​Samui Fitness

Emotional Eating: 3 steps to binge-free life(non-diet solution).I don’t know if you heard the term Emotional Eating before but I believe that most of you know what it feels like being under a lot of stress, feeling overwhelmed with emotions(sadness, anxiety, fear, loneliness, dissatisfaction with your life, career, love life), being bored to death, being humiliated etc.

 

And I bet that happened to you too: you are in a very emotional state, stressed out and you reach out for a box of chocolate or cookies or bucket of ice-cream and eat the whole thing by yourself till your stomach hurts. Or you order the whole big pizza for yourself, or stop by some store buying chocolates, cookies, candy bars, pastry, frozen pizzas etc. Scenario can be different for each of us. Food , amount of food, circumstances will vary but most of us were at that place at some point in life.

 

Then you wake up(usually it happens late at night, doesn’t it?) feeling awful and realize that nothing changed in your life, well, probably you got some more fat on your body, indigestion, bad mood, more cravings for junk food, lack of energy, feelings of guilt and failure.

 

Then you probably promise yourself that it’s never going to happen again no matter what and you’ll be just perfect for the rest of your life and that lasts…till your next black stripe of life when you can’t handle your emotions.

 

Familiar?

 

Want to put an end to it?

 

I have 3 simple non-diet steps that helped me stop emotional eating once and for all.

 

But before I tell you the steps, I want you to understand a couple of things:

 

Emotional eating or binging is a phenomenon when you eat for reasons other than physical hunger.

Usually you eat much more than you should, that your body needs and you don’t stop eating when you feel you are full.

 

Emotional eating is a normal response of your body to stress.

 

For human beings since the beginning of history food was always a symbol of safety, peace and abundance. If we had enough food it meant that for a while we have nothing to worry about and that association is still somewhere deep in your brain.

 

You are not a helpless creature! You can be totally in control of your eating habits and start enjoying your food consciously instead of being afraid of it.

 

3 steps to your binge-free life:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Savor your food.

 

Did you notice that when you binge, eat being in intense emotional state you don’t eat slowly? You just put your food in your mouth and swallow it almost instantly?That happens because you are not really eating to taste your food but you are trying to numb some intense feeling that you have, you are using your food like pills/drugs/antidepressant.

 

Even when you reached out for some food that is not good for you in that state, savor it, take one small bite at a time, chew slowly and breathe, smell your food, appreciate it’s beauty and amount of work that was put into it, ask yourself what it is you really crave?

 

Peace? Love? Excitement? Fulfillment?

 

Will that food give that to you really or is it just a temporal solution that will make you feel worse afterword?

 

Stop beating yourself up and feeling guilty, talk to yourself, love yourself slowly breathe and chew…

 

Another benefit of eating slowly is that your gut will have time to give a signal to your brain that it is full.

 

2. Deconstructing cravings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t try to get rid of your craving for “forbidden food”!

 

Understand that cravings are absolutely normal thing. It’s a way of your body to tell you that you miss something in your life and most often with intense cravings it’s something that can’t be eaten!

 

Maybe you miss someone, maybe you need love, a hug, quality connections with your friends and family or yourself, more excitement in your personal life or career. The list is endless!

 

Or maybe it is a craving for a particular nutrient or vitamin that can be find in food(usually then you don’t feel like eating particular junk food because there is nothing in it really).In any case, talk to yourself.

 

Ask yourself: what am I feeling right now? What do I really need at this moment? What am I missing in my life?

 

3.Experience your emotions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I said before most of binge eating, emotional eating happens because we are trying to numb some intense feelings, we are trying to release stress and start feeling at peace, calm and relaxed.

 

But you don’t have to reach out for food to do that!

 

Drink a glass of water, go to some place where you can be by yourself, feel the emotions that you have at that moment, realize what it is that you feel like numbing with food.

 

Why is it so hard for you to accept that emotion and just feel it?

 

Remember even the most intense emotion will subside pretty fast and you don’t want to add to that feelings of guilt and physical discomfort after eating.

 

Take a walk on the beach, take a relaxing bath, listen to your favorite music, call your friend or family member instead. Change the pattern that hurts you and do something different!

 

Remember YOU are in control of your life. You can change any habit you have if you just make a REAL DECISION and take ACTIONS!

 

There is nothing wrong with you and this problem is just a small challenge you have that you can easily overcome once you commit to it!

 

 

Thank you Angela for this fantastic article 

 

Contact Details:

 

Website http://www.dreambodylifecoach.com/

 

Email: AngelaYourCoach@gmail.com

 

Phone: 0937874813