Working to Overcome Emotional Eating

Were you dieting and loving the progress you made… but you have reached a plateau in your weight loss that you believe might be related to your tendency toward emotional eating?

How to Overcome Emotional Eating When It Strikes

If emotional eating is something you want to badly break out of, then you may be eager to find some methods that work toward kicking this undesirable habit. When emotional eating strikes, here are some simple ways to distract and derail yourself from the struggle at hand.

1. Drink extra water.

It can help to carry around a water bottle so that if cravings strike, you can offer your body some healthy hydration which will also provide that full feeling that you may be missing. This can offset strong cravings or help you make the right choice rather than give in to emotional eating urges.

2. Choose protein.

The body craves most of all during emotionally stressful situations. It’s only our brain tricking us into thinking that sugar is the answer. Under stress, our cognitive function can slip as our body goes into a fight-or-flight response.

3. Try smaller, more frequent meals.

Many people who struggle with weight loss have a hard time curbing their urge to emotionally eat. One way to avoid this problem is to have 5 or 6 mini meals a day rather than 3 larger meals. The grazing method keeps your blood sugar on an even keel, so that you won’t be tempted by less-than-healthy choices.

4. Take a walk.

Instead of eating whenever you feel emotional or stressed out, you might try helping you body calm down and return to a balanced state by taking a walk. The repetitive motions can reset the nervous system and