Ever been angry or upset one minute and then on your couch eating the
next, unable to remember why you started eating or how long you had
spent munching? If so, then you have entered the world of emotional
eating. It’s something than can happen to anyone, and one of the
most common dieting obstacles out there.
Emotional eating at its best passes after a few minutes. At its worst, it can take over your life and cause you to eat uncontrollably for extended periods of time. And according to nutritional experts, 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. So don’t worry, if you suffer from emotional eating, you are not alone.
People often eat to relieve stress or to get something off their minds. The kicker is that stress, and the insulin jump that goes with it, may actually cause you to crave high sugar, high carbohydrate foods – foods that go straight to your waistline and cause you even more stress.
Rather than munching, it's better to develop new skills for dealing with boredom, self-esteem issues and stress. Try to pinpoint the major reasons for your stress or unpleasant emotions, and see how you can turn the tide. Here are a few suggestions to combat your emotions:
Emotional eating at its best passes after a few minutes. At its worst, it can take over your life and cause you to eat uncontrollably for extended periods of time. And according to nutritional experts, 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. So don’t worry, if you suffer from emotional eating, you are not alone.
People often eat to relieve stress or to get something off their minds. The kicker is that stress, and the insulin jump that goes with it, may actually cause you to crave high sugar, high carbohydrate foods – foods that go straight to your waistline and cause you even more stress.
Rather than munching, it's better to develop new skills for dealing with boredom, self-esteem issues and stress. Try to pinpoint the major reasons for your stress or unpleasant emotions, and see how you can turn the tide. Here are a few suggestions to combat your emotions:
- Get your trigger foods out of the house, get your crutch
foods out of arms' reach
- Go for a walk or jog. Physical activity relieves stress.
- Do deep breathing and relaxation exercises
- Keep a reminder of your goal handy
- Talk to a friend
- Visit and post on the support message boards
- Surround yourself with positive reinforcers, like pictures
and people
- Keep a journal that includes your best personal
accomplishments
- Track your eating patterns including when and why you pick up food.
Chocolate
Fruit Dip
Emilybites.com
Ingredients:
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t vanilla extract
2 cups light whipped topping (I used Cool Whip Light)
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until combined. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract and beat again until thoroughly mixed. Add the Cool Whip and continue to beat until well combined.
Serving Suggestion:
I ate this with strawberries because it’s what I had on hand, but you could certainly serve it with an assortment of fruits (pineapple, melon, bananas, etc). Almost every fruit goes well with chocolate!
Yields 16 (2 tablespoon) servings. WW P+: 2 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per serving from myfitnesspal.com: 75 calories, 9 g carbs, 4 g fat, 1 g protein, 1 g fiber
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t vanilla extract
2 cups light whipped topping (I used Cool Whip Light)
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until combined. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract and beat again until thoroughly mixed. Add the Cool Whip and continue to beat until well combined.
Serving Suggestion:
I ate this with strawberries because it’s what I had on hand, but you could certainly serve it with an assortment of fruits (pineapple, melon, bananas, etc). Almost every fruit goes well with chocolate!
Yields 16 (2 tablespoon) servings. WW P+: 2 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per serving from myfitnesspal.com: 75 calories, 9 g carbs, 4 g fat, 1 g protein, 1 g fiber
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