Emotional
eating is the system of eating large quantities of foods and
particularly junk foods just for coping with boredom. Some people
tend to munch more when they feel sad, angry, anxious and stressful.
This type of habit will add more and more calories to the diet
thereby creating a physiological and psychological dependence on food
for coping with the emotions. People gain weight easily due to this
kind of emotional eating and experts suggest that if an individual
does not come out of this problem, losing weight is very difficult.
So, they should take genuine efforts to get out of the problem and
here are some suggestions given by experts for enabling people to
cope with this problem:
Identifying
the mood:
The first and foremost step to be taken for overcoming emotional
eating is to get
a clear knowledge
about what is happening. Do not forget to maintain a diet journal and
also keep a watch on the episodes of emotional eating and how was
your mood during these episodes. Identify the time of the day and the
foods you are taking during these periods. This strategy will be
helpful in deciding on the further moves to be made to stop yourself
from this practice.
Healthy
coping:
Just with a view to get out of the emotional eating, some people do
select some unhealthy coping methods like sleeping, drinking and
watching television. But, it is always advisable to go for healthy
coping methods like you can do some yoga or can also follow some
breath control techniques as and when you feel like munching. It
would be wise to take some deep breath for four or five times and at
the end you will find that your desire for some food might have gone
away. You can also watch your favorite TV programs or can also talk
with friends, who can support you towards working against your
emotional eating practice. You can also go out for a short walk to a
garden.
Appreciate
yourself:
As and when you succeed, you can appreciate yourself and this will be
of great help in moving towards your fight against emotional eating.
For instance, when you have just started with the process you can fix
certain short-term goals like I should not eat anything from 2pm to
4pm and once you have achieved it, you can appreciate yourself of
being controlled for the two hours.
Experts
are of the suggestion that emotional eating can force an individual
to become obese. So, it would be wise to get expert advice to get out
of this the problem so that you can stay healthier for longer run.
