How to eat smarter? 10 ways to fight compulsive eating unhealthy foods

Under the influence of emotions, we can gain such an appetite that in the blink of an eye we are able to eat the proverbial horse with hooves and empty half the refrigerator at the speed of light. How to prevent it? How to eat smarter.

The stress and uncertainty of a completely new situation in which the world suddenly found itself more than once led many people to start eating emotionally more often than usual.

Consolation food for emotional hunger

In particularly difficult moments, when it is difficult for us to deal with something that bothers us, a problem with the so-called compulsive eating, which is an eating disorder involving loss of control over what and how much we eat.

Contrary to anorexia and bulimia, which are also psychiatric disorders, there is no so-called compensatory behaviors, i.e. inducing vomiting or destructively intense physical exercise.

Although people who experience binge eating do not intentionally wipe their bodies, they are able to quickly consume a large amount of food, although theoretically they are not very hungry at all.

People with low self-esteem are more likely to eat under the influence of emotions

They reach for food - usually high-calorie, unhealthy and of poor quality - just to feel better, but remorse often does not make them feel better. In their case, the problem is the emotional hunger they are trying to satisfy. This usually affects people with very low self-esteem or people who suffer from depression.

If bouts of compulsive eating recur regularly - we should immediately go to psychotherapy and ask for help from specialists.

However, much more often we are completely unaware that our food choices are controlled by emotions. So let's try to limit the number of factors that can lead to loss of control over what we eat. How to do it?

How to eat smarter and healthier? The Best Ways to Fight Emotional Eating

The longer you use your smartphones, the more often you eat unhealthy foods

New results of research conducted on over 53,000 Korean teenagers indicate that people who use smartphones for more than 2 hours a day are more likely to eat highly processed products and rarely eat fruit and vegetables.

Researchers have shown that adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day using cell phones are more likely to be overweight and obese. Their food choices are influenced by the emotions accompanying the movies they watch or the content they read.

People who only search for information using cell phones have healthier eating habits compared to those who use this equipment for chatting, using social media, messaging, as well as computer games or listening to music and watching movies.

Write down what you eat during the day - it will be easier for you to control your menu

Keeping a notebook with what we ate on a given day, contrary to appearances, is quite an effective solution for people who have a problem with compulsive eating.

Writing down the products we have eaten on a piece of paper makes it easier to control the daily diet and allows you to develop more rational eating habits - this is the first step to success in the fight against binge eating for comfort.

Breathe deeply for 5 minutes - this will lower your blood pressure and lower your stress levels

New research findings confirm that five-minute breathing exercises can lower blood pressure as effectively as medications, and are more effective in reducing blood pressure levels rapidly than walking.

Compulsive eating usually happens at times where we're very stressed, and taking a few deep breaths in 5 minutes can help us cool down a bit, which will help us fight bouts of emotional hunger.

Ask family or friends for support - they will lift your spirits

Nothing discharges emotions as quickly as a laugh among our friendly people. If you have a problem with binge eating, make fun of it in the presence of people who wish us well and are sympathetic to us. Facing your own weaknesses alone is usually much more difficult.

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Surround yourself with healthy food - even if you overeat, it will do you better

Instead of gorging on high-calorie snacks, try eating as many ... fresh tomatoes.

Try to fill your stomach with incredibly well-hydrating cucumbers or nutritious apples - if you have only superfood in the refrigerator, compulsive eating attacks will not be so severe ...

Pay attention to the hormones

Eating disorders can be related to how our hormones function. If it seems to us that we are starting to gain weight, then the cause of this problem may be not only compulsive eating and the so-called eating emotions, but also quite serious diseases, such as hypothyroidism. It is worth doing regularly, among others test.

Be less strict with yourself and allow yourself a little weakness

You don't have to be perfect in everything you do. Even if you do make any mistakes, you should be able to forgive yourself.

The more you accumulate emotions, the more often you put them in a situation where they take control of your life and control what, when and how much you eat. With compulsive eating, accepting your weaknesses can be the key to success.

Meditate more often - it will be easier for you to control your emotions

One of the most effective relaxation techniques that can help you fight compulsive eating is meditation.

Conscious breathing and calming the body down during meditation sessions make it easier to control emotions under the influence of which irrational bouts of eating occur. It is worth trying this method if you are unable to cope with comfort food.

Train more - physical activity improves your mood and has a good effect on the psyche

Sport is good for health - especially if it is not extreme and does not exhaust the body. It is enough to get tired a little and not to push too much for our body to function differently.

A sedentary lifestyle has a destructive effect on us - if we are not active enough, it is more difficult for us to control our emotions, because only when we exercise, the hormones responsible for our mood begin to function properly in our body.

The longer you stay passive, the worse your psyche can take it, and then the more difficult it is to control bouts of compulsive eating.

Talk to a therapist - he will help you solve the problem

Psychotherapy is recommended for people who are unable to cope with compulsive eating under the influence of emotions.

Having a relaxed conversation with a therapist can be the most effective way to deal with binge eating and allows us to get our emotions under control to the extent that they do not take control of what we eat.