How To Stop Emotional Eating

Emotional eating usually starts in the mind. A thought becomes an obsession and the obsession turns into a compulsion. The compulsion turns into a habit and off we go. Habits are hard to break but can be broken if enough time is given to undoing the mental process. As we replace the obsessive thought with another thought eventually we break the cycle of food obsession. For example, instead of thinking about a cookie one could call a friend on the phone and ask her how she's doing. Not that eating a cookie is wrong but if you've already had a few and you're craving more because you can't pay your gas bill change you're thinking. Learning to change the way we think takes us off the road of insanity and puts us onto the road of recovery.
First we admit we are powerless over food and that our lives have become unmanageable, we come to believe in a power greater than ourselves that can restore us to sanity, and we make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. We are basically going to exchange our food addiction, our reliance on the comforting affects of food to help us feel better, for an addiction to God or a new dependence on Him. Believing in God is a struggle for some and for others they never find Him. I am challenging you if you don't know God, start today by asking Him to reveal Himself to you. Everyday as you work towards food recovery ask Him to manifest Himself in your life. If you truly seek Him you will find Him.
Apologizing to those we hurt is critical to our recovery. Being sorry sets us free from the guilt that leads us to food. I know as stubborn and rebellious people we tend to have a need to be right. We kick and scream to get our own way. Letting go of the need to be right is of vital importance. It is OK to be wrong even if you are not. Believe me, you will feel better and come out the winner in the end. I know that is against everything you've been taught. It doesn't matter. Your peace and freedom is far more important than being right.
I know that if I have harmed someone and they are angry with me I feel uncomfortable. Because discomfort leads to eating I will eat because I feel bad for what I have done. If I apologize then I release myself from the feelings of guilt. I no longer eat to feel better because I have let go of the burden of the guilt that makes me feel bad.
Trusting in God means that I believe He can solve all of my problems. Trusting that God can solve my problems means that I reach for God during discomfort and not food. Turning my will and my life over to God means I have to believe He is smarter than I am and can make better decisions than I can. It is easy to wake up in the morning and turn my life over to the care of God, but actually leaving my life there is difficult. How can I really trust that God is going to work out my problems? If I can't see Him working how am I suppose to believe that He is?
You've heard it said before, practice makes perfect. As I practiced this principle and experienced God working to solve my problems it became easier each time to trust Him again. As I continued reaching for God instead of food, I slowly lost my dependence on food and developed a new dependence on God. (Note: Sometimes you will have to wait. God's timing is not always the same as ours. But don't give up. Keep trusting no matter what.)
God started doing for me what I could not do for myself. Now I actually wake up in the morning excited to see what God is going to do next. Developing a constant contact with God is of vital importance. Every single day you must practice praying to Him. As you talk to God your relationship with Him will grow. As you get closer to God and your belief in Him strengthens, trusting in Him will get easier. The more you trust God in all your affairs the less you will be dependent on food for comfort.

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