My problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yummymummy]

My problem is I want to eat with all emotions!!!!!!!!!
Happy-lets celebrate with a bite to eat. Sad?-I drown my sorrows with chocolate and lollies. Bored, angry, lonely stressed yada yada yada and Im turning to food. I think food is my best friend Im always looking for an excuse to go off diet and have a little party with junk food. Does anyone else feel like this?? How do you deal with it??
Jody

[kate_turner2000]

hi jody i know where you are coming from. i eat because i can! lol. i needed to train my body to eat when i was hungry. not just because i could eat. i would wake up first thing in the morning and think about what was for lunch and dinner! damn you brain!!

[SarahC]

Yep, know exactly what you mean! I would love to be able to tell you the answer, but I don't know what it is

I think the first step is to be able to recognise the reasons why you eat, and what foods you eat in different situations. Then you can figure out what strategies might work for you...

I am powerless to stop myself from eating at night. Particularly in the middle of the night when I wake up. So far the best thing I've come up with is hiding all my danger foods at the back of the top shelf of my pantry, so that I need to climb up on a chair to reach it. Then after I go to bed I block off that end of the house by sticking a chair in the hallway! Doesn't stop me though... once I get a thought in my head seems nothing will stand in my way

[Chinta]

I`m totally with you there on emotional eating....... that`s why i`m here I have to learn that food is not my best friend and other things can make me feel good (like pampering myself).

We know we do it....... just need to finds ways to stop it.

[zeedeveelgirl]

Ooh yeah I'm with ya all on this one... Some days I'm just reallllly hungry, but some days I'm really not and I want to eat anyway just for something to do. I don't usually eat when I'm upset, just when I'm BORED!!!!!
Tonight I'm going to Aaron, the new boy's house for "supper" at 9:30 (seriously, who eats that late?!?! well, I guess he is finishing work at 9) so I've been eating light snacks all day to get me through til then without consuming many kilojoules. And I'm actually doing okay today because there have been lots of dramas going on (see my thread about needing to vent in "Just Chatting"!!!) so I've been very distracted. It would be a nightmare if I were bored though.
Ah well, 4 hours to go

[slimmindown]

I also was an emotional eater.(like and alcoholic am only in recovery never cured )
Reading the Dr Phil book helped a lot. I learnt about what self talk I do, to allow myself to eat, for emotional reasons and not hunger. Then how to change that thought with a positive one,so i didnt need to eat for eating sake.
I also, through doing the tasks in the book ,now understand that my most vulnerable time is when I'm tired and overworked. So now when i feel this way i do something else. Like take a bath, paint my nails have a facial or do some exercise. This way I get a similar feeling of warm fuzzies from the activity and not from my old friend"junk food"..
this has worked for me the majority of the time, but I am always learning , about listening to my body and when it is hungry and when it is stressed.
Eating low GI food also keeps my fuller longer ,so I dont have that high low drop in my blood sugar and go for the quick fix of sugary foods

[zeedeveelgirl]

Sounds like that's a good book, I saw it at the library the other day so maybe I should go borrow it!
When I got back into my weightloss seriously I bought the book by Jillian Michaels, trainer on the Biggest Loser "Winning By Losing". It's fantastic!!!! It's separated into sections for food, exercise and your emotions/attitude.
I might actually re-read it, it's such a great book!!!

[hushpuppy]

I ama eat a anytime eater lol but bordom and dpression are my biggest downfalls
Now when i feel like a depression hit coming on i do something that i really enjoy . Mines a hot bath with candles or i work on some of my stichings which keep my hands busy and concentration away from food
Boredom same thing if i am bored i find something to do even if it is rearranging the litchen cupboard or playing online games . anything to distract my food of thoughts
Jules

[kate_turner2000]

hi all hope that the dinner goes well for you emma

see you arent alone jody!! we just need to find a way to help conquer our 'brain' issues!!

[Ally]

Hey Jody...have a squizzy at the article Sarah posted on eating triggers....I found it quite helpful (thanks Sarah ) I printed it off the forum so that I could read and go over it....

[yummymummy]

well I definately aint alone on this one am I- when I find that "magic cure" Ill be sure to share it with you all!!I have concidered taking St Johns wart in the past to see if that stabilises me emotionally and stops those damm cravings
I will track that article down now and have a look thanks guys
Jody

[Dee]

Jody, when you find the magic cure you'll be a multi billionaire!

[slimmindown]

I found this on a healthy eating site about why emotional eating isnt worth it, it rang true for me..

Why Food Can't Protect You
When you're tempted to shield yourself by overeating, remind yourself:


The pain will still be there after the food is gone.

Eating only makes you feel full, not happy.

After you've eaten, you have two problems: the one you ate to hide from and your physical discomfort.

No matter how much you eat, even if you go on a monthlong binge, the feelings will someday come back to haunt you.

Eating can't make illness, rejection, sadness, loneliness, or fear of death go away.

they are all true, which I will remind myself next time i reach for something when I am emotional..

[Dee]

I've printed that and put it on my cupboard door.

Sometimes I really need to be reminded that eating that chocolate bar is not actually gonna make me feel better at all. It's just gonna numb the pain for a few minutes, then bring it all back with a venegance - with the added bonus of feeling crap about eating the chocolate bar!

Dee

[mary_in_adelaide]

If it weren't so damned annoying it would be funny.

I used to smoke.

I'd smoke when bored. 'Cos smoking was so fascinating I would be instantly entertained. Not.

I'd smoke when tired. Like having 99 different chemicals pumping through my body was a good thing.

I'd smoke when depressed. A smoke would suddenly make all my troubles go away right? Nup

I'd smoke when out having a good time. It made the fun even better. Yeah like having people glare at me and move away from the smoke I was blowing was fun.

I finally realised that the smoking wasn't having any impact on any of those things. My lightbulb moment (as Oprah would call it) was realising that non-smokers got bored, depressed, happy etc and managed to get through it without a stupid cigarette so surely I could do it to. And I stopped right then. 18 months ago.

But being a somewhat slow human being it seems I have to learn the same lesson AGAIN. I do the EXACT same thing with food.

Bored? Eat...how exciting and entertaining eh?

Depressed? Eat...'cos putting on another kilo is bound to beat that depression right?

Having a good time? Eat...so much that it hurts. Is there any other way to celebrate?

Can't sleep? Eat...nothing like a groaning stomach to keep you awake even longer than the insomnia normally would.

Just as I did with smoking I have to teach myself that the feelings are normal human feelings...everyone gets sad and tired and bored and happy but NOT everyone uses those things as an excuse to eat to the point of damaging their health. I have to teach myself that there are much better ways of dealing with all those situations.

It's not easy (I just blew it on Saturday night as per my confession) but slowly but surely the message I am beating/squashing/squeezing the message in to my befuddled brain. Eating doesn't deal with the issue.