The Quickest Way to Lose Weight by Overcoming Emotional Eating.

If you’re one of those who eat to calm their emotions, you can discover the quickest way to lose weight by overcoming emotional eating with these 4 simple steps.

When things get tough and your emotions overflow through stress, sadness, disappointment, contrariety, irritation, anger, melancholy, and even excitement, it is tempting to slink towards the refrigerator looking for something to eat in an effort to calm our emotions.

Admittedly, eating a slice of cake with caramel frosting can temporarily divert your attention and emotions, distracting you from your negative feelings.  In fact, certain foods can actually stimulate brain chemicals to improve your mood.  But it is not a good way in which to live, nor a good thing in terms of being the quickest way to losing weight and maintaining good health. Emotional eating is one of the biggest mistakes that prevents weight loss.

When we eat because we feel badly, we are inclined to eat too much, and make poor food choices in general.  How many of us choose an apple over a container of ice cream when we have just broken up from a relationship?  If I’m not careful, I certainly wouldn’t!

In just 4 easy steps I will explain to you how you can overcome your emotional eating:

Step1 – Forget the “forbidden foods”
Many diet schemes will suggest you limit or even eliminate their list of “bad” foods – foods which you are not supposed to eat while following their plan.  If you are someone who leans towards emotional eating, prohibiting you from such a list will only backfire.  Why?  It’s like dangling a carrot in front of you, so that when you are feeling vulnerable you immediately gravitate to what you are not “supposed” to do.  It’s the nature of the beast.

A better approach would be to plan well in advance the consumption of your favourite “forbidden foods”, and eat with moderation (plan to incorporate these foods along with dishes low in calories to compensate). Without moderated consumption, you’ll always cheat and disrupt your good eating behaviours.

To allow the occasional food treat for pleasure from time to time is a great step for successful weight loss.

Step 2 – Determine what the true hunger means…
It is not easy to know if you are really hungry.  Most of us confuse the feeling of thirst with that of hunger. Fortunately the solution is not so difficult: all you have to do is drink a large glass of water and see if your desire to eat banishes, and this will in turn cause you to consume fewer calories.

The other problem could be the desire of a specific food (by greed and not because of hunger). To distinguish between a desire for nibbling and true hunger ask yourself, “Would I be satisfied with a healthy snack like an apple or a salad?” If you cannot remove a chocolate bar from your mind, then you probably just wish to nibble or eat for the simple pleasure of eating.

Step 3 – Overcome your desires for nibbling
Determining that you are not really hungry is a great first step, but to only recognize that you simply want to nibble will not make the desire to do so go away.

The next time that you are attracted to the kitchen cupboard for chips, stop a moment to ask, “How will I feel, if I devour a bag of chips or a container of ice cream right now?” There is a good chance you will feel guilty, disappointed, and perhaps even a bit “sick”.

Instead of going in that direction, resist the temptation to nibble for 10 minutes and distract yourself with things other than food. If 10 minutes have passed and you still can only think of cookies or ice cream, then go ahead and enjoy a tiny bit.

Do not exceed a small portion of ice cream (half of a small bowl). To satisfy a large chocolate desire, try two small squares of chocolate with a high cocoa content, 70% if possible, or try a cup of hot chocolate. To satisfy a salty desire, eat a small bag of chips without salt (but no more than one small packet or you may over consume) or try a large bowl of lightly buttered popcorn. Consume in small portions just enough to satisfy your desire for nibbling, but only after you have tried to resist for at least 10 minutes

Step 4 – Plan new ways for support
The key to overcoming emotional eating is to plan well in advance and to know what to do when you feel emotions such as “I’m so stressed out that I can eat a whole pizza.”

For examples:

• Keep your running shoes handy Running, brisk walking or dancing to your favourite tunes for even 10 minutes can improve your mood and fight against the effects of stress. Participating in these activities for 20 to 30 minutes will quickly cause your body to produce endorphins (natural chemicals of well-being). Another option is to unwind with a relaxing activity like yoga.
• Make a list of all the reasons why you want to eat healthily and post it on your refrigerator so that it remains fresh in your mind. Think beyond the simple desire of returning to your bathing suit. For example, you might think of the healthy calories you need in order to maintain a healthy life so that you can continue being there for your children or close relations. 

 These simple steps are the quickest way to lose weight for anyone who needs to overcome their emotional eating.

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