All of us experience occasional emotional eating. Celebrating with food is what birthday parties, holiday parties and cookouts are all about. Sometimes, however, emotional eating becomes something else, something that can lead to serious physical and emotional imbalance in our lives.

Using food to cope with stress, grief, loneliness and boredom causes a destructive cycle that becomes an unconscious behavior. This behavior is very difficult to change and if left unchecked can lead to obesity and other forms of weight-related illnesses.

Emotional eaters are never satisfied no matter how many calories they consume. This leads to more and more weight gain, usually complicating the emotional reasons for eating in the first place. The excess weight then becomes almost impossible to lose.

WARNING SIGNS OF EMOTIONAL EATING

*Eating when not physically hungry.

*Eating when bored, angry, sad, or anxious.

*Eating too fast.

*Eating until uncomfortably full.

*Eating immediately after coming home from work.

*Feeling disgust or guilt after overeating.

ARE YOU AN EMOTIONAL EATER?

If you experience any of the following more than occasionally, you may be an emotional eater:

*You think about food a lot.

*You eat when you are stressed (sad, bored, anxious, depressed, etc.)

*You binge eat.

*You eat even if you are not hungry.

*You feel guilty and ashamed of yourself and your eating habits.

*You try to lose weight but are always unsuccessful.

*You do not feel in control of your eating.

TIPS TO OVERCOME EMOTIONAL EATING.

If you think you are an emotional eater, there are ways to overcome it. The suggestions below can help you:

*When you reach for something to eat, stop and ask yourself if you are hungry or if you are upset. If you are upset, why are you upset?

*If you are upset, do not swallow it. If someone has upset you, let that person know they have upset you and that you will not tolerate it any more. Deal with it right away.

*Focus on the solution to your problem, not the affect. Focusing on the problem will not help you solve it. By focusing on the solution to the problem, you will not be stressing about the problem itself.

*Make yourself, not a diet, responsible for what you eat. Dieting can easily lead to emotional eating and will not address the core reason for being overweight.

*Focus on feeling better. Start eating healthier foods and getting a little bit of exercise. The result will be an almost immediate sense of feeling better.

*Take up a new hobby (or an old one). Knit, crochet, work jigsaw puzzles, play games with your kids, take a long leisurely walk.

*You are in control of your life. Stop thinking about food. Get out and LIVE!

Remember, to solve emotional eating, you must change the behavior that is causing it. The next time you reach for food because you are upset, stop and think! Get out of the kitchen and go take a walk, read a book, listen to music, or call a friend; whatever makes you feel better.

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About the Author
Chris Chenoweth, author of the DO-IT-YOURSELF HOME, HEALTH & MONEY GUIDE, writes articles pertaining to diet, exercise, health, and business.

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