And then there’s the guilt. The lack of willpower. Knowing you’re not even hungry.

How does it happen? How do you feel powerless to control the cravings?

Emotional stress and eating?

Emotional eating can start in childhood when food is often a parent’s best tool for reward or distraction. Think about it. When you cried, you got a bottle. As a kid, you got snacks and candy for a job well done. As an adult, you might just find that you grab the junk food as a way of recreating happy childhood memories whenever you’re going through a bout of stress or upset.

Awareness is the first step

Awareness is a powerful aspect. Even reading this post is a step toward awareness. You know you are an emotional stress eater and you want to learn how to stop. Becoming more aware of how things personally play out for you is the next step.

We often call emotional eating “mindless eating.” That’s because you probably don’t think about what you’re doing. Your unconscious habits take over. But, before you can become mindful about your eating, you need to understand how you feel right before you eat.

The key is to be more aware of why you’re eating. Try a food journal. Log what you eat before you even eat it and you may just realize why you’re eating for the wrong reasons.

When you break the habit of mindlessly reaching for junk, it gets so much easier to put everything else into place.

It’s okay to be happy

You can still enjoy food without grabbing junk when you’re feeling low. Flavor your water with fruit. Make yourself a healthy yet tasty snack. Treat yourself to a bubble bath. There’s plenty you can do to feel better.

If you happen to find yourself in the middle of a binge, try to enjoy it. Savor every bite. The more you focus on the joy, the harder it will be to eat to the point of belly ache. Typically, emotional eating is the body’s way of attempting to experience pleasure,

Only eat when you’re hungry

As an emotional eater, you probably don’t eat when you’re actually hungry, right? And then you find yourself eating often?.

For every diet, there tends to be an equal and opposite binge. So rather try eating real, nourishing, and healthy foods when you’re truly hungry. This will help teach your body that you’re not actually in starvation mode. That’s when your body becomes more efficient at storing fat and you struggle to burn it off.

So, when you eat when you’re genuinely hungry, you’re a lot less inclined to binge and it tells your body it’s safe to lose weight.

Know your triggers

What sets your emotional eating into motion? If you know you tend to eat when you’re feeling lonely, call someone or write in your journal.

Another top tip is to carry food with you, so you never feel like you’re wanting for something. Often, emotional eating is the body’s reaction to feeling as though it’s deprived. The trick is to create new ways to feed your soul. Stock up on healthy, delicious foods. Pack the calendar with tons of fun things to do. Be disciplined about finding ways to decompress and just put your feet up.

Emotional eating is a very powerful way of finding temporary relief from challenges in this life. If it didn’t work well, we wouldn’t do it!

Toss the junk

Fortunately, you can stop your cycle of emotional stress eating. It’s about making a commitment to reach deep within and find a place of strength. Hopefully, the above tips will assist you to get rid of the junk and hit the gym, go for a run, play fun games like betend, catch up with a friend or simply grab something healthier to snack on.

Find more tips on mindfulness and healthy habits at marksalinas.com.

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