Do you use food for comfort when you are feeling emotional? This is a common theme among many of my clients who are trying to lose weight. When they feel distressed, they immediately want to grab something to eat. Eating is a distraction and helps to soothe their negative feelings. In fact, there are certain foods – chocolate, for example – that trigger the release of “feel good” chemicals in the brain.

The problem, of course, is that the good feeling you get from eating doesn’t last long; in fact, it tends to be gone in a New York minute. And then you are back where you started – still feeling emotional –needing to deal with whatever is making you upset. And to further your bad mood, you now feel guilty that you strayed from your diet plan. As the negative self-talk takes over, your confidence is shaken and you begin to think that achieving your weight loss goal is impossible.

POWERFUL WEIGHT LOSS TIP
                Don’t use food for comfort.

Rather than turning to food when you are feeling negative emotions, try to find other ways to comfort yourself. Use these 5 tips to get started.

1. Become Aware. One of the best ways to identify emotional eating is to keep track with a food and mood journal. Every time you overeat or feel compelled to reach for a comfort food, take a moment to figure out what triggered the urge. Over time, you’ll see a pattern emerge. Once you identify your emotional eating triggers, you’ll be able find healthier ways to deal with your negative feelings.

2. Pause and Reflect. Emotional eating tends to be automatic and virtually mindless. For example, you feel bad after a difficult conversation at work and before you even realize what you’re doing, you hit the vending machine, buy a candy bar and a bag of chips, and inhale them. But if you can take a moment to stop and think about how you are feeling, you give yourself the opportunity to make a different decision.

3. Express Yourself. Whatever it is that you are feeling, it’s important to express it. This may seem scary at first, especially when you’re not used to letting your feelings out. But the truth is that when you talk (or journal) about your emotions rather than obsessing over or suppressing them, they subside relatively quickly and lose their power. And then you can deal with them in a productive way.

4. Get Enough Sleep. As well as making it harder to fight off food cravings, feeling tired can increase your stress level. Research shows that a lack of sleep has a direct link to stress, overeating, and weight gain. When you’re both exhausted and overwhelmed, any little snag in your day has the potential to send you straight to the refrigerator. But when you are well rested, you’re better able to handle the demands of everyday life. To control your appetite and reduce food cravings, try to get about eight hours of quality sleep every night.

5. Support Yourself. Allow yourself at least 30 minutes of “me time” every day to take a break from your responsibilities – relax and recharge. And don’t forget about exercise. Physical activity is a powerful stress reducer and it has a positive impact on weight control.

Now I’d love to hear from you.

Are you an emotional eater? What do you do to manage your feelings in a positive way?

Please share in the comment section below. Your ideas could be very helpful to other readers.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for a nutritionist in New Jersey, contact me @ 732-494-1149 or go to www.NJnutritionist.com for more information.

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