Emotional eating is one of the greatest challenges in any calories loss diet because with the best of intentions, we can easily sabotage our efforts by uncontrolled binging brought about by our day to day emotional ups and downs. To manage our eating and to continue to enjoy a gradual weight loss, we need to be aware of and to some degree manage our emotions. The tips below will assist you to do this as you re-shape your body.



Know if you are really hungry especially the difference between being physically hungry and just eating out of emotion. If you have been an emotional eater your whole life you might not understand the difference so learn to recognize that when you are really hungry your stomach will growl and you will feel a little weak and tired. That is your body's way of saying that it needs fuel, so try letting yourself get really hungry before a meal just so that you can feel what it feels like when your body is hungry.

Determine what sets off your emotional eating, making note of the times and causes of these occasions and look for a pattern around this to become apparent. Do you hanker after salty fatty food when the pressure is on at work instead of those calories loss lunches you know are nutricius and much better for you? Do you head for the cookie jar at the end of the day after a drive home filled with traffic jams or do you eat lashings of gravy on mashed potatoes when the kids are a nightmare after school?

Deciding on the events and the times when you are likely to resort to daily emotional eating is the key to controlling your response to the stressors in your life that lead you to out of control eating. Plan what food you will eat or what you will do the next time you feel distressed or under pressure and replace eating with other behaviours that will help relieve your stress. Taking a brisk walk or even an exercise class or eating an apple, some low fat yoghurt or other foods from your calories loss menu, getting a friend to massage your neck or even meditating are all healthier ways to manage the pressures in your life and still lose weight.

Cross comfort food off your shopping list as this may give you momentary comfort when things are tough, but if there is none in the pantry, you can not eat it and will learn to seek comfort in other ways. If you feel down and think escaping in front of the TV with a soda and bag of buttery popcorn is the best way to recover, will you drive to the nearest supermarket to buy this comfort food? Probably not, if you are like most people who search for an alternative food at home rather than go out to buy what they would like to indulge in.

Find other means of comfort instead of food if you feel down, pressured and hyped up, like taking the dog for a walk, going for a bike ride, reading that book you have been dying to start, or meeting with a friend and discuss life over a low fat coffee. There is an endless list of what you can do when you are feeling sad or stressed apart from reaching for the munchies in those places you have always kept them. So start including these alternatives in your life as 'pick me ups' and keep on that calories loss diet at the same time.

Stack the shelves that used to store your junk food, with healthy alternatives to use every time you experience one of your cravings and need comfort. In place of those maple syrup pancakes high in calories, keep hummus dip and fresh vegetables, and if you simply must have something sweet, try a fruit salad. It is not a matter of stopping cravings, more a case of satisfying these differently with alternative foods that will in the long term be a way of re-programming your thinking and even your palate as well as accommodating the many foods that you will find on your calories loss diet.

Wait 30 minutes and when a craving does hit, wait it out by setting a timer, looking at your watch, whatever you need to do. But wait a full 30 minutes before acting on that craving. If you still are craving that food after 30 minutes, allow yourself to have a half portion of it, but you will find that usually after 30 minutes that craving will disappear.

Do something active instead of eating as this does not just use calories, to help with your calorie loss, it also causes your brain to secret endorphins and serotonin and these lift your spirits. So the next time you reach for a pizza to feel better, grab your sneakers and go for a walk, or a bike ride, or a run to help with your weight loss and to make you feel better. Even just a quick mile walk can really change your mood and when you get back you will feel as good as you would feel if you had just eaten 4 slices of pizza.