How To Cure Stress Eating

By Hannah Levi

Do you often turn to the refrigerator for comfort? Do you find yourself eating for emotional reasons rather than because of actual hunger? Then you need to cure stress eating before it starts to really take a toll on your body and your health.

Unfortunately, the fact is that most of us (unless you are particularly health conscious) turn to eating as a response to our negative feelings even when we are not actually hungry.

Boredom, loneliness, stress, low self-esteem are among some of the negative feelings which tend to lead us to overeating and consuming unhealthy produce. The result is almost always a general feeling of unhealthiness and unwanted weight gain.

However, if we search for the real emotional reasons behind our compulsive eating habits then we can heal ourselves and at the same time break this terrible habit. And yes it is a habit and not a disease, so there is definitely no reason at all that you won't be able to break it.

If you are eating because friends are persuading you to do so (like convincing you to eat a calorie-stuffed dessert) then explain to them nicely that you personally feel much better when you take care of yourself. Good friends will always understand and they will also respect you for it in the long run. So no need to feel self-conscious.

To be honest the most important factor involved to cure stress eating (or emotional eating as it is also called) is to identify that you have a problem. Once you've identified it the battle is halfway fought. OK sounds good, but how do we break the habit.

First of all try to identify how you are feeling every time you eat. If you are feeling negative emotions then try doing something else first to relieve them like going for a walk with a loved one, writing a letter, or doing some kind of hobby that you enjoy. Exercise is also good for releasing negative energy and usually after exercise the body automatically wants healthier food.

Try to find a friend who also suffers from stress eating and break the habit together. Believe me most people actually suffer from this to some degree so it won't be hard to find a partner and build up a support system for one another. The hardest part is the first couple of weeks because of the well-formed habit. After that it only gets easier.

There are plenty of self-help websites available where you can find lots of tips on how to break this nasty habit and cure stress eating altogether.

Stick to it and you'll feel younger, energetic, loose weight and generally have a feeling of well being and a good mood. Who wouldn't want that then?

Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/mental-health/how-to-cure-stress-eating