Emotional Eating – 5 Tips to Curb Emotional Eating

Emotional eating involves reaching out for food to suppress your negative feelings and thoughts that cause discomfort. People who engage in this kind of eating often do so in order to feel better about themselves. There is this feeling of fuelling your body so that you can take action against whatever is causing stress. You could be craving a bucket of ice cream or your favourite sandwiches after a tiring or stressful day because that’s the easiest way to find comfort. But emotional eating can have serious implications on your health. Here we bring you 5 tips to curb emotional eating.

• Move your body: Moving your body can make you forget about your emotions and lower down your stress levels while diverting your mind. Physical exercises help in releasing feel-good endorphins, boost your mood and amp up your energy levels. It further reduces your cravings as well. Going for a walk or jog, adding in yoga and meditation is one of the best ways to reduce emotional eating.
• Have a hunger reality check: Whenever you feel like eating, make sure to cross-check your hunger. Ask questions from yourself- is your hunger physical or emotional? If you had your meal a few hours ago and your stomach is not rumbling, then you’re not physically hungry. Give time to yourself and indulge your mind in different activities to make the cravings pass.
• Keep yourself hydrated: Sometimes, your mind mixes up the signals of dehydration and hunger. Whenever you feel the need to eat after some time of your meal, fill up and drink a glass full of water. This way you can easily break the pattern of cravings related to your feelings. Consume at least 2.5-3 litres of water in a day to keep your mind active.
• Share your feelings: When you keep everything inside, your craving for food increases which open doors to overeating and various health ailments. Sharing your thoughts or feelings with others is a great way to calm your mind without getting any unnecessary calories and health complications.
• Work on positive self-talk: Different types of feelings are associated with emotional eating. It is vital to pay heed to these feelings and work on the self-talk to heal your feelings or else it will lead to a series of emotional eating. Instead of getting hard on yourself, go easy and learn from your setbacks. Take showers, go on a walk and give time to yourself to curb your emotions and cravings.

Footnote

Right from stress, boredom to feel better- there could be various ways associated with emotional eating. Follow the above-written tips to beat emotional eating.