Weight Loss Watcher

Experts say that emotions are responsible for about 75 percent of overeating and the obesity that follows it. If you are overweight, the first question you ought to ask yourself is whether you eat to satisfy your emotions. Take a test to determine your eating habits and your relationship with food. In addition, it pays to understand the differences between real hunger and emotional hunger. 

• Emotional hunger is sudden; one minute, you hardly think of food, and the next minute, you are ravenous. Physical hunger, on the other hand, is gradual.

 

• Emotions trigger craving for a particular type of comfort food such as ice-cream, pizza, or steak and only this food can satisfy you. When you are genuinely hungry, a wider variety of food can satisfy you.

 

• Emotionally hungry people go on eating almost unconsciously; they have no control on the quantity of food they eat. Physically hungry people stop eating once they are full.

 

• Real physical hunger is based in the stomach whereas emotional hunger is based in the mind.

 

• The result of emotional eating is a feeling of guilt whereas the result of natural eating is a feeling of fullness and contentment.

 

• Emotions trigger emotional hunger whereas real hunger is something that happens because it is four to five hours since you had your last meal.

 

So, once you have identified yourself as an emotional eater, what do you do? Unless you get rid of emotional eating, you will not be able to get rid of your excess weight. Here are a few tips for you: 

• Identify the emotions that make you grab unhealthy food and learn to control those emotions.

 

• Keep a food diary to record what you eat and when you eat as well as the triggering emotions that make you eat. This will improve your awareness about your eating habits.

 

• Instead of eating comfort foods, do something else such as making a call, writing a letter, cleaning your room, taking a walk, and so on.

 

• If you have to eat, eat something healthy such as a fruit snack.

Sometimes, giving up comfort eating can lead to acute emotional distress, and you find yourself unable to handle the overwhelming emotions that make you seek refuge in emotional eating. If this is the case with you, eat your comfort foods in moderation. Instead of emptying an entire bag of potato chips, divide it into smaller portions. It is also possible to overcome your problem by making use of techniques such as relaxation, meditation, group work, or counseling.

Filed under: Diet Programs