Are You Feeding Your Stomach or Feelings?

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Emotional eating is a way to make you feel better to fill the emotional needs than filling the stomach. You can turn to food when you feel sad, stressed, happy, disturbed, restless, angry or when you feel bored. A recent study shows that women eat uncontrollably when eating for comfort when compared to women who were not overworked. As per medical experts, emotional-eating, occurs when a person has no control or does not know how to handle an emotion. Emotional eating leads to regret, shame and guilt once the hunger is satisfied.

Differences between physical and emotional hunger

Physical Hunger

[FONT=&quot]Physical Hunger is gradual

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]When you eat out of physical hunger there are no traces of guilt or helplessness
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Physical hunger is not choosy and can settle for any type of food[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Physical hunger gratification can wait[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Physical hunger stops when you feel full[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]Emotional Eating

[FONT=&quot]Emotional hunger does not wait and sneaks in suddenly[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Emotional eating can make you feel bad[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Emotional eating makes you look for comfort foods[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Emotional hunger needs instant gratification[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Emotional hunger makes you eat even when you feel full[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]
Causes

Stress can spike up levels of emotional hunger. Stress produces cortisol hormone, which in turn makes you crave foods that give instant pleasure and energy. Control stress and have more control on the way you binge during stressful periods.

Curbing Emotions: When you unable to show your emotion in some way, eating is an easy way to gulp down the feelings.

Boredom: Feeling bored or unfulfilled can make you eat to occupy your mind and mouth. Eating helps to distract your thoughts about dissatisfaction or purposelessness in your life.

Group Behavior: When you are in a group, we tend to do what the group generally does. You may end up eating or overeating because everybody else is eating. Eating or overeating is one way to show that you belong to the group.

Tips to Avoid Emotional Eating
1. Identify what makes you eat unnecessarily. Write down what situations, places, feelings make your crave for foods.

2. Find healthy alternatives when you tend to eat for emotional reasons. If you are stressed, look for ways to relax by listening to music or take a warm bath. If you feel too happy, share your feelings with a friend or write down how you feel. IF you are feeling anxious, try meditation to soothe your jagged nerves. If you feel bored, do something constructive, like reading, watching a show, taking up a craft or anything that you enjoy doing.

3. Pause before you eat mindlessly. Check if it is real physical hunger. If not, wait for few minutes and distract yourself from that situation.

4. Involve in building relationships and other social activities that will help you to share your feelings. Sharing and communicating will enhance the quality of your life and has a positive impact to protect you from negative feelings. Regular exercise, good sleep, time of relaxation is few other ways that will keep you away from emotional eating.

5. You may want to take the help of counselors who will help you manage emotional eating with better alternatives.

What is your advice in coping with emotional eating?

Admin Note: Here are other interesting threads on overeating

Comfort Eating
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/nature-cure/49200-obesity-dos-and-dont-obesity.html
Eat Health and Stay Fit
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/i...on/11100-top-10-nutrition-myths-debunked.html
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/k...ape/128483-eating-in-moderation-way-life.html
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/k...-compulsive-eating-disorder-binge-eating.html
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/forward-messages-and-jokes/137346-ways-to-avoid-overeating.html
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/keep-fit-and-maintain-shape/200430-ways-keep-your-weight-loss.html
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/k...e/201969-avoid-the-weight-loss-disasters.html