| Emotional eating can be described as eating behavior that changes with changes in a person’s mood. Remember the time you were stressed about your work and wolfed down an entire bar of chocolate and still felt unsatisfied? Or the way chips disappear from your bowl when you are bored or alone? Those were the occasions when you gave in to your emotions and indulged in food as a form of escape instead of dealing with your emotions. | | What makes you an emotional eater?
It is normal to try and divert your attention when you are faced with a problem.This can happen consciously or unconsciously, but can especially be manifested as a diversion through eating.
There are myriad emotions that urge you to eat and these include stress, anxiety,anger, sadness, depression, boredom, or loneliness. Varying life events and life stages can also trigger spates of overeating and indulgence in the ‘wrong’ type of foods. |  | | | Check for yourself
Here are a few points that can help you decide whether you are an emotional eater: - Do you eat when you are not hungry?
- Do you eat when you are bored or unoccupied?
- Do you eat immediately following a fit of anger or when you are lonely or sad?
- Do you feel guilty after eating?
- Do you crave for different types of foods when you are going through different moods, such as anger associated with salty foods and depression with sweets?
- Does eating make you feel better for a short time when you have been burdened with problems?
If your answers to most of the questions listed above are in the affirmative,you are an emotional eater. | | | When and how does it start?
Emotional eating can start from a very young age. It is probably initiated by those considerate gestures from loving kin who bought you a sweet when you were feeling low or as a reward for doing well in school. This blends into one’s nature and becomes part of childhood behavior—seeking comfort food when you feel low or hurt, tough and chewy foods when angry and sugary foods when tired. This continues into adulthood and becomes an integral part of your eating habits.
Foods such as coffee, tea and chocolates can add to this problem by virtue of their capability to induce addiction given their mediation in the release of chemicals that either perk you up or induce a feeling of happiness. |  | | | Research has proven that certain individuals are at higher risk of becoming victims to addiction when it comes to foods such as chocolate and coffee. This has been attributed to a genetic predisposition as well as to an inherent deficiency of certain substances in the brain.
Apart from its obvious deleterious effects on health, emotional eating is harmful in that it causes some amount of rebound once the temporary effect of eating has passed. This would also be accompanied by an additional feeling of guilt from overeating,for having indulged in food when not hungry. | | | How can you control emotional overeating?
There are several ways by which you can train yourself not to give in to emotional eating. These include: - Distract yourself from food when you feel you are in a mood where you may turn to food for comfort.
- Figure out whether you are physically hungry, when you have not eaten for over 3–4h, or just emotionally hungry, where you know you have eaten adequately and do not need food for satisfying physical hunger.
- Try other measures to keep yourself distracted. For example, listen to some music,talk to a friend, read, exercise or go for a walk.
- Keep yourself away from your weakness—food—at this time.
- Identify what moods are associated with negative eating patterns and avoid anything that can trigger them.
- If you find yourself unable to cope with the craving and feel that you must give in, then, eat healthy.
- Avoid high-calorie, high-fat foods as they will lead to a surfeit of calories which the body will tend to store.
- Eat foods rich in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrain breads and foods that are low in salt and sugar.
- Ensure that you follow a balanced diet and eat at regular hours. Your diet should comprise a mix of lean protein foods, dairy products, whole grains, vegetables and fruits as they will help you feel satisfied about food for a longer time.
- Most people do not realize that exercise is an excellent alternative to emotional eating. The release of chemicals and hormones in the body that is initiated by exercise results in a natural uplifting of mood.
- Exercise also releases endorphins, or ‘happy chemicals’ that improve mood considerably and also boost your Immune System.
- It is very important to remember that indulging in emotional eating is a tendency that can be modified with concerted action and effort.
- If you do end up succumbing to the urge to eat emotionally, there is no need for guilt as this would further worsen the situation and set you up for another round of emotional eating.
| 
 | | Comfort foods and emotional eating do tend to help you through an emotionally fraught or stressful time and can uplift mood. However, it is wise to remember that overindulgence in this temporary support can prove expensive for your body and health. This indulgence should only be in moderation and should be accompanied by plenty of water. |
|