Conquer emotional eating

With all of the ups and downs in our world over the last few months, it's no surprise that a recent study has found emotional eating to be on the rise. Whether it's the economy, the election, jobs, etc. there is a lot to be concerned with. However, this doesn't mean that emotional eating has to rule your diet and your life.

Emotional eating means turning to food to answer emotional issues. And truth be told, it doesn't work because it typically brings guilt which then leads to more emotional eating. Emotional eating is nothing to be embarrassed about, but if you allow yourself to eat emotionally on a regular basis, it can be harder to follow a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. You can control emotional eating, you just need another outlet for your emotions so you don't continue to use food to calm down or help yourself feel better. One of the best way to reveal your true emotions is to keep a journal.

Writing down what's going on in your life and the challenges you are struggling with provides that emotional release you're seeking, so you don't need food for comfort. Before you bite into that donut, stop to think... "Am I really hungry or am I just stressed out?" Taking the time to really tap into your emotions might be challenging ans uncomfortable at first, but REALLY is the way to uncover the motives behind emotional eating. So the next time you find yourself in front of the refrigerator at 9:30 pm, wondering what to snack on, ask yourself "Am I TRULY hungry?". Happy journaling!!