It is important to master the motivations that make you want to eat, once you understand these motivations it is easier to address the need to eat when you are not hungry.

Accept your Emotions

It can help a lot to try and accept your emotional feelings as they come and go, suppressing them may not be the answer. An emotion is a message sent to your brain to prepare you for action, by attempting to block will only make the message stronger.

The same goes for sadness, although this is at the opposite end of the spectrum, the feeling has to be expressed and not suppressed, an almighty roar sometimes helps.

Emotions are not good or bad

Many people attached ‘good’ and ‘bad’ stickers to their emotions. Perhaps you were told anger is wrong and you should never feel angry. People don’t decide what emotion they want to feel, they just happen. It helps to peel off these ‘good’ and bad’ stickers and let the emotion take place. Accepting a feeling and letting it take place can be good step forward.

Sometimes the strongest urge for food can happen when you feel at your most vulnerable time; studies show that stress can actually trigger the desire for food.

Dealing with any difficult situation is not easy especially when you are feeling vulnerable. However eating to suppress or sooth negative emotions is not a good long term plan.

The suppressed emotion will remain strong even when sitting uncomfortably squashed in your stomach.

Once you spot the emotion that is making you eat, catch it and work out a way of addressing it properly.

Perhaps loneliness is making you eat when you are not hungry.

Case Study

I used to binge as a distraction to getting lonely, I was afraid of this feeling. Once I addressed this feeling of being alone I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of, in fact being alone in my own space could give me time to focus on what is important in my life instead.