Dangers of Emotional Overeating
Have you noticed that your strongest food cravings seem to hit when you are at your weakest point emotionally? Do you turn to food for comfort when facing a complex problem, during highly stressful times, or even when you are bored?
Well, you may be an emotional eater.
Emotional eating happens when food becomes our response to internal or external emotional cues. Rather than deal with these uncomfortable emotions, we eat to distract ourselves from the pain. Clearly, this kind of behavior can bring about a number of adverse side effects, which can further affect your emotional and physical wellbeing.
Here are some of the dangers of emotional overeating:
Potential Dangers of Emotional Overeating
Guilt
Comfort food is only a temporary remedy to our distress. After we eat uncontrollably, we end up feeling guilty about it.
The guilt, remorse, and shame of what we’ve done can cause us to become emotionally unstable and send us down a never-ending spiral of unhealthy eating.
Eating Disorders
When left untreated, emotional overeating can transform into eating disorders such as bulimia or binge eating disorder.
Bulimia: Is when the person binge eats and then purges their body of the food they’ve just eaten, either by inducing vomiting or taking laxatives.
Binge Eating Disorder: In this case, the person regularly consumes large amounts of food, causing sudden spikes in blood sugar.
Both eating disorders are extremely dangerous and can result in long-term illnesses.
Nausea and Digestive Problems
Emotional overeating has a compulsive tendency. This means that emotional overeaters will eat a lot of food in a short time.
Because of this, it’s not uncommon to feel bloated or even nauseous afterward. Additionally, comfort food tends to be high in sugar, fat, or refined carbs, which can lead to digestive problems.
Weight-Related Health Problems
Many emotional eaters experience problems with their weight. In addition, being overweight increases the likelihood of developing chronic illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease.
Tackling Your Emotional Overeating
Identify Your Triggers
Some people or situations can trigger your emotional overeating; the first thing to do is identify these triggers.
Once you know what makes you nervous, fearful, or brings up feelings of inadequacy, you can prepare yourself in advance.
Recognize Hunger
Emotional overeating makes us reach for food when we are not hungry. If you find yourself reaching for a bag of chips or craving fast food suddenly, before you act on your impulse, stop and ask yourself if you are hungry.
If the answer is no, or not really, you are probably experiencing an emotional overeating episode. Many times, what we interpret as hunger is thirst. Try drinking a glass of water before you give in to your cravings.
Find Another Distraction
If you are using food to distract you from uncomfortable feelings, the best thing to do is replace the distraction.
Instead of eating cookies, try going for a walk or reaching out to a friend. Building a support group is essential to healing your emotions.
Set Healthy Weight Goals
Losing weight can help build your confidence and improve your emotional state. Setting healthy weight goals is essential, and the best way to do that is by having a professional help you.
At Rejuvenation Laser Spa and Weight Loss, we believe each person has unique nutritional needs. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss is not the path to long-term success.
That is why we work with you in creating a meal plan that adjusts to your lifestyle and includes the foods you love. As a result, our carefully curated programs guarantee successful, healthy, long-term weight loss or weight gain according to your needs.
Call us today and get a handle on your emotional overeating before it eats you.
Customized Weight Loss Program
Enjoying a balanced lifestyle includes enjoying your food! But how to do this? As each person is unique, only a weight loss coach will truly understand how to put together the right weight loss program for your unique needs. The biggest bump in the road is usually a matter of price. “This really sounds very expensive. I don’t think I can afford it.”
GOOD NEWS! Getting a customized medical-grade weight loss program is affordable!
Contact us for a consultation today!
