Emotional eater

This weekend was a very emotionally draining weekend. I eat when I'm upset like that. I stepped on the scale at the gym and I've gained 3 lbs. Not all came from this weekend, but how do I put myself back on track? Any suggestions.

I do the same thing. To counteract it, I try to do two things:

When I'm reaching for the chocolate, I remind myself that I'm not hungry, nor am I even craving chocolate, I'm just upset. Then I ask myself if chocolate (or whatever you go for) will make it better. The answer is usually no.

The other thing I do is then replace the chocolate with something else. Going to the gym can be a great place to work out issues. 1) you are away from home, so don't have food readily available 2) you can think about what is making you mad or upset and visualize that your exercise is beating up whatever or whomever is the problem 3) exercise releases endorphins, and you feel happier afterward 4) at the very least, when you get back home, you know that the last hour was spent productively, and you can start feeling a little better about yourself.

I also knit, which helps distracts me, and makes me focus on something other than what's bothering me.

Hope some of this helps. Also knowing that the 3 pounds probably is due to several things, including water weight, might help.

Hmm I do the same thing :( Recently I've been quite depressed and I've been on a diet of fast food. What I'm trying to do now is work out a bit more and control my diet for the next few days to get back on track. Also I try to spend less on food, thus I eat more at home and avoid the fast food.

Good luck (:

Recognize that you eat when you are emotional, and instead, pick another activity, preferably away from the food... i.e. take a long relaxing bath, read a book, go for a walk, or do yoga.  I do the same thing, but I am learning to not be obsessive about food, and to recognize that we eat to live, not live to eat...

My big things that I really ate were cereal (like a whole box almost), salad, tootsie rolls. What I ate was continuous all day. I had went to my friends memorial Saturday, hence emotional weekend, and I was too upset to eat there, but when I got home and the the day before and the day after, it was like I couldn't stop eating. I kept telling myself over and over, you need to get to the gym. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I started back on my diet today to get me back on track and to take the 3 pounds off.

Thanks everyone for your help.

I'm the same way, so what I did was went and got a discounted student membership at a gym which is about 15 minutes away(if you can, I highly suggest it). When I'm sad or stressed out or something, I go to the gym (even when I'm tired) and I just swim in the pool and sit in the hot tub. It's a little bit of a drive and far away from ice cream sandwiches, so I don't eat them but still can chill out a little. Sometimes I even get my energy back and feel like doing some laps or hopping on a treadmill, you never know. Even just a half an hour there and I already feel steamy and relaxed, and much more likely to not eat pizza rolls.

 

Here's something that helps me:

"if the problem isn't hunger, the answer is not food!"

I finally figured out that the excess food made me feel more emotional! And so the cyle continued ...feel bad, eat; eat too much, feel bad....round and round in an endless cyle.

So tell yourself, it's OK to feel .... walk thru the feelings and walk past a binge!

I second the knitting suggestion. It really helps. Keeps you busy, calms you down, and you can't eat at the same time, or you will get your work dirty. And you get to feel good because you are MAKING something constructive