Emotional eating

Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food -- usually "comfort" or junk foods -- in response to feelings instead of hunger. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.

I had an argument with my husband last night that followed onto this morning. What it was about is irrelevant. The fact is by the time I got to work all I wanted to do was dig into a Mars Bar, or a Cherry Ripe or something. Something that was nice and sweet and made you close your eyes and go mmmmmmmmm. Thankfully I resisted that urge.

Emotional eating is something that I am guilty of. In the 6 months of 2010, I lost almost 17 kgs over a 6 month period doing Wii Fit and then getting onto a treadmill. I was watching what I ate and doing the ‘right’ things’. Then my daughter died. It was a sudden thing, completely unexpected, and my world fell apart. I was miserable, hated my job (my supervisor had little sympathy for what happened) and everything seemed to be going wrong. My husband and I were fighting all the time – we once went 2 weeks without talking to each other except for sniping. In the 12 months following Kayleighs death I put back on all those kilos that I had managed to lose. And this was through not exercising, eating the wrong things and chocolate, chips and lollies. And I didn’t care that much about it – I probably should have. One thing that Kayleigh wanted was me to be fit; she was a real fitness freak herself. Emotional eating hasn’t helped in the long run, not at all. We all do it in a way, but it’s something I have to be aware of and is one of the ‘blockers’ for me to lose weight.