Emotional eating

[kathy8429]

As I try to stay committed to this diet I am running into the same issues I do with any eating plan. How do I deal with emotional eating??? The comfort I seek in food is nowhere near anything healthy or raw. Like if I do WW i could if I had to, eat bad food and then make up for it with limiting my eating later. How have you all dealt with this aspect of eating raw? Thank so much for helping me with this, Kathy

[Shine]

As I try to stay committed to this diet I am running into the same issues I do with any eating plan. How do I deal with emotional eating??? The comfort I seek in food is nowhere near anything healthy or raw. Like if I do WW i could if I had to, eat bad food and then make up for it with limiting my eating later. How have you all dealt with this aspect of eating raw? Thank so much for helping me with this, Kathy

Rev is a great resource for this.

I struggle with this too (and am finally admitting it)! What I have been trying to do is something ANYTHING else when I have a bad craving. Sometimes it works and sometimes not but I'm trying.

I wish I could be of more help to you but please know you're not alone and I'll be keeping an eye here for others advice.

[Dimond]

Finding raw substitutes for the unhealthy foods you crave.
Conscious Eating: Completely focusing on eating your food while eating very slowly.
Finding other activities to do instead. So you just eat when hungry and do other things when you feel like you want to emotionally eat.
Using different raw foods that fill you up or make you feel satisfied such as green smoothies. I also find ending meals with a green apple works well because it's not too sweet. Different foods may work better for you.
Spiritual practices to reprogram your mind such as affirmations and meditation. Especially powerful right before sleep.

[Johnny B]

Definitely address the underlying emotional issues. You can substitute "better" foods if you want, but if you fail to address the root of the problem you'll never be "satisfied" and will always crave.

It is sort of a double-edged sword though - are the cravings due to emotional issues strictly, some sort of bodily thing such as Candidiasis or a combo of both. I've been dealing with sugar addiction myself. Became aware of it several months ago. Tough nut to crack.

Best of luck.

[rawlight]

How have you all dealt with this aspect of eating raw? Thank so much for helping me with this, Kathy

Emotional eating is not about the food, eating that way is a symptom. It's how you deal with underlying feelings/emotions/issues. Some people drink, some drug, you (me) eat. So you are not going to fix it by changing eating plans. Work with a therapist/therapy of some kind to find the issues.

[bikediva]

I struggle with the same thing, especially at the end of the day. I do find, however, that my cravings for sugar have disappeared since I started making raw desserts. Not sure if eating half a raw torte constitutes progress...

Really tough because you can be fine all day, then an emotion jumps on your unexpecting mind, and you're off to a bad place. I'm actually of the mind that the rollercoaster IS mostly nutritionally-based, because before, when I was eating SAD, I got WAY more depressed WAY more often. Now, after filling up (and I do mean filling) on raw all day, refined foods don't give me the high they used to. Like their power has been taken away.

[RawKnitster]

I deal with emotions in the kitchen either by eating or making food. Creating food is very relaxing for me. It focuses on the food instead of me, puts me in a zen place where my mind can work peacefully on whatever issues I have. I have recently feed myself sweet, fatty foods raw foods when I needed to take the edge of raw emotions.

Dealing with emotions is different for everyone. It is not always going to be something we can "learn to do". Things happen, feelings can come on unexpectedly.

If I feel the need to do some emotional eating, I do it. Keep it RAW and it won't be such a big deal.

[EZ rider]

Most of the time I am just fine eating a lite diet of high water content foods but every once in awhile I get an urge to eat something heavy. It happens when I feel stressed and the heavy food seems to ground out my emotions like putting a wet blanket on a fire. I have learned to hang on in those moments or if I don't then after the first bite I can find myself in an unwanted binge. Its like my emotions are a calm pond that someone throws a rock into and makes waves. These waves decrease in intensity and frequency so hang in there and give it time to get calm again and when someone throws a rock in your pond keep in mind that the waves only last for a short time and then are gone. Good luck.

[streetsurfer]

Its like my emotions are a calm pond that someone throws a rock into and makes waves. These waves decrease in intensity and frequency so hang in there and give it time to get calm again and when someone throws a rock in your pond keep in mind that the waves only last for a short time and then are gone. Good luck.

What an excellent analogy....

Sail away, away. Ripples never come back. They've gone to the other side. Look into the pool. Ripples never come back. Dive to the bottom and go the top. To see where they have gone....Oh, they've gone to the other side. Ripples never come back. (genesis)
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I can be an anxious eater Kathy. I suppose that is no different. What I try to do is to eat several small meals through the day to avoid the hunger between them. When I am anxious the acid pumps and big hunger or a desire to put out the fire sets in. With food there often, it seems to help. I try and purpose to grab a carrot or piece of fruit when I realize I am eating to quell anxiety rather than the bag o chips. Another option I sometimes use is to hit the floor for some push-ups or some form of exercise. A glass of water often helps too, but you have to commit to it ahead of time that you will try to catch yourself in the process and do one of these (or any healthy replacement of your choice). One slip just seems to feed the monster and create more anxiety/emotion. You're not alone if that's any consolation, Kathy.

[Thick]

Do you have a friend or relative that you can stay with for a few days that you wouldn't eat in front of? (eat poorly, anyway)

It's like quitting smoking or drinking..it gets easier after you have some time under your belt.

Sleeping is my new way to deal with overwhelming emotions. I didn't have that luxury when my kids were smaller, but now I can just take a nap. Really it's oblivion and escape that I want, anyway. Also, going to bed while still full from dinner has helped me.

I loved what RawKnitster said about using the creation of food to zone out in. Thank you so much for that RK, and everything else you add to the board, too=)

Sex, cuddling, hugging and having interesting conversation with intelligent people helps me too. If you don't know any interesting people--read an extremely good book--or find a raw food potluck meetup. Or any meetup for a subject you are passionate about.

Thanks for starting this thread!

[RawKnitster]

Thick, you must have read my blog and remembered that I've had trouble lately. Your a sweetheart. :)

Kathy, next time I need some comfort I'm going to remember to look up this thread and reread all these posts before I head for the kitchen. :)

[RawKnitster]

Here is a link I hung on to about emotional eating. heart to mouth by Karen Knowler (http://karenknowler.typepad.com/living_in_the_raw/2008/08/heart-to-mouth.html#more) Just remembered I had it saved in my favorites.