Negative emotions and stresses are dangerous not only for their exhausting action on the body, but also for the fact that the person testing them often starts to eat a lot. A “seizing” of stress and negative emotions inevitably leads to the appearance of extra pounds, which do not add a slender figure. In order to avoid such troubles, it is important to learn to take yourself in time. What can be done to stop eating on emotions?
Why do people seek to get rid of stress through various sweets and other high-calorie foods?
The human body seems to be programmed to quickly pass the shelves with useful vegetables and fruits and go to the trays with fragrant baking. Why does this happen? It’s very simple – when a person consumes carbohydrate-rich foods rich in fat and sugar, a stimulating center of pleasure of dopamine begins to be developed in his brain. And, as you know, anyone wants to systematically enjoy, so he does not deny himself a wide variety of sweets. However, the systematic use of fatty foods and sweets can increase not only the level of dopamine, but also the level of a number of other substances related to pleasure.
The desire to eat during stress something sweet is also scientifically justified – when using all sorts of sweets in the human body begins to develop and responsible for a surge in energy cortisol. Also, the researchers managed to establish that a person is inclined to abuse precisely those dishes with which he has the most pleasant memories, because this is one of the ways to at least briefly return to those very happy times! So there is something to think about!
Learn how to determine how much you want to eat
The most important thing in this difficult matter is to learn how to distinguish the emotional hunger from the real. This will make it possible to understand whether you really want to eat at one time or another, and stop the endless “seizing” of stress. In fact, it is not so difficult to do this – emotional hunger always appears suddenly, and it is almost impossible to endure it. And he almost always leaves a feeling of guilt.
Not bad helps and evaluation of their own feelings of hunger on a ten-point scale, in which one means “I absolutely do not want to eat,” and a dozen – “I’m ready to swallow an elephant.” In this case, you should try to honestly answer yourself to the question of whether you really want to eat right now or if you just need to have a light meal. In about a couple of weeks, this simple tactic will necessarily bring the first positive results, because with its help it will not be difficult to learn to “slow down” in time, which in turn will help to avoid the extremely undesirable overeating.
It is equally important to constantly maintain in the body and a sufficiently high level of responsible for good mood substances. To do this, it is desirable to eat foods that contain good carbohydrates (various fruits, legumes, whole grains, etc.) and healthy fats (they can always be obtained from fish, olive oil and almonds). But heavy and fatty food, attractively peeking out of the refrigerator, it makes sense to force other products.
Time for reflection
Before you start the next meal, it’s worth giving yourself ten or twenty minutes for meditation, that is, if you want you can take and eat any tasty morsel, but not earlier than after this time! This waiting period is a kind of buffer between food and man.
Do not try to seduce yourself once again by spreading delicious cakes or sweets on the table, and all the chocolates stored at home can be safely placed in the freezer, so that before they can eat it, you have to spend a certain amount of time to defrost them. And there, who knows, perhaps, already will not want chocolate. By the way, this is a very effective method of destroying the scheme of emotional gluttony!
The unique STOP technique
Psychologists recommend using enough effective technique “STOP” to combat overeating, including several consecutive steps. First you need to stop and take a deep breath to concentrate, that is, as soon as the first signs of stress appear, you should immediately stop and stop any action. And only after that you can take a deep breath. This action is performed several times – slowly inhale air, and then exhale it is necessary until the state is normalized. Then you should realize all your feelings and thoughts. As soon as clarity of thought is found, you can immediately continue interrupted earlier actions. And there is no longer want to!
Walking
Unhurried walks are one of the simplest and at the same time incredibly effective “medicines” for fighting negative emotions. Getting an impressive portion of fresh air, the body comes back to normal much faster. That’s why at the first opportunity, experts recommend going on foot to the nearest park or park. In doing so, during a walk, you must think about something positive and good – after a while, the stress will evaporate by itself, as if it did not exist at all. If you start to mentally go deep into the problems, you can only aggravate the situation. The slow rhythm of the steps will help to calm down quickly and tune in to inner harmony, and the nervous system will gradually begin to come out of the stressful state.
A diary
To stop “seizing” stress can help and maintain a diary – in no case should you keep negative emotions in yourself! Of course, you can open your fears and fears to a close friend, but not always and not everyone has such an opportunity. And do not always want to devote other people to their own problems. The most optimal option in this situation will be the diary – a description of the current situation will help not only look at it from the side, but also distract from the edible. And when all the negative will be splashed onto the paper, the tension will gradually go away, and it will be much easier to pull yourself together. Moreover, often this approach helps to find solutions to a particular problem. Psychologists claim that keeping a diary is one of the best ways to control overcoming emotions.
It is important not to forget that constant experiences, carried somewhere in the depths of the soul, can lead to the development of all kinds of ailments. So do not all save in yourself – any emotions must certainly be given a way!
Physical exercises
In the process of training, the human body receives a powerful charge of vivacity, which means that during any experience it makes sense to go for a small jog or exercise yourself with any physical exercises. Concentration on physical exertion helps to significantly reduce stress. By the way, in this difficult matter even such a relatively quiet sport as a game of chess can help!
An excellent assistant in the fight against overeating will be yoga – it not only helps to strengthen different muscle groups, but also in every possible way tends to calm. The body during the yoga classes gradually relaxes, and the feelings and thoughts are ordered. Both sport and yoga in every possible way contribute to the reduction of the stress hormone, which is why after such activities a person becomes calm and free from negative emotions.
All of the above does not at all mean that you must immediately begin to exhaust yourself with enormous loads – it is enough to limit yourself to half an hour of fitness or yoga or a short jog.
Talking to yourself
This is another effective technique that helps to avoid the insidious “seizing” of stress and consists in the forced interruption of the vicious circle of thoughts. To do this as quickly as possible, you need to ask yourself the question: “How can I look at the situation differently?”. That is, any situation should be viewed and assessed from several sides at once – this will allow not only to take oneself in hand and tune into a constructive way, but also to find solutions to the problem.
Do not immediately go to the refrigerator under the influence of emotions – better try using the above recommendations and techniques, because in order to cope with the negative, it is not at all necessary to weave for both cheeks high-calorie chocolates and sweet buns!