What to Eat When You’re Stressed

It’s 2pm. The day is in full swing. Your head droops toward the floor into your open hand. Running your thumb and forefinger firmly along your temples produces an involuntary grimace that contorts your face as if an attempt to scare away the day’s worries. Your mind wanders toward an escape from the stressors that are running rampant. Mmm, a doughnut left over from breakfast might do the trick. Maybe another cup of coffee will recharge things. That candy bar hiding in the desk drawer wouldn’t be bad either. Will any of these options offer escape or might they just exacerbate the problem? Let’s delve into some tension nutrition!

It’s inevitable that each day will bring challenges and stressors that can result in tremendous tension. Life throws all sorts of obstacles your way; the last thing you need to do is worsen the tension by polluting your body’s internal system with poor food choices. There are three simple questions one must ask when choosing foods during stressful periods:

1. Why am I eating?
2. What foods should I eat?
3. What foods should I avoid?

Why Am I Eating?

Eating can be triggered by a multitude of factors other than hunger. If you were to analyze the intricate chemistry of the human body, it is apparent how stressful situations set off a cascade of hormones that can result in an unexpected calorie binge. Problems arise when we consistently give in to this hormonal calling and begin to depend on food as our escape from the tension of life.
Jane, one of my clients, has experienced this negative eating pattern firsthand. Multiple times she’s discussed with me how challenging it is to not reach for a quick and easy comfort food when the day turns stressful. I continually reinforce to her that allowing your body’s hormones to lead you to eat calorie-dense foods can lead to weight gain. Excess weight increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, arthritis, and multiple cancers. Carrying extra physical weight takes quite a toll, but accumulating emotional baggage just might be even more treacherous.  Ahead, we’ll look at foods that tame the “overeat hormones” and strategies for avoiding emotional eating.

Using food as an emotional crutch is an extremely unhealthy habit. Delicious food acts as an easy escape from life’s problems.  Focusing on eating rather than dealing with a stressful situation can develop into a vicious cycle.  Tension leads to bad food choices, bad food choices lead to more tension, more tension results in more overeating, and so on and so on.  This cycle threatens our emotional stability and can wreak havoc on personal spirituality.
Through years of counseling clients, I’ve discovered that personal spirituality can play a large role in helping one deal with stress, worry, and anxiety without compromising healthy nutritional efforts.  For example, the Bible says to cast all your anxiety on God because He cares about you so much.  If someone truly believes that God loves them, they can release their negative emotions to Him.  The spiritual danger of consistent emotional eating comes as a result of drowning stress and tension in calories rather than bringing those emotions to God.  Food is innocent and meant to be one of the natural pleasures of life.  Only when our relationship with food is distorted, do we encounter potentially serious issues that threaten our spiritual and physical health.  For all facets of your health, it’s important to stay vigilant against the deception of emotional eating.
Here are four practical ways to squash emotion-driven eating and reduce daily tension.
• Analyze your hunger. Ask yourself, “Is my brain craving food or is my stomach hungry?”
• Stay focused. When you feel tension increasing as your tasks pile up, stand up, stretch, have a glass of water, and refocus on the task at hand.
• Remove temptation. Simply put – you won’t eat what you don’t have.  Don’t keep unhealthy foods in your bag, at your office, or in your car.
• Consistently ask God for discernment between true hunger and emotional cravings, as well as discipline to resist the temptation when it arises.
It’s 2pm again.  The day is in full swing.  The tension is mounting as a million things throttle towards you.  Your head droops toward the floor into your open hand and . . . you pray a silent prayer.  Suddenly, you experience peace and better understand the cravings that gnaw at your brain.  Later, with your tension released and delicious food on your plate, you’ll bow your head one more time and thank God for the guilt-free meal you’re about to savor.  But what foods should be included in that meal?  Or, what would be a healthy snack to help tame those “overeat hormones?”






What Foods Should I Eat? (What to eat when you’re stressed!)

The basic components of quality nutrition are the best solution for 99% of scenarios.  It’s no different with choosing foods during times of high stress and tension.  While it may not sound quite exotic enough, the best recommendations are fruits, vegetables, quality protein, essential fats, and whole grains.  Each of these foods work together to maintain a stable environment within your body, resulting in consistent energy levels, reduced cravings, ease of concentration, proper digestion, and adequate recovery.  Here’s a little more specificity to help along the way.
– Broccoli, oranges, bell peppers, papayas, cantaloupe, and tomatoes are all rich in everyone’s favorite nutrient: Vitamin C!  Research has shown that vitamin C helps reduce the physical and psychological effects of stress, as well as encouraging quicker recovery from stressful situations. Quick side note: mega-dosing vitamin C is not beneficial.
– Leafy greens, soybeans, 100% whole grains, and nuts are good sources of what has been dubbed the “Anti-Stress Mineral”: Magnesium.  Magnesium helps to relax muscles, regulate your heart rhythm, improve quality of sleep, and plays a vital role in the functioning of your nervous system.

– Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, and most seafood provide the body with essential fatty acids (or EFAs). I often like to call EFAs nature’s miracle workers. Research with EFAs has shown improved mood, more stable blood sugar levels, possibly reduced inflammation, and potentially strengthened immunity. To take advantage of these benefits, I basically  require all of my clients use a quality omega-3 formula everyday. My top recommendations are: Essential Superior Omega-3 Formula (gel caps) or Vitacost Finest Fish Oil (liquid).

For almost all of the above nutrients, there is tremendous nutrient crossover.  The point is – don’t over complicate things.  Just be sure to reach for fruits, vegetables, nuts, 100% whole grains, and/or lean meats.  You can’t go wrong.  Well, actually you can go wrong.  It’s time to look at what foods are on the opposing side against the nutrient rich, anti-stress foods.

What Foods Should I Avoid?

The list of foods you should eat all had one thing in common; they promote a stable environment within your body which helps it perform at peak function.  Using simple logic, it’s easy to predict that the opposite will be true for the foods to avoid.  The following foods have the potential to increase tension, worsen stress, and trigger the “overeat hormones” resulting in emotional eating.

– Highly processed foods can truly pollute your internal environment.  Carbs are the great double-edged sword.  Consuming processed carbohydrates can result in extreme energy swings, drowsiness, lack of concentration, and uncontrollable cravings.  A quick practical list of processed foods to avoid includes: crackers, chips, candy, any bread or grain product that is not 100% whole, most granola bars, cereal, and canned fruit or fruit juice.

– Caffeine is America’s favorite stimulant.  The problem is not with moderate consumption, but with excessive intake.  Consuming too much caffeine actually mimics stress to the body.  Two to three (8 oz) cups of coffee per day is considered average.  Problems tend to arise when people become dependent and consistently increase their intake.  Be sure to monitor yourself and avoid the pitfall of consistently increasing your consumption.

Source
http://coreylittlecoaching.com/tension-nutrition-eat-youre-stressed/

Why stress causes people to overeat

There is much truth behind the phrase “stress eating.” Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people toward overeating. Researchers have linked weight gain to stress, and according to an American Psychological Association survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale.

In the short term, stress can shut down appetite. A structure in the brain called the hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone, which suppresses appetite. The brain also sends messages to the adrenal glands atop the kidneys to pump out the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). Epinephrine helps trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, a revved-up physiological state that temporarily puts eating on hold.

But if stress persists, it’s a different story. The adrenal glands release another hormone called cortisol, and cortisol increases appetite and may also ramp up motivation in general, including the motivation to eat. Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels should fall, but if the stress doesn’t go away — or if a person’s stress response gets stuck in the “on” position — cortisol may stay elevated.

Fat and sugar cravings

Stress also seems to affect food preferences. Numerous studies — granted, many of them in animals — have shown that physical or emotional distress increases the intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both. High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible. Other research suggests that ghrelin, a “hunger hormone,” may have a role.

Once ingested, fat- and sugar-filled foods seem to have a feedback effect that inhibits activity in the parts of the brain that produce and process stress and related emotions. These foods really are “comfort” foods in that they seem to counteract stress — and this may contribute to people’s stress-induced craving for those foods.

Of course, overeating isn’t the only stress-related behavior that can add pounds. Stressed people also lose sleep, exercise less, and drink more alcohol, all of which can contribute to excess weight.

Gender differences

Some research suggests a gender difference in stress-coping behavior, with women being more likely to turn to food and men to alcohol or smoking. And a Finnish study that included over 5,000 men and women showed that obesity was associated with stress-related eating in women but not in men.

Harvard researchers have reported that stress from work and other sorts of problems correlates with weight gain, but only in those who were overweight at the beginning of the study period. One theory is that overweight people have elevated insulin levels, and stress-related weight gain is more likely to occur in the presence of high insulin.

How much cortisol people produce in response to stress may also factor into the stress–weight gain equation. In 2007, British researchers designed an ingenious study that showed that people who responded to stress with high cortisol levels in an experimental setting were more likely to snack in response to daily hassles in their regular lives than low-cortisol responders.

Steps to counter stress snacking

When stress affects someone’s appetite and waistline, the individual can forestall further weight gain by ridding the refrigerator and cupboards of high-fat, sugary foods. Keeping those “comfort foods” handy is just inviting trouble.

Here are some other suggestions for countering stress:

Meditation. Countless studies show that meditation reduces stress, although much of the research has focused on high blood pressure and heart disease. Meditation may also help people become more mindful of food choices. With practice, a person may be able to pay better attention to the impulse to grab a fat- and sugar-loaded comfort food and inhibit the impulse.

Exercise. Intense exercise increases cortisol levels temporarily, but low-intensity exercise seems to reduce them. University of California researchers reported that exercise — and this was vigorous exercise — may blunt some of the negative effects of stress. Some activities, such as yoga and tai chi, have elements of both exercise and meditation.

Social support. Friends, family, and other sources of social support seem to have a buffering effect on the stress that people experience. For example, research suggests that people working in stressful situations, like hospital emergency departments, have better mental health if they have adequate social support. But even people who live and work in situations where the stakes aren’t as high need help from time to time from friends and family.

Source
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat
Reference

Adams CE, et al. “Lifestyle Factors and Ghrelin: Critical Review and Implications for Weight Loss Maintenance,” Obesity Review (May 2011): Vol. 12, No. 5, electronic publication.

Manzoni GM, et al. “Can Relaxation Training Reduce Emotional Eating in Women with Obesity?”Journal of the American Dietetic Association (Aug. 2009): Vol. 109, No. 8, pp. 1427–32.

Mathes WF, et al. “The Biology of Binge Eating,” Appetite (June 2009): Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 545–53.

Spencer SJ, et al. “The Glucocorticoid Contribution to Obesity,” Stress (Feb. 6, 2011): Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 233–46.

Vicennati V, et al. “Stress-Related Development of Obesity and Cortisol in Women,” Obesity(Sept. 2009): Vol. 17, No. 9, pp. 1678–83.

Why We Gain Weight When We’re Stressed—And How Not To

The psychology and biology of stress-related overeating and weight gain

Have you ever found yourself mindlessly eating a tub of ice cream while you brood about your latest romantic rejection or eating a hamburger and fries in front of your computer as you furiously try to make a work deadline? Perhaps you’re a busy mom, eating cookies in your car as you shuttle the kids back and forth to a slew of activities. Or you’re a small business owner desperately trying to make ends meet when you suddenly realize your waistline has expanded. If you recognize yourself in any of these scenarios, you’re not alone and it’s probably not your fault. Stress that goes on for a long period is a triple whammy for weight—it increases our appetites, makes us hold onto the fat, and interferes with our willpower to implement a healthy lifestyle.

Below are the four major reasons stress leads to weight gain and four great research-based coping strategies you can use to fight back.

Hormones

When your brain detects the presence of a threat, no matter if it is a snake in the grass, a grumpy boss, or a big credit card bill, it triggers the release of a cascade of chemicals, including adrenaline, CRH, and cortisol. Your brain and body prepare to handle the threat by making you feel alert, ready for action and able to withstand an injury. In the short-term, adrenaline helps you feel less hungry as your blood flows away from the internal organs and to your large muscles to prepare for “fight or flight.” However, once the effects of adrenaline wear off, cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” hangs around and starts signaling the body to replenish your food supply. Fighting off wild animals, like our ancestors did, used up a lot of energy, so their bodies needed more stores of fat and glucose. Today’s human, who sits on the couch worrying about how to pay the bill or works long hours at the computer to make the deadline, does not work off much energy at all dealing with the stressor! Unfortunately, we are stuck with a neuroendocrine system that didn’t get the update, so your brain is still going to tell you to reach for that plate of cookies anyway.

Belly Fat

In the days when our ancestors were fighting off tigers and famine, their bodies adapted by learning to store fat supplies for the long haul. The unfortunate result for you and me is that when we are chronically stressed by life crises and work-life demands, we are prone to getting an extra layer of “visceral fat” deep in our bellies. Your belly has an ample supply of blood vessels and cortisol receptors to make the whole process flow more efficiently. 

The downside is that excess belly fat is unhealthy and difficult to get rid of. The fat releases chemicals triggering inflammation, which increases the likelihood that we will develop heart disease or diabetes. And it can make it more difficult to fit into those lovely jeans you splurged on, leading to more stress about money wasted! Unfortunately, excess cortisol also slows down your metabolism, because your body wants to maintain an adequate supply of glucose for all that hard mental and physical work dealing with the threat.

Anxiety

When we have a surge of adrenaline as part of our fight/flight response, we get fidgety and activated. Adrenaline is the reason for the “wired up” feeling we get when we’re stressed. While we may burn off some extra calories fidgeting or running around cleaning because we can’t sit still, anxiety can also trigger “emotional eating.” Overeating or eating unhealthy foods in response to stress or as a way to calm down is a very common response. In the most recent American Psychological Association’s “Stress in America:” survey, a whopping 40% of respondents reported dealing with stress in this way, while 42% reported watching television for more than 2 hours a day to deal with stress. Being a couch potato also increases the temptation to overeat and is inactive, which means that those extra calories aren’t getting burned off. Anxiety can also make you eat more “mindlessly” as you churn around worrying thoughts in your head, not even focusing on the taste of the food, how much you’ve eaten, or when you are feeling full. When you eat mindlessly, you will likely eat more, yet feel less satisfied.

Cravings and Fast Food

When we are chronically stressed, we crave “comfort foods,” such as a bag of potato chips or a tub of ice cream. These foods tend to be easy to eat, highly processed, and high in fat, sugar, or salt. We crave these foods for both biological and psychological reasons. Stress may mess up our brain’s reward system or cortisol may cause us to crave more fat and sugar. We also may have memories from childhood, such as the smell of freshly baked cookies,, that lead us to associate sweet foods with comfort. When we are stressed, we also may be more likely to drive through the Fast Food place, rather than taking the time and mental energy to plan and cook a meal. Americans are less likely to cook and eat dinner at home than people from many other countries, and they also work more hours. Working in urban areas may mean long, jammed commutes, which both increase stress and interfere with willpower because we are hungrier when we get home later. 

A University of Pennsylvania research study showed, in laboratory mice, that being “stressed” by exposure to the smell of a predator lead the mice to eat more high-fat food pellets, when given the choice of eating these instead of normal feed.

Less Sleep

Do you ever lie awake at night worrying about paying the bills or about who will watch your kids when you have to go to work? According to the APA’s “Stress in America” survey, more than 40% of us lie awake at night as a result of stress. Research shows that worry is a major cause of insomnia. Our minds are overactive and won’t switch off. We may also lose sleep because of pulling overnights to cram for exams or writing until the early hours. Stress causes decreased blood sugar, which leads to fatigue. If you drink coffee or caffeinated soft drinks to stay awake, or alcohol to feel better, your sleep cyclewill be even more disrupted. Sleep is also a powerful factor influencing weight gain or loss. Lack of sleep may disrupt the functioning of ghrelin and leptin—chemicals that control appetite. We also crave carbs when we are tired or grumpy from lack of sleep. Finally, not getting our precious zzzz’s erodes our willpower and ability to resist temptation. In one study, overweight/obese dieters were asked to follow a fixed caloriediet and assigned to get either 5 and a half or eight and a half hours of sleep a night (in a sleep lab). Those with sleep deprivation lost substantially less weight.

How to Minimize Weight Gain When You’re Stressed

Exercise

Aerobic exercise has a one-two punch. It can decrease cortisol and trigger release of chemicals that relieve pain and improve mood. It can also help speed your metabolism so you burn off the extra indulgences.

Learn Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating programs train you inmeditation, which helps you cope with stress, and change your consciousness around eating. You learn to slow down and tune in to your sensory experience of the food, including its sight, texture or smell. You also learn to tune into your subjective feelings of hunger or fullness, rather than eating just because it’s a mealtime or because there is food in front of you. A well-designed study of binge-eaters showed that participating in a Mindful Eating program led to fewer binges and reduced depression.

Find Rewarding Activities Unrelated to Food

Taking a hike, reading a book, going to a yoga class, getting a massage, patting your dog, or making time for friends and family can help to relieve stress without adding on the pounds. Although you may feel that you don’t have time for leisure activities with looming deadlines, taking time to relieve stress helps you to feel refreshed, lets you think more clearly, and improves your mood, so you are less likely to overeat.

Write in a Journal

Writing down your experiences and reactions or your most important goals keeps your hands busy and your mind occupied, so you’re less likely to snack on unhealthy foods. Writing can give you insight into why you’re feeling so stressed and highlight ways of thinking or expectations of yourself that may be increasing the pressure you feel. Writing down your healthy eating and exercise goals may make you more conscious of your desire to live a healthier lifestyle and intensify your commitment. Research studies have also shown that writing expressively or about life goals can improve both mood and health.

Source
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201308/why-we-gain-weight-when-we-re-stressed-and-how-not

Resources

Dr Elissa Eppel , a psychologist and professor at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center has conducted pioneering research on stress, eating, and weight gain. Click here for a summary of her work and a talk by Dr Eppel.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2011/december-11/stress-hurts-our-minds-and-our-bodies.html(link is external)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP7SC2ltMNM(link is external)

Dr. Michelle May, a family physician, author, and recovered yo-yo dieter has developed a Mindful Eating program to help combat emotional and stress-related eating. See the below link for more information and her Mindful Eating blog.

http://www.eatwhatyoulovelovewhatyoueat.com(link is external)

Read My Other Post on Mindful Eating 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201107/the-5-best-ways-manage-your-weight-eating

Learn About Why We Crave Sugar & Its Effects on Our Health

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201302/why-our-brains-love-sugar-and-why-our-bodies-dont

Does Meditation Help You Lose Weight?

Your efforts around exercising and eating well are helping your blood pressure and your weight. Something else might also help: meditation.

Meditation -- the practice of focusing your attention in order to find calm and clarity -- can lower high blood pressure. It can also help youmanage stress, which drives some people to eat.

"People often put on weight from trying to comfort themselves with food," says Adam Perlman, MD, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine.

Although there's not a lot of research showing that meditation directly helps you lose weight, meditation does help you become more aware of your thoughts and actions, including those that relate to food.

For example, a research review showed that meditation can help with both binge eating and emotional eating.

"Any way to become more mindful will guide that process," Perlman says.

How to Meditate

There are many ways to meditate. The CDC says that most types of meditation have these four things in common:

• A quiet location. You can choose where to meditate -- your favorite chair? On a walk? It's up to you.
• A specific comfortable posture, such as sitting, lying down, standing, or walking.
• A focus of attention. You can focus on a word or phrase, your breath, or something else.

• An open attitude. It's normal to have other thoughts while you meditate. Try not to get too interested in those thoughts. Keep bringing your attention back to your breath, phrase, or whatever else it is you're focusing on.

Pick the place, time, and method that you want to try. You can also take a class to learn the basics.

Becoming a 'Witness,' Not a Judge

Meditating requires a commitment to stop and look within and around you, even if you have only a few moments, says Geneen Roth, author of the New York Times best-seller Women Food and God.

"The way I teach meditation and integrate it for myself is to focus on being a witness to your thoughts and not so much how long you need to practice," Roth says. "You want to learn how to quiet your mind and sometimes avoid the stories you tell yourself, like you need to go eat cookies or that bag of chips."

Try not to bring major expectations to meditation. Let it unfold without judgment.

Most people have an inner critic that's running their lives, Roth says. To reframe your thinking, she recommends asking yourself, "What's working?" when you wake up and again at the end of the day. "We get so caught up and don’t take the time to look around and notice what’s good," she says.

One of the daily practices Roth recommends is taking 30 seconds to look around and see what's in front of you. It's a way to be present.

"Not only do you need to be present in the moment, but you need to be informed to make the right decisions -- what to eat, what to avoid, what [are] the best exercises and lifestyle choices for someone with high blood pressure," Perlman says. He calls it "informed mindfulness."

The bottom line: Meditation doesn't replace diet, exercise, and following your doctor's guidelines for weight loss and better blood pressure. But it can support those positive changes, if you do it with patience and commitment.


Source
http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/meditation-hypertension-and-weight-loss

SOURCES:

Adam Perlman, MD, MPH, executive director, Duke Integrative Medicine.

"Beyond Medications and Diet: Alternative Approaches to Lowering Blood Pressure: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association, " Hypertension, published online April 22, 2013.

Katterman, S. Eating Behaviors, April 2014.

Geneen Roth, author, Women Food and God, Scribner, 2011.

CDC: "Meditation and Health."

Reviewed on August 01, 2014

© 2014 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating

Sometimes the strongest cravings for food happen when you're at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when you're facing a difficult problem, stress or just looking to keep yourself occupied.

But emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods. But the good news is that if you're prone to emotional eating, you can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals.

The connection between mood, food and weight loss

Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Both major life events and the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts. These triggers may include:

• Unemployment
• Financial pressure
• Health problems
• Relationship conflicts
• Work stress
• Fatigue

Although some people actually eat less in the face of strong emotions, if you're in emotional distress you may turn to impulsive or binge eating — you may rapidly eat whatever's convenient, without even enjoying it.

In fact, your emotions may become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a treat whenever you're angry or stressed without stopping to think about what you're doing.

Food also serves as a distraction. If you're worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The emotions return, and you may also now bear the additional burden of guilt about setting back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle — your emotions trigger you to overeat, you beat yourself up for getting off your weight-loss track, you feel bad, and you overeat again.

Tips to get your weight-loss efforts back on track

Although negative emotions can trigger emotional eating, you can take steps to control cravings and renew your effort at weight loss. To help stop emotional eating, try these tips:

• Tame your stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as yoga, meditation or relaxation.

• Have a hunger reality check. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don't have a rumbling stomach, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving a little time to pass.

• Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you may see patterns emerge that reveal the connection between mood and food.

• Get support. You're more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends or consider joining a support group.

• Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you're not truly hungry, distract yourself. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, surf the Internet or call a friend.

• Take away temptation. Don't keep supplies of comfort foods in your home if they're hard for you to resist. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until you're sure that you have your emotions in check.

• Don't deprive yourself. When you're trying to achieve a weight-loss goal, you may limit your calories too much, eat the same foods frequently and banish the treats you enjoy. This may just serve to increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Let yourself enjoy an occasional treat and get plenty of variety to help curb cravings.

• Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a low-fat, low-calorie snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with low-fat dip or unbuttered popcorn. Or try low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.

• Learn from setbacks. If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and make a plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you're making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that'll lead to better health.

When to seek professional help

If you've tried self-help options but you still can't get control of your emotional eating, consider therapy with a professional mental health provider. Therapy can help you understand the motivations behind your emotional eating and help you learn new coping skills. Therapy can also help you discover whether you may have an eating disorder, which is sometimes connected to emotional eating.

Source
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342

References

1. Duyff RL. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 4th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons; 2012:41.
2. Macht M. How emotions affect eating: A five-way model. Appetite. 2008;50:1.
3. Habhab S, et al. The relationship between stress, dietary restraint, and food preferences in women. Appetite. 2009;52:437.
4. Hill AJ. The psychology of food craving. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2007;66:277.
5. Laitinen J, et al. Stress-related eating and drinking behavior and body mass index and predictors of this behavior. Preventive Medicine. 2002;34:29.
6. Zeratsky KA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 3, 2012.
7. Hensrud DD, et al. The Mayo Clinic Diet. Intercourse, Penn.: Good Books; 2010:154.

The Most Satisfying Way to Lose Weight

1. Keep track of your choices. 

Write down what you're eating and when. Being mindful is so powerful.

2. Manage emotional eating. 

Ask yourself: "Am I really hungry? Or am I eating for a reason like stress or anger?" Learn how to replace emotional eating behaviors with other activities like walking or taking a hot bath.

3. You are more than a number on the scale. 

 Don't let that number control your life! Instead, just keep doing the next healthy thing, one step at a time. Also track progress in your energy level, sleep quality, fit of your clothing, how you feel, concentration level, and mood. Scale weight is only one minor way to measure success and results.

4. Make it fun! 

Keep your journey enjoyable by getting your friends involved in trying a new workout class together, testing recipes from a healthy cookbook, or growing a garden together. Find exercises, food choices, and people that make your lifestyle so fun you can't not keep it up.

5. Spread the love. 

Be a model for others. Ultimately, you are changing your habits for you, but it can also be very motivating to serve as an inspiration for your children, your family, and friends.

SOURCE:
http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-strategies/most-satisfying-way-lose-weight