What can I do about emotional eating?

First, you have to identify the emotion and eating link.  The best way to do this is with a food diary in which you record the time of day, what you ate, where you ate it,  who you ate with and how you were feeling.  After a few weeks, you will see patterns emerge - and may likely see that for example - you are more likely to eat food low in nutrition and high in calories at times of stress, anger, loneliness etc.   On Dr. Oz's show - one suggestion I provided is to use the acronym FLAB - wait a beat before you eat something (especially if you are not feeling hungry) and ask yourself if you are eating is because you are Frustrated Lonely Anxious or Bored - if that's the reason, put the food down and find a pleasurable substitute activity that is more likely to address the emotion in question (e.g. if you are lonely, call a friend).   Also, don't let yourself get too hungry during the day, make sure you eat regularly throughout the day, as it is easy to misinterpret the signal of hunger for a feeling of emptiness that needs to be filled.   

I think everyone is affected by emotional eating at some time or another. It's important to know that you can overcome it.

The first thing you have to do is admit that you're an emotional eater and explore the emotions that lead you to eat when you're not really hungry. Try incorporating some of these tips into your day to combat emotional eating:

• Keep a food and mood journal. For a few days to a week, record everything you eat. Take note of your mood, where you are and who you're with.
• Review your journal to identify any trends in the way you eat. This is an essential step to determine what emotions trigger you to eat when you're not physically hungry.
• Leave the salty snacks, ice cream and cookies at the supermarket. Out of sight = out of mind.
• If boredom is a culprit, find other ways to fill your time. Take a walk. Call a friend. Take up a new hobby.

If you continue to experience difficulty managing your emotions, talk to a trusted mental health professional.

Key steps to overcoming emotional eating include:

• Maintain a food and emotions journal to better identify when emotional eating occurs
• Create a list of alternative activities for when you start experiencing strong emotions and are not actually physically hungry
• Have a support system (family, friends, health care team)
• Learn to understand signs of true physical hunger
• Enjoy more mindful and conscious eating experiences rather than a distracted meals/snacks
• Enjoy all foods in moderation