Stop Emotional Binges With These 7 Tricks

The best alternative to avoid emotional binges in which we resort to unhealthy foods is to not have them at home and replace them with healthy ingredients. So we will not fall into temptation

Have you ever experienced the urge to silence your emotions with food instead of processing them? So, you know what emotional binges are. Emotional binges happen when your feelings are upset. Most of the time they are a response to negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, depression or nervousness.

In this case, food works as a source of comfort to avoid trying or trying to cope with difficult feelings.  However, the only thing you do is replace one problem with another, as they can cause diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

So discovering ways to stop this will not only help you cope with your problems, it will improve the way you look, act, and feel life. Remember that if the problem persists, there is always the alternative of going to the doctor.

1. Have a well-defined schedule for your meals

Having a feeding routine and sticking to it will prevent you from falling prey to emotional binges.

Set aside an hour for each meal and avoid all distractions like TV, newspapers, books, magazines, mail, homework, computer, etc.

At that point, you should let the meal become a meditative practice and give it time.

By being fully present for the food in front of you, you will be able to taste the flavors better, you will feel full faster and with less food.

Having these times will also help you limit pecking every few minutes.

Eat regularly and don’t skip meals to avoid binge eating. If you skip one meal, you will likely overindulge at the next one due to hunger.

Find your style of eating and stick with it. Eating small works for some portions every few hours, while others need three hearty plates.

Do you want to know more? Read: What we should never mix in a good diet

2. Stop using food as a reward

Many times we return to fast food for convenience or as a reward.

Sweets and high-fat foods are considered highly rewarding and acceptable.

In fact, it is very likely that if you were rewarded with food as a child, as an adult you experience frequent emotional binges.

The problem is that when we make the “food as a reward” connection, the brain’s pleasure centers are stimulated when we eat those foods .

So when we come home after a hard day’s work or a training very intense, we want those foods to feel good.

3. Fully experience emotions as they come

Instead of trying to hide or deny your emotions with food, acknowledge your feelings and emotions. From there, the process to avoid emotional binges is simpler.

If you find that you are about to start eating and your emotions are unstable, ask yourself:

• Am I really hungry or am depressed, sad , angry, anxious, excited?
• Am I really hungry or do I need to distract myself?

Try to find the base of your emotions before turning to food.

4. Stay hydrated

Make sure you drink at least 2 to 3 liters of Water daily. Our body is 60-70% water, so staying hydrated is very important.

Many times when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty.

If you are having a bad time and are about to fall into emotional binges, have a glass of water . This will make you feel full and help reduce the compulsion.

In case the water is not enough for you, try nuts. Choose sweet or savory depending on your cravings. You will see that it works just as well and you will not be causing any damage.

5. Exercise: a great way to eliminate emotional binges

Exercise is of great help from an emotional point of view, because it motivates you and teaches you to control yourself. .

This is important if you take into account that a lot of emotional binges are the result of loss of self-control.

Another reason to exercise is that it provides the same feelings of control as food.

Try this method the next time you feel like you need to eat that big chunk of ice cream.

6. Relax first, eat later

If your day has been infinitely long, you may want to eat something as soon as you get home, but for the sake of your health, we recommend that you stop.

Instead, Try relaxing in a hot bath with some lavender essential oils for 20 minutes.

If baths aren’t your thing, do some yoga, meditation, read a book, or flip through a magazine.

Try to think of some options that relax you and incorporate them into your plan against negative emotions.

The idea is to do anything that helps you relax and takes your attention away from the fridge and eating something.

7. Make your home a healthy environment

Out of habit we often keep fast food in our cupboards, either for ourselves or for someone else, but this is not the best practice.

Although you do not have to throw away all those cookies, sweets and harmful foods, you should gradually replace them with other types of products.

Try to buy only healthy ingredients, nuts and vegetables .

For cravings you can learn to prepare desserts such as:

• Dark chocolate covered fruits
• Soy milk ice cream
• Natural yogurt sweetened with pieces of natural fruit.

This will help so that, if you have a craving, you can not eat anything that is unhealthy or harmful.

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