Emotional Eaters

Hi!

Are there any other emotional eaters out there who would like to form a support group?

It's easier to stay away from junk food when you have found comfort in a chat with a friend.

 

koilady63-what a great post! Thanks!

Question...how would I make this my desktop?

I have finally started asking myself "are you hungry" whenever I go into the kitchen. It does work! Most of the time, I'm not hungry. Although there are many times I feel hungry for it seems like, hours. Phychological?? probably.

Helloleahpen!

Glad you enjoyed the post.

It seems I was unclear. I 'm suggesting opening the calorie Counter site and then minimizing it so that the icon appears in your tool bar. That way it's easy to enlarge it and update your food and burn logs as needed.

Sorry for the confusion!

MB

Food is not the ulitmate reward!

Emotional eaters let's change how we think. Food is the only to reward, comfort, or way to  pamper ourselves! Here are a few ideas that can recharge your inner battery:

• Spend an evening at the Drive In. You can pack you own snacks and you don't have to smell that buttery popcorn!
• Attend a free concert in the park.
• Haunt the aisles of the used book store.
• Spend an hour in a place of natural beauty. Walk on the beach, sit high upon the mountain side, dangle your feet in the creek!
• Give yourself ten minutes to dance to your favorite songs.
• Take a bubble bath.
• Go get a manicure, a pedicure, or even both! (Yes you guys can do this too! We girls like clean, well cared for feet and hands. They are very sexy!)
• Bring flowers into the house.
• Not ready for next lower size yet but feeling the need to add a little pizazz? Buy yourself a new scarf/tie, socks, or watch that reflects the pride you feel in your success.
• Get a massage.
• Visit the museum, zoo, or public gardens.

How do you reward yourself? What do you do if you are craving a reward but are short on cash?

Hi

I am new and am an emotional eater. especially when
I am bored or lonely, some times when
I am frustrated.

I read but find I can eat while doing it. Any other options?

I would love to join (just not sure how). I am in every way an emotional eater. Sad, angry, frustrated, I eat!! Support would be more then welcome especially when I hit one of those "I dont care I am going to stuff my face any way" moments.

 

Sign me up!!!

 I think one of the things I try to avoid after a hard day at work and I am starving for dinner is to resist going through drive through. I would do that  and eat the food while driving and being frustrated and not even taste it!  Then I wasn't even satisfied! When I feel that way now I try to go for a diet coke and turn on some fun music or just rant about my day ( only if I am alone in the car). Its really tough  to not emotional eat, but when I do I just feel worse.

I would definitely like to join your group.  I have been successful at losing weight in the past ( most recently 30 pounds in 2005) and many times before that. My best results have always been with counting calories. I do very well until some kind of trauma happens in my life and then it is all out the window. My son was bombed in Afghanistan in Dec of 2005 and since then I have gained back all of the weight I lost and more.  My son had very serious injuries but thankfully survived - he is doing well now but my life is in a shambles!  I know that starting to take care of myself is a critical step and losing weight will definitely help. Has any other emotional eater had a major trauma that set them back?  I would be interested in talking to you.  Thanks

I'm there with all yal!!! The last stated that it helped her with adding things up and i would agree. Though I'm a newbie here, I still think that it helps. With myself it does. But i hear ya about being an emotional eater. I'm definately that person and I'm doing things to try and keep my mind off of it like coming to this web site. I would say this was the best thing I decided to do a long while. I would eat when I was MAD, BORED, STRESSED, LONELY, CELEBRATING, MEETING PEOPLE, you name it the list goes on. But, if there is anyone out there that can give some advice that would be awesome. Also when it comes to smoking. I'm scared to quit now cuz I just got started on loosing weight and I'm scared that I will back slide if I do it all at once.

 

Bless Everyone,

Shelly

Hi

I entered a forum question about what is harder, dieting or quitting smoking?There are some great comments and suggestions on it.

Hi All,

Do you have room for one more?

I'm new here, emotional eater. I can relate to binge eaters as well. I'm also a yo-yo dieter. This is my 4th or 5th time losing 50+ lbs. Now I'm in menopause (51 yrs) and it's harder than ever to make the scale budge. I have to really up my cardio to get it to move.

 I think this site is wonderful. It's such a great connection to everyone when the shame of obesity keeps you alone.

Thank you all in advance.

 Marie (Boston, MA)

Welcome mcs1229! We're glad to have you with us.

Good Morning,

Yesterday was hard. We had a Nor'easter going on here. Bored out of my mind, hubby went out with the boys (football season Sundays, even in bi-weeks). So, I entered the kitchen, open and closed all the cabinets and 'frige like something delicious would magically appear. Nothing. I looked again, still nothing. I got a glass of water, went to the computer and cruised CC.  OMG, you guys are the greatest! Thank you for letting me spend my Sunday with you! Thanks to you I had a good day!

hello all

I am new to this site and am still finding my way around. I would love to join this group, if I still may. Myself, I am an emotional eater for sure. Positive, negative, or even feeling indifferent--almost every emotion triggers off an eating response. When bored, I want salty, when sad, depressed, hurt I want sweet, when happy, joyous, wanting to celebrate-perhaps crunchy, or maybe alcoholic. The  past week, I have simply started with trying to find new or different things to do with my 'down time' in the evenings after my son goes to sleep, instead of watching tv or a DVD. Or else I will eat while sitting there. Instead I have been online and looked at trying to make new friends on messenger or in certain sites. If I have to focus on typing or my 'search' then my hands stay busy too.

Hope to chat with you more, and I am always looking for friends/buddies too.

Take care and bye for now,

Pat

BANISH BOREDOM BINGES!

Are you falling prey to the mindless munchies? Is your willpower great until work is over and the television is on? Here are a few ideas to give you a little more will power when the going is tough!

1. STAY FULL. Many people find that it's easier to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day than to have just 3. Center these meals around foods that are low in calories but high in fiber. When you've had a big salad at dinner, it's easier to pass up the popcorn when the kids put on the DVD.

2. DRINK UP. Those 8 glasses of water a day really help flush the old fat out, keep you hydrated, and fight the feeling of hunger.

3. REMOVE TEMPTATION. It's just Too easy to munch if the bag of chips is sitting right in front of us! DON'T bring food to the television or, only bring the portion you know you are alloted instead of the entire bag. Don't leave the chips, cookies, and peanuts laying on the kitchen counter. Put them away on a shelf that is a hassle to reach. You might even wish to use dark storage containers so you will not see the snacks.

4. FOCUS ON YOUR FOOD. Try not to eat while driving, chatting on the phone, reading, or watching TV. It's too easy to go overboard while you are distracted.

5. ONLY EAT AT THE TABLE. Ever notice how easy it is to nibble 200 or 300 hundred calories as you fix dinner? Ever finish anything off your child's plate? Don't eat until you are sitting down and remember to stop when you leave the table.

6. CHEW GUM. Sometimes it's easier to not give into snacking when you have a piece of sugarless gum in your mouth. It also gives you an excuse to pass up your mother-in-laws special cookies, " Oh I'd love to but I just put this stick of gum in my mouth!"

7. WALK AWAY. The no brainer part of this solution is to simply simply step away from the M&M's. The "Higher Level" solution is to go take a walk around the block and see if the craving for the M&M's subsides.

Remember, if you can't resist take one bite then ask yourself, " Is this really worth the extra calories?" If it's not, STOP EATING IT. It is worth it, try to limit your portion size.

 

 

Is it too late to join your group?  I too am an emotional eater--boredom, happiness, sadness, you name it--I will eat!  I also have portion-distortion issues.  This does not help!  This website has been a wonderful tool for me--logging in and recording everything I eat has helped me be accountable to myself.  I'm also *training* my brain to eat when I am hungry and also to keep portion sizes in mind when I eat.  Recording my progress in the journal is also beneficial--if I am typing, I can't eat!  I am a chronic gum-chewer, so that does help with my "need" to constantly eat, but some days that is not enough.  Hopefully, with the support of this group, we can all battle emotional eating together!

Welcome nicoleamelia! It's great to have you as a part of our group. When I had to go on a liquid fast (I have UC) my GI told me to drink lots of sparkling water. The carbonation does help one fight feeings of hunger but I certainly don't recommend liquid fasts as a weight loss method!

Thanks for the welcome and thank you for the info!  I've never tried sparkling water, but it's worth a shot. :)

Here is something that I have started doing, I know that I have little will power when it comes to gumdrops. So instead of trying to not buy them so I won't eat them (I will always lose control and buy them and then eat the WHOLE bag) I buy a bag and a bunch of the little snack bags, I make sure I do it when I'm full and not really wanting them at the moment. Then I count out one serving for each bag (12 gum drops - 130 calories) I keep them in a bigger bag out of site so I'm not constantly tempted but when I have the craving I allow my self that one serving. I don't know if would work for anyone else but it does seem to help me stay on track.

I do the same with Baked Lays.  I buy the big bag and divide into portion sizes.  It works!