Emotional eating

It feels like my weight loss goal has been dragging on forever. I feel for my readers because there hasn't really been any progress over the last few weeks and I'm now a kilo behind where I wanted to be now. BUT, I think there's been a little progress, because I've managed to keep up my exercise and I haven't put on weight. That's been half my battle in the past.

I've talked before about some of the barriers to weight loss, including not having a good choice of foods while travelling, and eating when you're tired. A big one for a lot of people is emotional eating. I had a hard week, and found myself looking through the cupboard or fridge when I wasn't hungry, just to take my mind of things. I resisted the temptation to have a big serve of hot chips, and even when a guy in my office offered them around, I only had one. It was harder to resist having another piece of bread, or a hot chocolate, or a few lollies.

There's a lot of theories about why we eat when we're emotional. I think I do it for several reasons. As I said above, it's a distraction, eating is calming and satisfying (especially hot food), and I'm less likely to stick to plans when I'm upset, as I just grab whatever is handy. I don't know how important this is, but when I was little my mum gave me treats when I was sick and food to calm me down. Many people have written about the connection between this and adult reliance on food, but I can understand why parents do it - the affect is magical. When you've got a distressed child you want to make them happy again and food often does it.

While it's handy to know all the reasons we eat when we're emotional, the most important thing is to recognise it when it's happening. If you're upset and you find yourself staring at the food cupboard, think about talking to a friend, or writing in a journal, or exercising (the endorphins willl make you feel good and it's good for you as well). So while I didn't lose weight this week, I feel good that I didn't let my emotions take control of my diet :)