is a great place to start, especially in summer.

Clear out the rubbish - If it's not there, you can't eat it.

Breathe - Meditation is an excellent way of dealing with suppressed or confronting emotions. When the desire to eat in an emotionally responsive way becomes so strong, try to step back, relax and breathe.

Factor in your favourite foods - If you recognise a certain food is something you can't say not to, factor it in to your daily allowance. Remember life is not perfect and by allowing that special treat it may just stop you from over doing it and heading back down the emotional eating spiral.

Autor: Karen McD

http://burnfatandbuildfitness.com

Added: October 2, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/