3 Ways to Control Emotional Eating Triggers

Do certain things totally set you off to eating exactly the way you don’t want to? What are your emotional eating triggers that send you out of control, even with the best of intentions? Knowing what these triggers are can help you be prepared and forewarned! It may include anything from the following list, or there may be others you can think of…

Being home alone at night
Being tired
Being with friends or family
Not having any plans for the weekend
Going by a favorite vendor (i.e. ice cream parlor or bakery)
Having to do something you don’t want to do
One bite of sugar
One bite of salty snack food
Getting way too hungry
Not feeling good about yourself
Not fitting into your clothes
Going clothing shopping
Being at a party
An upcoming vacation or special event

What emotional eating triggers do you have that are not on the above list? What food or foods you reach for in these situations? Do you eat anything in sight, or are your cravings very specific – such as chocolate cake from the bakery down the street, your favorite brand of pizza, popcorn with a certain seasoning?

Knowing all this, what can you do about it?

Plan a substitute. If you eat when you are tired, what else can you do to energize yourself? Maybe take a relaxing bath? Maybe dab yourself with peppermint essential oil? Maybe take a short nap or sit down and read a good book?
What food(s) can you substitute that will be less harmful? Maybe sweet fruits instead of cookies, raw veggies with seasoned salt instead of chips?
How can you avoid being in that situation to begin with? I.e., if you are home alone on the weekend, could you have made plans with friends?

Remember that best results come from working one step at a time. Target one thing that triggers you and work on that first. When you have it under control, go on to the next trigger. This will give you slow but steady progress, the kind that keeps the weight off because you are changing your habit patterns.

Take a 3-minute survey (scroll to the bottom of the page) to find out exactly what triggers you, and schedule your free phone chat to get more help now.