"What causes weight gain?"
Every overweight person has had this question in mind at one point or another. Its a short question with an infinitely long answer. The answer is unique for every person. However, many people suffer from common problems (not being physically active enough, poor eating habits).
Today I'm going to talk about my biggest problem- emotional eating.
Tip 13: Confront emotional eating.
There are many different kinds of emotional eaters. There's those that eat when bored- mindlessly eating popcorn while watching TV late at night, or scarfing down chips at the office when work is going slowly. There's those that eat when stressed- college students eating large cheese pizzas all by themselves while cramming for finals, guzzling down soda by the liter to cope with their procrastination of a term paper, people who are on the verge of being laid off that use fatty foods to comfort their fears. There's those that eat when depressed, trying to make themselves happy with sugary sweets and chocolate cake, or wallowing in sadness with a sad movie and an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. There's those that eat when lonely, using Hershey's kisses to try to replace real kisses, and give themselves hugs with gummy bears. There's those that eat when happy or excited, rewarding their happy and accomplished feelings with a trip to the drive-thru or an ice-cream shop. There's so many different kinds, so many that nobody could possibly list them all! And, if you fit into one category, you most likely fit into more.
The point is, no matter what kind of emotional eater you are, it has contributed to your weight gain.
I personally eat when stressed, depressed, lonely, and bored. Most of my emotional eating habits center around stress and boredom. Last year, before i started my weight loss journey, my dog passed away, and i soothed myself with 2 extra cheese pizzas and a dozen doughnuts. Looking back, its very obvious that i have an emotional eating problem. I knew then, and i especially know now, that even though that coping mechanism may taste good- its not good for me, and indulging in it only makes me feel worse about myself.
This week, take a first step to confronting your emotional eating habits, and try to prevent them from happening. This is a huge step in trying to lose weight. I know from my personal experience, its tough, and sometimes it can make you cranky or angry, but it really is worth it once you free yourself from the chains that emotional eating can hold you down with.
Heres 5 small steps to confronting (and stopping) emotional eating:
1. Observe your habits in order to determine if you are an emotional eater or not, and then categorize what kind of emotional eater you are. The easiest way to do this is to keep a food log. If youre not into counting calories, thats okay. Keep a log that includes the time, the food (amounts included), and how you were feeling at the time. Being honest and accurate is the key to making this log work. At the end of one week, examine you log paying special attention to the emotions you were feeling when you ate. If you are an extremely heavy emotional eater, i suggest you take this log a step further and continue to keep it- both to monitor your progress, and as way of writing down step #2.
2. Before you eat, ask yourself "Why?" Listen to your body. Are you hungry? Tired? Thirsty? Upset? Stressed? Bored? Are you eating out of habit? If you're really busy, its a well-spent minute just breathing and listening to your body. If you always have trouble knowing if youre hungry or not, I suggest meditating for ten minutes everyday. It will help you listen to your body.
3. Do not give into emotional eating. This is a tricky step for most people, and everyone has their own way of coping with it. You need to find something that works for YOU. I personally set up an eating schedule the day before, and put portion-controlled meals, snacks, etc. in canning jars. That way even if im stressed or upset at mealtime i have a controlled portion in front of me. I also have kicked junk food out of my life- i do not keep any chips, chocolate, or fatty cheeses (which is MY junk food! haha) around my dorm room, AT ALL. If the time comes for a weekly treat i go out and buy one, small-sized dessert or an individual bag of chips. Not having junky food around is a big deterrent to overeating when im emotionally upset because i would have to make a run to the store just for the bad foods- which makes me think twice about what i am craving. I also ask myself the question from step #2 before i eat anything that i did not schedule the day before. By thinking about how im feeling and why my body is telling me to eat something i gain insight and therefore control over what i eat.
4. If you're stressed or upset try to relive it a different way- in a constructive and healing way. This is also a very individualized step. A starting suggestion is to writing down diary-like rants in your emotional eating food log. Getting your internal turmoil out of your head and onto a page (or to friend or loved one) can make you feel a ton better without the weight-gaining effect. If venting just doesn't do it for you, you can trying getting your anger and frustration out physically, in the form of exercise. Kickboxing and punching a punching bag are great if you have anger or frustration! If you have more a stress-related problem, yoga can help calm you. Running, or walking, is another great way of "getting away" from problems in your life. With exercise as a release for your negative feelings, you not only get the benefit of a clearer mind, but you also get in a good workout!
5. Keep it up! Don't give up! Emotions are a part of us, we cannot just throw them away and forget about them. With that said, controlling your emotional-eating tendencies takes work- every day. Once you get into the swing of things, it will get easier, i promise! Even if you have a little slip up, acknowledge what you did wrong, and just move on. Find something that works for you (trial and error). Don't give up, you can do it! I did. :)
Best of luck! :]
Just Another Whale,
MyzzLyzz
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