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In this Article

• How can I identify eating triggers?
• How do I stop emotional eating?
• What if distracting myself isn't enough to keep me from overeating?
• Find a local Psychiatrist in your town
• Emotional Eating Index

Sometimes simply distracting yourself from eating and developing alternative habits is not enough to manage the emotional distress that leads to excessive eating. To more effectively cope with emotional stress, try

• Relaxation exercises
• Meditation
• Individual or group counseling

These techniques address the underlying emotional problems which are causing you to binge and teach you to cope in more effective and healthier ways. For more information on these techniques, contact your doctor.

As you learn to incorporate more appropriate coping strategies and to curb excessive eating, remember to reward yourself for a job well done. We tend to repeat behaviors that have been reinforced, so reward yourself when you meet your nutrition management goals. Buy that blouse, take that vacation, or get that massage you wanted. By rewarding yourself for a job well done you increase the likelihood that you will maintain your new healthy habits.

WebMD Medical Reference

SOURCES:

Mayo Clinic: "Weight-loss help: Gain control of emotional eating."

TeensHealth: "Emotional Eating."

American Psychiatric Association: "Eating Disorders."

CDC: "Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight."

Reviewed by Kimball Johnson, MD on May 26, 2012

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