Source
r/loseit•
marvelwall

I eat my feelings. Please help!

I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, upset, stressed, angry. I always have the thought of, "oh, you deserve this, treat yourself because you're insert whatever emotion you have here"

I don't know how to stop, it's clearly habitual, and it's so difficult to break. Anyone else have these issues? If so, what did you do/do you do to help combat it. I'm seriously struggling so much. I've never had this much of an issue giving up the copious amount of food that I eat. I have always been able to just say no and lose weight with a determined mindset. I can't seem to find inspiration and the drive to do it. I'm not seriously so overweight, but I am overweight for me, for sure. But, I know if I don't get this under control now, I easily have the propensity to become obese.

I am stressed a good portion of the time and I know that triggers my need to want to eat junk and large amounts of it. I seriously need advice and help. I've been in therapy the last 6 months and it's done wonders for my anxiety and so on, but nothing for my stress. I don't know a healthy way to handle my stress, my stress his handled via eating junk. HELP, please.

Posted Sep 5, 2018, 9:15 PM UTC

510
super_nice_shark55lbs lost•

Ok, couple of things:

Seeing a counselor will help. If I was your counselor I would recommend CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) so if you don't want to see a counselor for whatever reason, you could grab a book on that topic and see if it helps. (I'm in the psych field, but not a counselor myself).

What/how much exercise do you get? You don't have to exercise to lose weight - BUT if you are eating because of stress, exercise can help by reducing the stress that's causing you to overeat.

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marvelwallOP20lbs lost F26 | 5'9" | SW: 203.6 | CW: 185 | GW: 140 |•

my therapist just ended our sessions because she doesn't see any medical reason to continue, and my insurance won't cover unless it's medical. :/ but, that book suggestion sounds amazing, I'm going to look into that ASAP.

and I don't exercise at all, like.. at all. I'm not lazy, I just don't do it because I'm typically running around doing stuff all the time. but, I do remember when I was really into cardio and weight lifting, I didn't feel stress. I want to get back into my gym again, but I do not have the funds to do it. I won't stay consistent unless I am actually in a gym setting.

I don't know why. I have tried to walk around my neighborhood, use our treadmill at home, but I can't do it. It's because once I'm home, i'm done for the day.

If I have my gym membership, I would always change immediately when I got home and headed there and did what I needed to do.

I do need to exercise, I know it would help.

I truly think my root cause of pigging out all the time is stress-eating.

1
super_nice_shark55lbs lost•

Could also try some yoga or meditation. There are some good 5 minute meditation videos on Youtube.

If you have trouble exercising at home, try setting it up as an appt in your phone. Like everyday at whatever time you've got a block of time set aside for exercise. Set it up like any other appt with a reminder and everything. Might help you get into the habit.

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marvelwallOP20lbs lost F26 | 5'9" | SW: 203.6 | CW: 185 | GW: 140 |•

I like this idea! treating an at-home work out like a real appointment!

and, I actually love cardio, so I'll look up some youtube cardio workouts and do them at home until I can afford my monthly gym membership! thank you for your response!

1
Wearing-a-towel •

Try some self-compassion or mindfulness stuff.

Kristen Neff has a couple of books, look her up on amazon. There’s one about leaving insecurities behind, it’s really good - easily understandable and some exercises and tips to try.

Pick up a book on mindfulness too. Currently you’re burying any emotion. Mindfulness can help you stop and pay attention to how you’re feeling rather than try to ignore it (which doesn’t work).

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marvelwallOP20lbs lost F26 | 5'9" | SW: 203.6 | CW: 185 | GW: 140 |•

self-compassion, huh. I've never heard that terminology. I will have to look into that!

and, oh my, yes! I bury things like crazy, bury it and "forget" about it until it all comes welling up at once and freak outs ensue..ergo, pigging out on junk! I need to definitely check out some of those books. thanks for the tip!

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MidnightMaple915'7", 27F, SW:185 CW:141•

Replace “I’m so happy/sad/excited/angry I deserve food” with “I’m so happy/sad/excited/angry I deserve to stick to my calories and continue making progress towards my goals.” Or, if you really want to and have a little money, buy yourself a non food item that your want. A manicure, cutesy head bands, a pair of earrings, whatever. I really love cat ears, but am too old for them. But when I hit my goal weight, I’m fucking buying a Cat-ear headband because I deserve things that I want if I work hard! When I want to eat above my calories, I think of those cat ears, only 8lbs away.

3
marvelwallOP20lbs lost F26 | 5'9" | SW: 203.6 | CW: 185 | GW: 140 |•

I really like this idea, that's so smart. It all starts with changing my way of thinking.. I need to start thinking about what I'm thinking about and re-enforcing positive thoughts with positive "rewards" instead of food as the reward.

and those cat ear headbands are so cute! you get it!! you've got this, only 8 lbs more to go, that's awesome!

1
LanaAnaconda•

I would definitely recommend exercise for your stress and anxiety. It helps it go away so much even though sometimes it feels like the last thing you want to do. I went to the gym today with a terrible ache in my chest from anxiety and came home literally yelling my car 'I feel so fucking gooood!' I go to planet fitness and it's only $10 a month. If it's a nice day out, I'll just walk for like 4-5 miles. Still does the trick.

Also, what is causing you so much stress in the first place?? What if you could do something to alleviate that? It would make life much easier and therefore easier to focus on your health.

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marvelwallOP20lbs lost F26 | 5'9" | SW: 203.6 | CW: 185 | GW: 140 |•

Unfortunately, in my town the cheapest gym membership is $40 a month and that's a lot right now as I've had a few unexpected hiccups with my car that I've had to spend lots of money on to fix, so now I'm playing catch up! but, as soon as I have a little extra, I'm signing up asap!

and also, unfortunately again, what is causing me stress in my life right now is unavoidable. I'm living at home with my mom and sister.. and it's my sister that causes me the stress. I also work with her at our family business, so.. it's kind of unavoidable right now. but, I do think the exercise will help immensely. I'll do some youtube cardio workouts at home in the meantime! thank you so much for your response!

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