Emotional OvereatingHave you been wondering how to overcome emotional overeating? Are your stress and food choices connected? Do you have the determination it takes to stop emotional overeating? One quick caveat: This page is NOT about eating disorders. If you are struggling with serious food issues that are affecting your mental and physical well being, please speak with your doctor or therapist. More information on eating disorders can be found here. 
This is a challenging issue for many people to tackle. Emotional overeating often is used as a coping skill for many years before people learn how to stop. If you are using food to feel good then you know that it is filling a need for you.
You may feel better in the present, but you end up feeling bad about overeating later. Always turning to food when you are feeling emotional indicates that you need some good alternative coping methods. And the good news is you can learn how to overcome emotional overeating and implement healthier behaviors!
Let’s walk through the steps:
1. Identify the Problem
If you have been thinking about how to overcome emotional overeating, you are already aware of the problem, and that is a huge first step. Think of the times when you find yourself overeating because of your emotions. When you argue with your spouse? When you have a tough day at work? When you’re home alone on Friday night? When the kids drive you crazy? Write those situations on a piece of paper. Next to each situation write the corresponding emotion you were feeling. Anger? Exhaustion? Loneliness? Stress? 2. Identify Alternative Behaviors
What else can you do to help deal with your emotions? Blogging, running, weeding your garden, making faces, and chatting with friends are all good healthy coping methods. You will find the method of emotional expression that works best for you. On your piece of paper, write down a preferred alternative behavior next to the emotions.
3. Practice
Try out your new plan. When you know that talking with your mother is going to drive you nuts, instead of turning to food, purposefully try your new tactic. It will take time and patience and diligence to successfully implement new coping skills.
Stress and Food Choices
Another thing to consider is that even if you aren’t overeating when you’re feeling emotional, you may not be making the best food choices. Stress and food choices often go hand in hand. How many times are you feeling blue and reach for the ice cream or cookies? Or how about when you’re anxious and find yourself at the fast food drive through? Your stress and food choices can actually “feed” off each other. You will end up feeling worse knowing that you made poor food choices and when you’re already feeling bad it can be hard to avoid your comfort foods. Learn more about the physical effects of stress. Planning ahead is critical to your success! We all feel the same feelings. And we all have different ways of dealing with them. The important thing is that you find the ways that work best for you. When you learn how to stop using food as a significant comfort tool, you free yourself to healthily move through your feelings and on with life! While the steps listed above are very straightforward, to actually stop emotional overeating requires much determination, patience, strength, and support. If you think you would benefit from having a life coach in your corner to help you get started on this trek, I would be honored to talk over your goals with you.
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