If you’re really honest with yourself, the answer to this question is often, “I was bored;” “I was celebrating;” “It was there.” Oddly enough, rarely is the answer to that question, “I was hungry”. For the majority of overweight people, overeating is not the problem. Overeating is just a symptom of a bigger issue. People overeat to satisfy a variety of emotional needs, whether it be comfort, security, or even to assuage guilt. The first step in conquering emotional overeating is to have an awareness of what your specific trigger is that may lead you to binge. This awareness is the beginning of what is called mindful eating. Basically, this means always being cognizant of what you’re putting in your mouth and why.
An invaluable tool to assist you with this step is to keep a food diary. What this entails is keeping a daily journal in which you keep track of the food you’ve eaten (or the food you want to eat) and what you were feeling at the time. The trick is to substitute other activities that you can do that will result in the same emotional payoff. The next time you’re feeling like you need a “fix”, try calling a friend who always makes you laugh, or renting a favorite movie. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t eat a piece of cake if you feel like it. It just means you should recognize that it’s a special treat, not an everyday indulgence.
Think about how you eat
In our hustle and bustle lives, it might be safe to say that a good portion of Americans do most of their eating in the car. Drive thru windows and fast food restaurants have allowed us the ultimate in convenience when it comes to grabbing a quick bite. Unfortunately, most of these fast foods are not only loaded with calories but they are loaded with saturated fat. Not a very healthy choice. Now there’s no disputing that after an exhausting day at work it’s much easier to pick up the phone and have pizza delivered to your door. But with a little pre-planning, you can take a lot of time and effort out of meal preparation. Try taking some time at the beginning of the week to plan a weekly menu.
Think about different meals that you can make that take no time for those nights when you know you’re simply not going to have a lot of energy. Try investing in a crock-pot so that supper is waiting for you when you walk in the door. Then, just make sure you stock up on everything you’ll need for the week at the grocery store. Believe me, it’s easier to do one big shop at the beginning of the week than to make ten trips to the store throughout the week. This pre-planning also cuts down your risk of impulse buying while at the grocery store. If you make it a point to stick to your list, you’ll be less tempted to grab other “non-essentials,” like potato chips and candy.