Emotional Overeating

By Nurse Diane 

I hate to shop for clothes.  I recently spent several days shopping for an Easter dress to wear to church.  I couldn’t find anything I liked, and if I did, they didn't have it in my size, or the color was wrong, or it didn’t look good on, so I would leave the mall and go across the street to the dairy queen, and get some ice cream.  This made me feel better at the moment, and then I would feel guilty as soon as I finished. It seems like when I am mad or upset, I always look for ice cream or chocolate to make things better, but it always seems to make things worse.

April is Emotional Overeating Awareness Month.  According to emotionalovereatingawareness.com, millions of people overeat in an attempt to numb unpleasant feelings with food. The challenge this month is to experience your feelings without anesthetizing yourself with sugars and simple carbohydrates. Try to recognize these urges to eat for emotional reasons and deal with them in more appropriate and satisfying ways. Ask yourself what it really is that you need.

Dr. Denise Lamothe is a clinical psychologist and doctor of holistic health. She is the founder of Emotional Overeating Awareness Month.  She offers some tips to help those struggling with emotional overeating problems.  They include:

• Choose the healthiest foods you can find to truly nourish your body
• Move your body choose activities that you enjoy
• Express your feelings
• Make as many self-loving choices as you can
• Give yourself quiet time
• Spend time in nature
• Appreciate yourself
• Always remember there are no mistakes only lessons – and whatever you do, never under any circumstances beat yourself up

Like the picture above says, a healthy relationship with food is when you feel proud of your choices, whether you choose carrots or ice cream.  Learn the things that are making you want to overeat, and ways to change that pattern or correct the problem.  Don’t worry about a hot fudge sundae every now and then, ice cream still helps sometimes, if eating in small servings.

Emotional Overeating Awareness Month

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By Diane Forrest, RN

Have you ever watched a movie, more specifically a "chick flick" where a female is upset about something and grabs a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a spoon to help make her feel better?  Do you know newlyweds who have added extra pounds during their first year of marriage?  Were you a college student who added some weight your first year away from home?  These are all examples of Emotional Overeating.  Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food -- usually "comfort" or junk foods -- in response to feelings instead of hunger.

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Several emotions can trigger a round of overeating.  These include:  Depression, anger, stress, boredom, loneliness, frustration even happiness can ignite the need for comfort foods.  Some situations that can lead to overeating include:

• Unemployment;
• Financial pressure;
• Health problems;
• Relationship conflicts;
• Work stress;
• Bad weather; and or
• Fatigue.

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Emotional overeating can quickly develop into obesity which can lead to other health problems such as diabetes and hypertension.  The purpose of becoming aware of this problem is to first identify that you have an emotional eating problem, then seek alternative methods to eliminate the problems besides eating the "comfort foods".  Here are some alternative solutions to eating:

• Read a good book or magazine or listen to music;
• Go for a walk or jog;
• Take a bubble bath;
• Do deep breathing exercises;
• Play cards or a board game;
• Talk to a friend;
• Do housework, laundry or yard work;
• Wash the car;
• Write a letter;
• Or do any other pleasurable or necessary activity until the urge to eat passes.

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April is Emotional Overeating Awareness month.  For more tips on how to end this cycle, click on this site:  http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/brain-and-behavior/articles/2010/07/01/5-ways-to-end-emotional-overeating

If you feel that you need help with these issues, seek help from a professional, either a doctor, therapist, or psychiatrist.