How do you deal with emotional eating?

I use food (usually carbs and sweets) in response to stress. I can't seem to break this cycle.

I've been thinking of trying acupuncture for this (and other) reason(s).

Is this a good idea?

As long as you go to a reputable, licensed acupuncturist and you have no contraindications, it couldn't hurt to try.

In the meantime, here are some tips for dealing with emotional eating. What you want to do is to take a pause before reaching for the food, and break the pattern of seeking comfort from food.

Keep a journal. When you feel like you want to start eating, don't immediately go to the kitchen. Write down what you're feeling. Being able to express your feelings may lessen your stress and deter your eating.

Take a walk. Going outside and getting some fresh air may distract you from emotional eating.

Find a different way to deal with your stress. Do yoga or meditate. This may help you focus your energy in a different manner, so you can handle your stress in a better way.

Don't keep your trigger foods in the house. You can't eat those foods if they're not there.

Don't starve yourself if you're trying to lose weight. If you are going hungry, you are more likely to binge in response to stress if you are emotional eater.

Call a friend. Talk to them about the stress your feeling.

Exercise regularly. The endorphins from exercise will help reduce your stress.

If after 10 minutes of some other activity, you still crave carbs or sweets, allow yourself a little bit of your favorite food. Eat it very slowly. Savor every bite. For me, a small piece of dark chocolate works wonders.

If you're not sure if you're hungry or responding to stress by eating, rate your hunger on a scale of 0 to 10 and be honest. If 10 is totally full, and 0 is famished, don't eat if you are above a 5.

I do know how you feel. Food is very comforting, but there are other ways to seek comfort. If you do end up eating emotionally, don't beat yourself over it. Forgive yourself and move on. You're human.

Finally, I don't know the source of your stress, but this is something you may want to talk to a therapist or a counselor about. A nutritionist can also help you with eating strategies. Good luck!

Try to workout when you get stressed or eat fruits when you get upset. Two apples or ornages are better than a bag of potatoe chips!

i've never tried acupuncture, but i do know what could help you.

whenever you feel stress (or any other emotion that makes you eat) do something besides eating. exercise, write in a blog or journal, or anything you can do to relieve stress that doesn't have to do with food. this will retrain your body and mind not to immediately turn to food for comfort.

good luck!

Hi justjule,I'm jul in real life. But, I do not use carbs and sweets in response to stress. I use alcohol and nicotine instead! I'm just kidding justjule. Actually, 4 months ago I used nicotine. In fact, I used it for 30 years. I noticed I turned to carbs as a nonsmoker and so I gained unwanted weight. I was a perfect four and now I am a six to eight. That extra skin/flab is in the way of tying my shoe, picking something up off the floor, etc., etc., etc. I am so not meant to have flab. It will be gone within the next three months. Just work your butt off honey. Acupuncture is good for some things but not all.

Yoga is also good.

I don鈥檛 know if acupuncture would help you, Jule. I have no experience of acupuncture in relation to emotional eating.

However, there is a free e-course that might help you. It's called:

鈥淗ow to Cure Emotional Eating鈥?

You can find it on the 鈥淓motional Eating鈥?page at the Internet resource listed at the bottom of this reply.

Stress is a common link between 鈥榗omfort鈥?food and emotions. The easiest way to free ourselves from the dictatorship of emotions is to learn the techniques for dealing with them.

Some emotions are positive and feel good or pleasant. Some emotions are negative and feel bad or unpleasant. Emotional eating is usually caused by using food to try to outweigh negative emotions. We all do it from time to time.

However, sometimes we become slaves to our emotions. Then we try to savor positive emotions, while trying to protect ourselves from negative emotions. We try to attach to emotional highs, and struggle to endure emotional lows. Unfortunately, that approach doesn't work in the long-term because it鈥檚 impossible to preserve positive emotions and it's impossible to prevent negative emotions.

There is another free e-course that might help you. It's called:

"Meditation: An Aid to Weight Loss".

You can find it on the 鈥淢editation鈥?page at the same Internet resource.

I hope this information helps. All best wishes to you for the New Year.