5 Ways To Prevent Emotional Eating Before It Starts

There's nothing worse than giving into a craving and eating a tub of ice cream or two. We all have an Achilles heel, and for some people, that weakness lies in food. Are you an emotional eater facing the prospect of emotional eating – wondering how to stop and put a stop to emotional eating once and for all?

Start The Battle To Conquer Emotional Eating For Good

EMOTIONAL EATING. Ever heard of it? It’s a thing, like cat videos and memes on Facebook. EMOTIONAL EATING means eating when you’re sad, bored, happy, excited or gassy. If you’re depressed or sad or eating without much thought while you binge-watch a Netflix show – you are emotional eating. The best way to put an end to emotional eating will be to proactively nip it in the bud… and here are 5 ways you can do that.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness can help you cut down on mindless eating. Before you put anything in your mouth, ask yourself if you’re really hungry. If not, why are you eating? Are you bored or sad? Instead, drink a full glass of water, lay down to rest and wait to see if you are still hungry. Often, feeling hungry can be mistaken for a need for water or sleep.

Routine

Eating a routine diet of small meals, and avoiding binge-eating, will ensure you don’t eat more than you should. If you want to stop emotional eating, try grazing on smaller portions of food over the course of the day rather than gorging on three large meals. If you try to stick to a routine, it will become a habit that is easier to stick to!

Stress relief techniques

When you're stressed, it's easy to reach for the sweets. But while sugar may give a momentary high, in the long run, it will damage your health. A better way to go about it is to find some other method of stress relief, like meditation, yoga or watching a comedy show. If you're looking for a healthier way to deal with stress, look into meditation. It's been shown to reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. You can find free meditation apps on your phone or tablet that will walk you through how to meditate.

Remove temptations

If you're prone to late-night binges, go to bed earlier. While you sleep, you won't be tempted by food. For those who snack all day long, get rid of all unhealthy processed foods in your fridge and kitchen. By removing all temptations from your house, it'll be easier for you to resist eating unhealthy food. If you're a late-night snacker, try eating something healthy before bedtime. A small bowl of nonfat Greek yogurt with some fruit or even a piece of grilled chicken can help you fall asleep faster. If you still find the need to reach for a snack, think about your zero point foods! Keeping things in your fridge that are healthy and ready to eat will help reduce the temptation to order delivery or grab a bag of chips.

Eliminate the triggers

Emotional eating is not just a disorder of the stomach, it’s also a disorder of the mind. Emotional eating is often caused by stress, so if you're struggling to meet deadlines at work and find yourself reaching for a pint of ice cream every night—you may need to rethink your time management skills or switch jobs. It could even be that the reason you're stressed is because of your family; they are notorious for upsetting people! If this sounds like it may be true in your case, avoid them (or try to work out why they upset you) so that you can finally stop emotional eating! Discover what your specific triggers are and then write out a plan to manage them.

Adopt these 5 methods and you’ll notice an improvement in your relationship with food and you’ll have your emotions under control too.

Read More About Emotional Eating:

• 
  Sleep and Weight Loss: How They Work Together
• 
  5 Ways To Prevent Emotional Eating Before It Starts
• 
  Resources To Conquer Emotional Eating
• 
  Eating Mindfully instead of Emotionally: Why Is It Important?
• 
  How To Conquer Emotional Eating