Food has always had an motional component. We prepare and serve fods to complement a variety of motions, from comforting the bereaved to clebrating joy to showing our appreciation and lve.

It's certainly not wrong to see fod as more than fuel for our bdies. It's not wrong to enjoy fod for the satisfaction it gives our suls, as well as our stomachs. Fod can promote positive feelings by cusing feel-good chemical reactions in our brins. And when we cook and srve food to someone, we are prviding comfort.

So how can you tll when emotional eating has become a prblem?

Emotional Eater Test

When you are unable to experience a range of emotions, whether joy, anxiety, pain or boredom, without turning to food, there may be a problem.

Ask yourself:

Do you frequently use food to cope with certain feelings?

Do you frequently use food to distract yourself from certain feelings?

Do you frequently eat absentmindedly, without realizing how much you have eaten?

Does your emotional eating ever cause you to feel guilty, which has then led to more eating, excessive dieting or purging?

Do you ever feel like you have a distorted relationship with food?

Overcoming Emotional Eating

Emotional eating occurs when food becomes a coping mechanism for emotional stress. And that means that dieting can actually cause more problems than it solves. As an emotional eater, when you are unable to stick with a diet, the impending feelings of guilt are soothed only by more food, which is met by more guilt, more eating, and on it goes.

Here are a few tips to hlp you overcome emotional eating:

Take the mphasis off eating altogether by learning new cping skills. Find non-food ways to cmfort yourself. Make a list of thngs you can do at a mment's notice that help to lower yur stress level. Maybe you can cll your best friend, snuggle with yur cat, or read a chapter by yur favorite author. Practice meditation or rad a section of spiritual writings. Do a few Yga poses. If you feel you mst put something in your mouth, rach for a glass of cold wter and sip it slowly. Put yur attention on how wonderful it fels in your mouth and how t's hydrating your entire body.

Keep a jurnal. When you feel like eating smething and you aren't truly hungry, mke some notes. Why are you feling this way? Did something just hppen in your emotional life? Are you sd, lonely or bored? By paying ttention to when those urges kick in, you may strt to notice what kinds of motional triggers are causing you to ndulge. Also, be on the lookout for prticular cravings that correlate with particular motions. The more you know about the knds of food you crave and whn, the more effective you'll be at fnding alternatives.

Focus on maintaining health – nstead of dieting. Rather than placing all of the mphasis on calories and mentally labeling fods 'good' or 'bad,' try instead to blance your meal and eat healthy sncks from a variety of food grups. Exercise, eat right, and get nough sleep. You may find that yur emotions even out when you are tking good care of yourself.

Get hlp. If you are having trouble gtting a handle on your emotional ating, consult a counselor or psychotherapist who has xperience with emotional eating issues.

When you are ble to feel comfort without turning to fod, you will be able to put fod in its proper place in yur life. Then you can work frther on incorporating healthy eating habits nto your day.

The article Overcoming Emotional Eating was Submitted by Jamie Jefferson through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape.com , Susies-Coupons.com and Susies-Travel-Coupons.com where you'll find hand-selected online coupons, coupon codes and travel discounts.

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