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3 Ways to Kill Emotional Eating

Do you eat only when you're hungry?

If so, then you probably don't have a weight problem. If not, then you're not alone. Most overweight people eat for a variety of reasons, many of which are emotional.

So, how do you stop eating emotionally? Here are 3 ways to do just that.

Emotional Eating Cure #1: Become aware of how you eat

This can be a huge challenge for most people. Especially if you've been overweight since childhood, there are many triggers which signal to you that it's time to eat. This may have nothing to do with hunger.

Eating becomes a habit, much like driving to work. You don't have to think about turning left when you've done it every day for the past 3 years.

In the same way, if you've been conditioned to eat whenever you feel stressed, you just naturally reach
for food.

These patterns will keep doing their thing until you intentionally break them. Before you can break a pattern, however, you have to know it exists. You do this by paying attention while you eat.

Emotional Eating cure #2: Keep and eye on your emotional triggers

There are reasons you eat emotionally. When you first start breaking your old patterns, your conscious mind is like a police officer, watching for the triggers to emerge. And they will.

If you're ready for the trigger, then you don't just mindlessly follow the program like you did in the past. Now you have a choice. What are some triggers?

-Stress

-Boredom

-Loneliness

-Anger

There are many others than just these. In fact, you should make a list of your own triggers as you're aware of them. Then, you should eliminate the ones you can control, and get ready for the ones you can't.

Emotional Eating Cure #3: Interrupt the negative patterns when they happen

As you grow more aware, you'll be interrupting more and more negative patterns before carrying them out. You'll understand why you're eating, and you'll walk away from food when you're not really hungry.

If the urge to eat is strong, stop yourself. Take a deep breath, and step back. Tell yourself you can always eat this later. Take a walk or call a friend. Do whatever you have to do to get away
from the food.

Ask yourself, "Am I really hungry, or is there another reason I want to eat?" You also might ask, "What are the consequences if I eat this?"

Emotional eating is the number one reason people fail on any weight loss program. Unfortunately, it's also ignored by most diets.

If you stay on top of your emotions, you increase your chances of losing as much weight as you want. Permanently.

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