Different people have different ways of dealing with emotions. Some yell and scream to lessen their emotional strain. Some others will cry their heart out. There are people who become more exuberant and loud to mask their feeling of despair while many others lose interest in food and starve themselves. There are a set of people who deal with their emotions by downing enormous quantities of food. They munch non-stop and end up becoming too heavy. This way of dealing with emotions by over eating is called emotional eating. Technically speaking emotional eating is when a person eats in response to emotions rather than hunger. For emotional eaters, food becomes a source to heal emotions.

Surprisingly many people fall prey to emotional eating. This abnormal eating condition can be triggered off by too much stress, depression, anxiety, shock, frustration or anger. Many of you will not be aware that you have begun eating too much until the day you step on to the weighing machine. If you review your eating habits of the previous weeks, you will observe that your food intake has increased in proportion with stress.

Emotional eating is not a disease. It is an emotional condition. To get rid of this habit, find out the cause behind your problem. Try and deal with the problem without running away from it. Find a solution or a compromise. If you find it too traumatic, you can talk to a psychiatrist. Once you get over your problem, you will automatically stop overeating.

However, overcoming emotions is not easy. It takes a long time. Therefore, emotional eating becomes a habit. When people eat under stress, they tend to eat rich foods that are high in calorie content like fatty fried snacks and sugars. This is because the body needs more energy to deal with emotions and thus prods you to eat heavy foods. Eating too much of such high calorie foods can take a toll on your health.

How to keep away from emotional eating?

The craving for food increases when you are idle or inactive. So, keep yourself active. Choose a hobby or a leisure activity that will interest you. Instead of spending hours in front of the television, go for a walk or visit friends. Read books that are filled with happy stories. Enroll in a club or take a course in meditation. Meditation is a superb stress buster. It relaxes both your mind and body. Pick up a fitness regime and go though it every day. You can mow your lawn or vacuum your house. Keep the refrigerator free of junk food. Fill it up with healthy fresh foods. Although totally avoiding emotional issues is not a practical approach, you can definitely follow certain tips to avoid emotional eating.

Stress adversely affects your health. You don\’t have to ruin your health further by stuffing yourself with unhealthy foods. Lead an active life and you can not only avoid emotional eating, you will also be able to deal your emotions better.

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: Boot Camp