Emotional Eating

Admit it- you do it too. I eat when I'm bored. I eat when I'm sad. I eat when I'm hanging out and having fun with friends. I eat to 'treat' myself. The problem is that I can always find small accomplishments to 'treat'. How to change it? It's not simple. You need food to fuel your body, but you don't need the endless fries at Red Robin as fuel. There's eating and then there's smart eating (which we'll discuss later). I realized that when I was stressed, I tend to NOT eat, rather than scarf the whole bag of chips. I realized that when boredom sets in, I tend to visit the kitchen more than I should, thus consuming more calories. Drinking water fills up your stomach and sends the receptors to your brain that you are full. Upon doing this lifestyle change, the first thing I changed is my new permanent addition to my hand- my water bottle. I bought new ones- one with a straw and one that isn't. The one with the straw occupies my car cup holder and the other one is the one that stays at home. I keep them filled with water. As soon as they are empty- they get refilled. I don't let them stay empty. If they stay empty, I end up in the kitchen filling up a cup with soda or milk and think that while I'm doing that, I might as well get a snack to go with the drink.... sound familiar? Figure out what emotions make you eat- do you eat when you are bored? Find a hobby to do- as simple as reading a book to something more complicated- like knitting. :) If that doesn't pique your interest, then get up and get moving! Go outside and soak up some Vitamin D- walk to get the mail, take the dog on a quick walk around the block, or walk to the park. When I hang out with my friends, we usually try to do something that doesn't involve food- meet at the park to let the kids play, go to the zoo, etc. Yes, there are times when we'll meet for coffee or go out for lunch together- but I'm usually focused more on the conversation than the food. And I ALWAYS drink a glass of water before the meal. It fills you up and doesn't allow you to overeat.
Now that you have your emotions and your emotional eating in check- let's move to 'smart' eating....
Think you are eating 'smart'? Try a food diary for a few days. I'm not asking you to do it for a week like most places are- that's too confining and I don't 'do' confining diet things (I'm much more inclined to cheat...often). Try it for a day first. Jot down everything that goes in your mouth for a day- even the small little leftover bites from your child's dinner that he didn't eat. Trust me- those little bites add up! Chances are that by the third day, you will change your ways. You'll get to the point that if you eat it, you'll have to write in down and you'll not eat it because you will have to write it down and be accountable for it!
Think about this the next time you are about to eat something- is it 'fuel' food or is it your 'emotion' food???