HOW TO OVERCOME EMOTIONAL EATING

I WAS STUCK IN A SELF-DEFEATING CYCLE! I felt out-of-control with food! I was either overeating nor dieting. In either mode, I felt I was never good enough. I had nwillpower and stick-to-itiveness in many other areas in my life. So why couldn't I apply that same resolve to my eating habits? I WASTED SO MUCH TIME, ENERGY, AND MONEY! I was obsessed with my weight. Living like that was miserable. Today, I understand that weight was not my real problem. It was nactually a symptom. My real problem was that I was a "emotional eater". EMOTIONAL EATERS USE FOOD TO MANAGE FEELINGS We use food to self-soothe. People who have struggled with it, nand the professionals who treat it, call it by many differentnnames; compulsive overeating, emotional eating, and food naddiction. No matter what it's called, people USE foodnbecause food works! 1. FOOD WORKS AS A TENSION RELIEVE Both eating and thinking about eating work as distractions n from uncomfortable feelings. Being food focused takes then edge off any feeling that a person would rather not feel or n tolerate (boredom, stress, anxiety, anger, loneliness, etc.). For example...You're feeling bored. Suddenly you findn yourself thinking about the ice cream in the freezer. As soonn as you start to think about the ice cream, you are no longer n focused on feeling bored. Food and food thoughts can be used in reaction to and as an defense against any intense feeling or stressful life n situation. The use of food to manage mood becomes a n self-reinforcing habit. (Today, scientists are also focusedn on the biology and brain chemistry of overeating. There may n also be many physiological reasons why we keep turning ton food, even though it feels self-defeating to do so?) 2. EMOTIONAL EATING HAPPENS ON A CONTINUUMn Emotional eating is normal. We all celebrate with food. n When something sad occurs, friends and neighbors arrive withn cakes and casseroles. It's only when emotional eating beginsn to have impact on one's emotional and/or physical well-being,n and it's used as a person's primary strategy for mood n regulation, that it becomes a problem. When eating becomes a primary coping strategy, it greatly n impacts a person's quality of life. At the most extreme pointn on the emotional eating continuum, there may be a n diagnosable eating disorder present - such as bulimia orn binge eating disorder - and often, clinical depression as n well. 3. FOOD, AS A MOOD REGULATOR, ALWAYS BETRAYS USn First, an emotional eater experiences an uncomfortable n feeling. For example...You just had a fight with a family n member and you're feeling really angry! Next, you have a FOOD THOUGHT; and you find yourself n reaching for a bag of chips. Note...you may or may notn be conscious of when or why you are having a food thought.) n Once you are focused on the chips, you are no longer focusedn on how angry you feel. The use of food as a distraction n works... You eat the chips, warding off the anger for a littlen while. Then, the anger comes back. Now, in addition to the n anger, an emotional overeater has to deal with the guilt and n shame he/she feels every time he or she eats chips (or any n other food that he or she has labeled "forbidden"). 4. THIS FRUSTRATING CYCLE IS A TRAP FOR EMOTIONAL EATERSn Until you develop healthier coping strategies, the only wayn to avoid the guilt and the shame that results from emotional n overeating--is more emotional overeating! Every time we swea we'll be "good" on our diet today, and then turn back to n food for comfort, we feel like we have "failed". Then, to n "stuff down" our frustration, or anger, or desperation, n we turn back to food. 5. SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO IF EMOTIONAL EATING IS A PROBLEM? Make a conscious effort to become more aware of how and why n you may be using food. Develop new skills for mood n regulation. If you need support to do so, find appropriaten professional help (find a class, hire a Coach or a Licensed n Psychotherapist). The focus should be on self-care and n improved emotional and physical well-being--eating well and n being fit--not on dieting and weight loss. Remember, dietingn is a trap for an emotional eater. Dieting just leads to moren emotional eating. Word Count 594 at 65 characters per linennn 6 STRATEGIES TO COMBATn "OUT-OF-CONTROL" EATING Ellen Shuman, Executive Director, www.aweighout.com/nnn#1. ASK YOURSELF, "ARE YOU AN EMOTIONAL EATER?" Emotional eating is the troublesome use of food to take n care of emotional needs (to manage stress, boredom, anxiety, n anger, loneliness, etc.). Here's how emotional eatingn works...n n Food and "food thoughts" are used as distractions from n uncomfortable feelings. For example... you have a fight withn a family member or with your boss. Suddenly, you find n yourself thinking about the chocolate candy in the cupboard n or in the candy machine down the hall. As soon as you startn thinking about the chocolate, you are no longer focused onn how angry you feel. People use food thoughts and food becausen doing so helps them manage their mood.nn#2. RECOGNIZE "EMOTIONAL EATING" When you reach for food, ask yourself, "Am I turning to food n to meet a physical need--am I really hungry? Or, am I focusingn on food to avoid feeling bored, stressed, angry, lonely,n etc.?"nn#3. STOP DIETING AND STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF! Diets don't work! Food restriction sets an emotional eate up for more emotional eating... and the scale makes people n crazy! Why give a scale that kind of power. Get rid of it. n (If you absolutely must monitor your ups and downs, the fit ofn your clothes will tell you everything you want to know.)nn#4. EXPLORE WHY YOU ARE SO OBSESSED WITH WEIGHTn Does this sound familiar? "If I could just lose weight, I'd n be happy." Think about that. Is your life really that simple or one-n dimensional? Or, is it possible that your focus on your n weight gives you an illusion of control? Blaming all of n life's disappointments on weight, body shape or size, cann feel safer than taking a good, long, honest look at othe life issues-like your relationship skills, your feelings n about emotional and/or sexual intimacy, personal or caree change, etc.nnn#5. DEVELOP NEW SKILLS AND HEALTHIER COPING STRATEGIESn The use of food to manage mood is a self-reinforcing behavior. Somewhere along the way (consciously or unconsciously), you n tried it and it worked. You learned that it worked; n therefore, it became a habit. The good news is you can now consciously learn new, healthie habits for emotional regulation (take a class, hire a coach,n or work with a counselor who specializes in emotional eating n and mood regulation issues).nnn#6. SHIFT YOUR FOCUS TO SELF-CAREn Develop an extensive Self-Care List. On it, list everythingn you can think of that gives you pleasure. (If you can't thinkn of anything, explore new strategies. Ask other people whatn they do to manage stress, to self-nurture, and to have fun.) Carry the list around with you. Pull it out every time n you're tempted to use food to meet an emotional need. Eventually, these new habits that you're developing will n begin to replace the old emotional eating habit and willn feel much better in both the short and long runs. For lasting behavioral change to occur, the focus mustn shift from dieting and weight loss--to self-care and a n desire for improved health, eating well and being fit. n Remember, dieting and deprivation are traps for an n emotional eater. Self-Care is the way out. n