Overeat When Emotions Don't Be Left, Stop This Way

Do you often experience sudden want to eat when facing problems? Or, eat a lot without hunger pangs? That condition is commonly referred to as emotional eating. If left unchecked, this can have a negative impact on health, you know. Emotional eating is overeating when in an emotional state, without being accompanied by hunger. Someone will usually eat emotionally to forget the sadness or problems being faced. If allowed to continue, emotional eating can cause obesity.

How to Stop Emotional Eating

Here are some ways you can stop emotional eating:

• Find stressors

The first thing you can do is find the cause of stress. Try writing in a notebook to identify stressors. For example what foods you eat, what feelings you feel, and what things you think about while eating. In this way, you can find out what triggers stress, such as being left behind by a spouse, fighting with friends, or stress at work.

• Look for activities to distract

After knowing what triggers stress, you can start thinking of ways to deal with it, besides eating. For example, telling stories to friends, doing hobbies, reading magazines, listening to music, and playing games. Fill in time by doing the things you like to forget for a moment the problem you are facing and prevent eating. Even better if you can fill the time to exercise.

• Start to exercise

Exercise can also be your choice to stop emotional eating. Exercise is useful to reduce the risk of insomnia and reduce the stress that you are feeling. Yoga and meditation can also be the choice of the right way to deal with the stress you feel.

• Appreciate yourself

Sometimes, valuing or loving yourself is a difficult thing to do. However, try to continue to learn to accept and love yourself. You deserve to be healthy and happy in your own way. You also need to realize that eating emotionally will only be bad for the body.

• Take a deep breath

Taking a deep breath might seem simple. However, this way you can do before deciding to eat food. With a deep breath, your mind will be calmer and can be wiser in determining the food to be consumed.

• Consumption of vegetables or fruit

When stressed, people tend to consume foods with high calories, such as chocolate, ice cream, cakes, candy, and chips, to calm down. Instead, you can eat healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, or low-calorie foods. However, still limit consumption, don't overdo it.

Another way you can stop emotional eating is to deal with your problems. Eating emotionally only becomes a temporary escape and won't solve the problem, it can even lead to new problems or guilt afterwards. Although sometimes it's not easy, but you have to dare to face it. Do not hesitate to consult a psychologist to help deal with the stress you are experiencing.