Emotional Eating

Steps to Stop Emotional Eating

January 28, 2010
By Pat Hunter

There is no doubt that food is one the great pleasures in life. Food also provides us with those vital nutrients required to keep our bodies functioning. Problems begin when we start overeating and getting too overweight. An example of this is emotional eating.

Emotional eating is a psychological problem that can eventually cause a big problem for your body. When you are feeling low, or feel your life is in a mess, it is tempting to seek comfort in your favourite foods. Emotional eaters begin to rely on food as a stress reliever. In fact, eating food you love can stimulate the release of endorphins in to the body’s system, which gives us a happy feeling.

However, using food as a crutch instead of seeking more appropriate solutions to your problems will only make things worse for you in the long term.

So what are the signs that you may be using food in this way?

Have you noticed an increase in your weight?

Not surprisingly, the main indicator will probably be a telling gain in your weight. Eating too much will soon start adding the pounds to your body. Emotional eaters often find themselves eating even when they are not necessarily hungry.

Have you been feeling regularly stressed or anxious lately?

Feeling emotionally fragile is often the major trigger for overeating, especially if it is caused by a traumatic event such as bereavement or abuse.

If you feel you may be an emotional eater, you have at least taken the first step to confronting your problem, i.e., recognizing you may have a problem.

The second step is to seek counselling. Solving emotional eating is not as straightforward as going on a diet. It is more about confronting your emotions and learning effective ways to deal with them.

Also, do not be ashamed to confide in your friends and family to offer you support. They can be great help in helping to monitor your diet and encourage you to take some enjoyable exercise with them.

A healthy, well balanced diet can greatly help prevent kidney stone symptoms and a host of other painful conditions. For more advice, go to http://www.preventingkidneystones.com

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