Emotional Eating - 8 Ways to Control Emotional Eating

Amongst the various side effects of depression, emotional eating habit is the most dangerous that can lead to other serious health problems. This occurs at a time when one is emotionally and mentally weak and unable to grasp the situation fully and turns to anything that offers comfort or distraction from the problem at hand.

In most of the situations, this comfort comes from eating; hence it is called emotional eating.  In such a case, eating becomes a way to suppress emotions such as stress, depression, loneliness and other negative thoughts. However, one does not realize how dangerous it can be as it sabotages health and poses serious consequences.

If you or any one in your family is suffering from depression or emotional eating, here are a few steps to stay away from it and maintain your health.

8 Ways to Control Emotional Eating

These 8 ways discuss the means by which you can control your emotional eating problem when you are suffering from depression. Along with controlling emotional eating, these methods also concentrate on alleviating your depression and making you feel better.

Although, strong emotional triggers can lead to craving for food, yet your can control such cravings with these methods and control over and excessive eating that is yet another problem.

Some of the ways that can help you control emotional eating are:

Don’t Think About Food

Food is not the only important thing or the most important thing in life. It has been observed that emotional eating makes people only care or think about food and nothing else. Try to broaden your horizon to defeat your depression by reaching out to other activities and people apart from food. This will help you focus on finding a solution for your problems and fill the emotional gaps that help to control emotional eating.

Recognize Your Hunger

Are you really hungry or just emotionally upset? Are you looking for a snack or something to eat just because you are feeling upset and have nothing else to do? Think about these things before eating anything. If you ate just a few hours ago and do not have a rumbling stomach, give it a pass and do not eat anything. This hunger phase will pass soon enough.

Monitor your Eating Habits

Keep a check on your eating habits and make a note of when you feel hungry, how much you eat, how you feel before eating or after eating and how hungry you feel. This will help you notice when you feel hungry and why do you feel hungry at odd time even if you just took a full meal. Over the time, you will be able to control your erratic eating habits.

Find a Substitute of Eating

Instead of eating when you are depressed, try to find an activity that can engage you mentally. It can be anything from listening to music, going on a walk, cleaning your house or going out to meet a friend. By doing this, you will be substituting your urge to eat with something more constructive and it will take your mind away from eating. Over the time, you will learn to control your hunger pangs.

Don’t Over Stock Food

The best way to control eating is to stop stocking extra food in your house. Avoid fatty or sugary foods as they are very dangerous if taken excessively. If you feel hungry, eat something fibrous so that it does not harm you. When you go shopping, take some one along so that you can make intelligent decisions about what to buy.

Eat Healthy Foods Only

If you still think that it might be difficult for you to control your hunger and you will not feel better unless you eat something, keep low calorie, low fat foods in your house such as fresh fruits and vegetables, fat free yogurt and popcorn. This will satisfy your craving and benefit you too.

Eat a Balanced Diet

It has been noticed that most of the people suffering from depression and emotional eating do not take a balanced diet. When they eat high sugar and high fat foods at odd times, they do not feel hungry at meal times and thus miss a balanced diet routine. It is recommended that you eat a balanced diet at meal times; it will make you feel less hungry and you will also remain healthy.

Get Regular Exercise and Adequate Rest

You are the only one who can manage your mood and body and you will be able to fight depression more effectively if you are well rested and fit. Exercise is very important to stay fit and burns all the additional calories and fats you consume. A good night’s sleep can do wonders to improve your disposition and you will notice that things look brighter after a restful sleep.