gettinfitover40

I am an emotional eater. I wasn’t always. In my younger days when I was stressed or upset my stomach was usually so twisted into knots that I couldn’t eat. Sometime after my children were born, things changed. Food became more than sustenance. It became my friend, my companion, my way of dealing with the stress of life.

A couple of years ago my husband nearly died and I was faced with the simple fact that I was using food, not faith or strength, to battle my fears. Two years later a friend of mine asked me a very pointed question:

“Why are we fat?”

I admitted that part of my problem was laziness but the other part was more emotionally charged. I had gained 15 pounds in just under a year when I was a foster parent. It was a difficult time for me and I turned to food to help me cope with the tension in my life. There is no denying the scientific connection between foods and emotions.

According to the Mayo Clinic, foods such as chocolate, cause the body to release trace amounts of endorphins which elevates your mood. Because of the body’s reaction to food, we train ourselves to eat comfort foods when stressed. It is a vicious cycle that must be over come.

Questions to ask yourself

• 1.       Do you eat when you are upset or angry?

• 2.       When something good happens, do you reward yourself with goodies?

• 3.       When you are sad or lonely, do you eat?

Ways to avoid emotional eating

1.       Ask yourself if you are truly hungry – then don’t eat

2.       Avoid the kitchen when stressed – don’t tempt yourself

3.       Take a walk or a run, listen to music, or phone a friend

4.       Try acupuncture

5.       Eat a chili pepper

      6.       Keep junk food out of your house. If it isn’t there, you can’t eat it

Knowing how you react in specific situations can help you to tame the beast of stress eating. As with every lifestyle change, you have to plan ahead to avoid pit falls.

Remember, this is your body and your life. Make it the best it can possibly be.

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