Does stress, anger, or sadness drive you to eat or not to eat at all?
In my case stress usually drives me to stop eating and I lose appetite. As I have been sick, feeling helpless in bed for some days now, can’t move or walk and of course I can’t go to the gym, what made me feel stressed, sad and depressed.
Whether you feel angry, sad, bored or even excited, food can act as a buffer against these emotions.
We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. We also turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or as a reward.
Unfortunately, emotional eating or hunger doesn’t fix emotional problems. It usually makes you feel worse. Afterward, not only does the original emotional issue remain, but you also feel guilty for overeating or you feel sick for not eating at all.
Learning to recognise your emotional eating triggers is the first step to breaking free from food cravings and compulsive overeating, and changing the habits that have sabotaged your diets in the past.
Since I started my food program and training with David Seisay, I tried to learn how to stop my emotions from driving me to crave food or to not eat at all.
Yes at the moment I can’t walk, stand up for long or go to the gym but I’m trying as much as I can to eat healthy at home.
So where do you start if you want to stop eating emotionally?
The first step is awareness, recognising that you do eat or not emotionally and WHY!! Each time you reach for foods ask yourself, “Am I really hungry or am I just responding to something else that is happening?”
If you are eating or not as a response to anger and/or stress, some of these activities will help you calm down and deal with the issue at hand, instead of covering it up with food.
- Try to remove yourself from the stressful situation. If you’ve had an altercation with a friend or family member, take some time away from each other to calm down and get your thoughts together,
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Take some deep breaths. Deep breathing has been shown to reduce blood pressure and promote feelings of calmness,
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Exercise also helps to get the negative energy out, it’s a known stress buster and you may even find that it helps you deal with anger,
Go for a short walk outside, or push around some heavy weights at the gym,
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Listen to music. Make a special CD or playlist that you can turn to when you need it. Stay away from dramatic music when you feel down and replace them with cheerful ones which move your body,
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Be organized, If mornings are so busy that you’re barely able to get out the door on time, put some time-management skills into practice so that you don’t have to rush or feel stressed each morning. Try to organize your life and prioritize yourself,
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Play with your cat/dog, that sometimes help me to cuddle and be cuddled by my two amazing cats.
Sadness and Loneliness These two emotions often go hand in hand. So SMILE and let everyone know that today, you’re a lot stronger than you were yesterday 🙂
Jasmine Elnadeem 