Emotionally Trainwrecked

Ah, emotions. As humans, they drive us. With me this is no different, especially when it comes to eating.

According to the Mayo Clinic: “Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Both major life events and the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts.”

Yep, that sounds about right.

My mother always tells me without fail, how much I wear my heart on my sleeve, whether I think I’m hiding my emotions or not. If I’m having a bad day, she can tell. It’s supposedly written all over my face. I might as well wear it on my plate too.

I’ve always been one to take out my emotions with food. It’s the only way I know/knew how to cope. Emotional eating, and bored eating too, is something that helped catapult me to 250 lbs in no time flat. When I’m overwhelmed or stressed, I get into that “I don’t care” mood. I’m like a train that’s jumped the track heading for a platform full of people.

That brings me to yesterday. After a few weeks of no pop, I caved. Twice. With Nutter Butters attached.

I tried to “stop the bleeding” as a friend put it, but I didn’t care. Two nights ago I came home in a foul mood from work. Again, I didn’t care. Went to grab Mexican food that night with my husband and completely jeopardized a whole week of hard work and almost 3 lbs. of weight loss. I came up short and only lost a pound and half. I knew, and I told myself before we left, don’t do it. Don’t go, just eat at home; it would have been cheaper anyway. I knew it was going to be bad. But in my stubborn, half-minded haze, I asked, “who cares?”

So this brings me to some tips. This is probably more for me than it is to you, the reader, but emotional eating is something I desperately need help on, and want to be able to curb the crash during those, “I don’t care” moments.

Below are some helpful tips included in the article, “Emotional Eating: Feeding Your Feelings,” by Heather Hatfield, posted on WebMD.com:

· Recognize emotional eating and learn what triggers this behavior in you.
· Make a list of things to do when you get the urge to eat and you're not hungry, and carry it with you, according to the Tufts Nutrition web site. When you feel overwhelmed, you can put off that desire by doing another enjoyable activity.
· Try taking a walk, calling a friend, playing cards, cleaning your room, doing laundry, or something productive to take your mind off the craving -- even taking a nap, according to the Tufts Nutrition web site.
· When you do get the urge to eat when you're not hungry, find a comfort food that's healthy instead of junk food. "Comfort foods don't need to be unhealthy," says Wansink.
· For some, leaving comfort foods behind when they're dieting can be emotionally difficult. Wansink tells WebMD, "The key is moderation, not elimination." He suggests dividing comfort foods into smaller portions. For instance, if you have a large bag of chips, divide it into smaller containers or baggies and the temptation to eat more than one serving can be avoided.
· When it comes to comfort foods that aren't always healthy, like fattening desserts, Wansink also offers this piece of information: "Your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you'll recall it as just a good experience than if you polished off the whole thing." So have a few bites of cheesecake, then call it quits, and you'll get equal the pleasure with lower cost.
· Lastly, remember that emotional eating is something that most people do when they're bored, happy, or sad. It might be a bag of chips or a steak, but whatever the food choice, learning how to control it and using moderation are key.

In the same article, Jane Jakubczak a Registered Dietician at the University of Maryland, is quoted stating that “75% of overeating is caused by emotions, so dealing with emotions appropriately is important.” Obviously my emotional eating is a work in progress. A major work in progress. I never really understood the point of tracking your hunger during the day, along with the food you eat, but it makes sense. Hopefully these tips can assist you as much as I hope. We aren’t perfect, and I certainly know this is one area I want to focus on.

“Concentrate all of your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” –Alexander Graham Bell