5 Steps To Overcome Emotional Eating

 
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Does it feel like the cookies are twisting your arm? Or, like you can’t move forward without another scoop of PB? It often feels like we are powerless to food and cravings, but it’s not the food.   Thoughts and habits are the problem. They are sucker punching you into submission. But, we can fight back. 

It’s not uncommon to reach for food to sooth you in a distressing situation. Unfortunately, food is a temporary solution. You may feel better for a moment, but then you are still stuck with the original problem plus now you also potentially feel terrible for overeating and frustrated that you didn’t honor yourself.  As Dr. Judith Beck says in “The Diet Trap”: Do you want one problem or three?

To live your most vibrant life, you have to start looking at “what’s eating you.” It’s the key to shaking off those old patterns that you don’t need so you can focus on shining bright in life: 

  1. GET CLEAR: Journal about what’s bothering you when you reach for food not connected to hunger or planned meals.

  2. DETERMINE SABOTAGING THOUGHTS: What are your beliefs around the behavior? For example, “I must eat sugar if I am craving it or else I won’t feel better.”

  3. REFRAME THE THOUGHT:  What’s the truth? What is a better way to think about it? For example: “Sugar is a temporary solution for my stress. It usually makes me feel worse. I am much better off letting the craving pass.”

  4. WHAT DO YOU REALLY NEED? Determine positive distractions to help you more productively move through the feelings. This could be anything from take a walk and calling a friend to reading a book or breathing deeply.

  5. READ & REPEAT: Keep reading the reframed thoughts and keep your positive distraction list handy. The more often you follow through on these, the more you are strengthening your new response to distress, which does not include unhelpful emotional eating.

Need more help navigating your wellness journey, join JaimeFit—a Digital Fitness Studio aimed at helping you burn bright in life. My goal is to help you get out of your own way, make empowered decisions based on what feels good to YOU, have fun and blaze your way to success. 

MindJaime Baird