[MassHysteria]

I've spent the last four days with my aunt, and I realized just a moment ago that when I'm with either of my aunts or within five miles of my father, I cannot stop eating. I've put on eight pounds since July 2nd, all from being at my aunt's house and feeling like I simply have to eat.

Does anyone else emotional eat?
What triggers it in you?
How do you get to the bottom of the issue?
How do you stop the behavior in the mean time?

I'd worked very hard and managed to lose 30 pounds since New Year, and I'm disgusted that I gained a third of it back in 72 hours. Ugh.

[Haphazard]

Eight pounds back in 3 days?! Is that even possible?

Are you sure that isn't at least a bit water weight?

[MassHysteria]

It might be. Aunt Rose is late but on her way... but it also might be the tons and tons of food I've taken in, sitting in my stomach doing nothing.

[annaelizabeth]

I don't know if it's really hot where you are but it is here. For some reason I weigh a couple pounds more when it's really humid outside.
I've been eating all weekend so I can relate. I need to curb back. For me it was due to being finally relaxed and comfortable. Comfort food I guess. Plus it's too hot to walk and that usually keeps me busy so I had all this free time. The heat really screws things up for me because it's too hot to do anything so I eat ice cream.

[Dover]

I overeat when I'm bored, but don't emotionally eat.

[LarryL]

I eat when I stress, and sometimes when I'm bored.
Being around family that I've been away from for a long time can bring back old habits instantly. That's really hard to break.
I make sure that I don't have any 'bad' snacks in the house so when the urge hits, I can't do too much damage.

[panzom]

I will overeat at parties like the 4th but who doesn’t. Like you last weekend I put on like 5 pounds. As of today 2 days later I have lost 3 of it. So I’m sure most if it is water weight and weight that you will expel in the short future. I would not worry about it to much sometimes you have to let go and have some fun.

[zimtgeschmack]

Oh yes, family triggers unhealthy eating behaviour in me. I can totally relate. When my mother
came to visit a few weeks back I felt sick to my stomach all the time. How to get to the bottom
of it? I don't even try anymore when my family is around. I need the distance to work things through (in my case it's enmeshment issues) In the meantime I make sure that I have time for myself and I only eat in restaurants/in public. This prevents me from 'loosing myself-getting into robot mode' while eating. Don't be too hard on yourself ! Be kind-remember you ate all this stuff because you suffered in the first place.

[Haphazard]

	Originally Posted by panzom To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I will overeat at parties like the 4th but who doesn’t. Like you last weekend I put on like 5 pounds. As of today 2 days later I have lost 3 of it. So I’m sure most if it is water weight and weight that you will expel in the short future. I would not worry about it to much sometimes you have to let go and have some fun.

Yeah, I was on a trip once and gained about 4 pounds. It was only a 4-day trip, so this really freaked me out, but then I had to think 1 lb of fat = 3,500 calories, so I would have had to have eaten 14,000 extra calories during the trip. It all turned out to be water weight because of sitting in a bus too much and was gone a few days later.

[RBM]

Thought about this thread when I read the following:

...

	To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. , be sure you address the emotional component to your food cravings using a tool such as the Meridian Tapping Technique (MTT). More than any traditional or alternative method I have used or researched, MTT works to overcome food cravings and helps you reach dietary success.

[dontmesswithme]

I eat in an emotional way when I'm stressed out or lonely. It used to be sweets but now that I'm older I just can't get away with that anymore because my metabolism won't allow it and I have to maintain a good level of fitness for my job. Now when I eat emotionally I stick to crackers, salad, hummus and fruit. Only occasionally do I eat sweets now. (I love cookies) I always really pay for this type of eating in the form of a zit or a couple of extra pounds. I just can't be out of shape for my work or I'll never be able to do it. It requires fitness. I'm pushing 40, so zits at my age really tick me off, and when I sit for portraits sometimes the artists look at me with binoculars while I'm sitting under mega-watt sodium lights. Call me vain, but there's kind of a tendency to want to look your best at a moment like that.

Being able to do my job properly is my motivation for curbing my emotional eating. You might want to look into any underlying reasons for your emotional eating, and also possibly giving yourself some motivation for avoiding it altogether. Be prepared by not having treats in the fridge/cupboard, and having healthier food on hand if you feel that urge. Also maybe make a little journal to keep track of when you ate in this way, what situation preceded it, and what food it was that you had on hand that you felt compelled to eat.

[SilentRequiem]

	Originally Posted by MassHysteria To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Does anyone else emotional eat? What triggers it in you? How do you get to the bottom of the issue? How do you stop the behavior in the mean time?

1. Yes
2. When I am really stressed or extremely bored, although mainly when I am really stressed
3. First part is realizing you are doing it (its good that you are aware), secondly pinpoint the problem for your emotional response, third step well, kill it
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

4. What you can do is deflect on the choice of food, instead of high calories food binges, like sweets and sugary foods, try to switch to very low calories food, like erm vegetables: cucumber, is nice and would help you even more losing weight (calories used to digest is more than calories produced by food). I would sometimes choose apples if you have sugary tendencies. And you can try to minimize it as much as you can, or try to minimize by steps or try to delay like 5 mins the urge every time it might work

[runoverazebra]

Does anyone else emotional eat?
I used to.

What triggers it in you?
Being upset/sad

How do you get to the bottom of the issue?
Fix being upset/sad.

How do you stop the behavior in the mean time?
Now that I know I do it, it's much easier to stop the behavior before it happens. When I think, "I could really go for the piece of cake," I stop and consider if I'm actually hungry. It's helped a lot.

[katrin]

I've always been an emotional eater. One time I was at dinner with colleagues and we were talking about a stressful situation at work and without even realizing it, I had finished all the food on my plate. It was one of those gigantic pasta dishes that probably equalled 4 or 5 Weight Watchers servings. Ugh!

Only very recently have I begun to get a handle on it, mainly by keeping junk out of the house and being more careful when eating out.

As for family functions, do you think you could talk to them about this? I'm a vegetarian and have been dieting. When I've told family and friends these things, they try to help me out by providing healthy "rabbit food" for me.

[Minerva]

Originally Posted by MassHysteria To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I've spent the last four days with my aunt, and I realized just a moment ago that when I'm with either of my aunts or within five miles of my father, I cannot stop eating. I've put on eight pounds since July 2nd, all from being at my aunt's house and feeling like I simply have to eat. 1) Does anyone else emotional eat? 2) What triggers it in you? 3) How do you get to the bottom of the issue? 4) How do you stop the behavior in the mean time? I'd worked very hard and managed to lose 30 pounds since New Year, and I'm disgusted that I gained a third of it back in 72 hours. Ugh.

1) When I was depressed and I got some weight on... Still shiver at the memories. I don't anymore.

2) Depression (but not the everyday kind)

3) Why is your family affecting you this way is what you should be asking. Is eating comforting? Do you need some sort of sanctuary from them? Look at this more objectively. Think about what made you overeat. Was it something your aunt said or did? You need to deal with this at the source. It is the only way to really curb it. Also look at times when other things happened to trigger this response in you.

In the meantime, listen to ROZ and the other posters. Now that you are aware you can take the initiative to change and grab unto low calorie foods, although most emotional eaters like junk foods. But the biggest thing here is what happens when your father an aunt are close. There is a connection obviously, but you need to find out. I am not in your head, so I cannot say.

Good luck with the weight loss. It can be very hard!
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Mind Marauder]

I sometimes am an emotional eater. Thankfully, though, I am young and am pretty sure I have a somewhat fast metabolism through genetics also. What triggers my emotional eating? Boredom, pondering nihilism too long (even though it's fascinating), not getting enough sleep, being depressed, not being able to work out, and that about sums it up. I get to the bottom of the issue by stopping the behaviors or actions described above. I deal with it the mean time by filling up with water, tea, and food high in fiber.

[HAL 9000]

Anyone else emotionally fast?

[Haphazard]

	Originally Posted by HAL 9000 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Anyone else emotionally fast?

I do.

When I'm upset I might not eat for nearly 24 hours. Usually after that I break down and eat, though.

[redweather]

	Originally Posted by HAL 9000 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Anyone else emotionally fast?

yep. i can sometimes lose 10-15 lbs in a couple of weeks because i completely lose my appetite when i'm upset. if i'm dealing with a long-term stressor, or grief, it just becomes very difficult to eat anything. it's weird, because people are always like "you look great!" at pretty much the worst times of my life.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


on the flip side, when i'm happy, i'm more likely to indulge - i grew up in a house where love = food = more love = more food, and i've worked very hard to separate my love of food from my love of my friends and family, with mixed success.

[Kricket]

Ditto on the fasting. When I'm upset it's like I lose my sense of taste, and even if I'm hungry everything I try to eat tastes like sawdust.

Hormones affect my eating habits a LOT, and I'm noticing it more now that I've lived alone for a while. There are times of the month that I'm not satisfied after two or three FULL dinners, and times where all I eat for three days are small bowls of oat cereal, or an avocado for lunch. I know it's bad when rings start falling off my fingers- that's the clearest indicator of weight I have (no scale). Right now the only thing keeping me from scarfing six fried eggs on toast is the heat, but that won't last long. Bah.

[Anhedonic Lake]

	Originally Posted by MassHysteria To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Does anyone else emotional eat? What triggers it in you? How do you get to the bottom of the issue? How do you stop the behavior in the mean time?

A:Yes
B:Depression
C:Philosophy
D:Self discipline

[wickedgirl]

Does anyone else emotional eat?
What triggers it in you?
How do you get to the bottom of the issue?
How do you stop the behavior in the mean time?

1. Yes
2. Boredom
3. I try to do something challenging.
4. I eat a little then stop.


I also emotionally fast. If I am really feeling anxious or upset I won't eat.

[Mind Marauder]

	Originally Posted by HAL 9000 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Anyone else emotionally fast?

Done that too. I've done it for mainly two reasons: to feel a sense of spirituality through discipline and because of stress. It's really hard for me though because I have a fast metabolism and my stomach produces a lot of acid.

[maddhatter]

Does anyone else emotional eat?
Yes

What triggers it in you?
Stress/ upset

How do you get to the bottom of the issue?
Eat the stuff I always tempted to eat in normal days

How do you stop the behavior in the mean time?
Not stopping, because I'm not fat and I love eating XD

[ClydeB]

Theres nothing wrong in my world that cannot be temporarily solved with a pint of Ben and Jerry's vanilla heath bar ice cream. Except for not having any on hand.