Long-Term Strategies to Overcome Emotional Eating

In this empowering finale of our series (3/3) on emotional eating, where we delve into sustainable strategies to conquer this challenge for good. In this episode, we explore how tailored therapeutic approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can revolutionize the way you handle emotional eating by addressing the core psychological elements. We'll break down how CBT helps modify negative thoughts and behaviors associated with food, and how ACT encourages you to accept emotions and commit to behavior changes aligned with your deepest values. Plus, discover actionable tips on incorporating diet and nutrition planning, regular physical activity, and essential lifestyle adjustments that support mental and emotional well-being. Whether you're seeking to break free from the cycle of emotional eating or aiming to enhance your relationship with food, this episode offers the tools and insights you need to achieve lasting change.

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Transcript

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Recording in progress. Hey and welcome to this fitness podcast. Today's episode is part three of three for emotional eating, and especially for stress eating. So if you didn't listen first two episodes, you can find them my previous episodes in my podcast. So we were we were talking. First episode was all about understanding emotional eating. So that was kind of things, what you are able to recognize if you are actually struggling with emotional eating, and first initial steps, then episode number two was all about coping mechanism, understanding why things are happening, why you are creating food in your body. And then strategy is how to actually get immediate help and start to improve. And today's episode is all about long term strategies to overcome emotional eating. So these are, these are all sustainable strategies, and this is, with these strategies what we are going to talk today, you are able to hopefully get rid of emotional eating or good or at least reduce it significantly. So this is, this is going to hopefully help you so much so. So this is, this is, ultimately, it's not going to be, it's going to take some effort. It's going to take some time. So goal is always to achieving the balanced relationship with food. And as you probably know, it's not going to happen overnight. And if you are listening now couple 30 minute podcasts, it's not going to be solved, but these are hopefully going to be the first steps towards healthier relationship with the food. So, so let's get into this topic and talk about that, these things. So how it always like, as we talked about those all kind of strategies, but what is one of the most beneficial and helpful thing, what you can do against emotional eating, or eating for emotions, especially for stress eating, it could be for boredom, anything. And this is this. It comes all down to planning and planning your meals. So if you are, if you are planning, like we said, that it's, it's in the first episode, we learned that it's not always about that you are eating for emotion. Sometimes you might be actually hungry and it's, it's very hard to actually recognize that. What is the difference? And when you are having those cravings that you are feeling like snacking, there might be actually a reason that you are actually you're actually missing some important macronutrients, calories, and for that reason, you end up snacking. You end up having those cravings. What do you think that there is something wrong with you? So if you are able to plan things ahead, and I know that if you say that you don't have a lot of time, you don't need to take a lot of time like it's just that if you are able to plan at least your protein sources, maybe your fiber sources, and having some kind of idea that what, what kind of snacks you are going to have with you. So if you, if you if you are, if you have like, if, when those emotional situations happen and you are, you have healthier snacks available, there's a lot bigger chances that you are going to grab those healthier options than if you are, if you are going without planning, without being prepared in these situations. And then it's kind of that fight of light mode you are choosing, trusting your impulsion, impulse, impulses, and you end up eating something, what you then maybe later on, you think that that didn't Well went as planned. So, so making, making, uh sure that you have those enough, uh enough, uh macronutrients. And if you're not sure what is, what is the most important thing is, is to have that so that you eat around calories you need. That is the most important thing. Then important macronutrients is the protein and fiber, basically everything else doesn't really matter. Carbohydrates, yes, do they? They do matter for your energy levels. If your goal is to, if you are working out, you need them. It's, it's going to be they are energy, source of energy for all goals. But I'm not going to talk too many, too much about macro nutrients. It's about just the making, making sure that that you have those balance like a kind of variety of nutrients to satisfy your body and mind. And this is the, this is the key part, though I will I have for me planning. There are several episodes in my coaching programs. We go in depth in all of these things. So then second thing, what is, what is kind of like? It's not always, because the first one is always what you are eating. So this is when you are prepared to plant. It helps. But second thing, if you don't have always access that what you are going to eat, that you can you don't have that option, or you forgot to meal plan what to do then, then it's all about not what you are eating, but how you are eating. And there it comes, all about mindful eating. So if you think like that, those mindful eating tips, what is, what is, what is mindful eating first of all, and it's, it's, we talked about it little bit in our previous episodes. But in short, there's a quick checklist, what I what I love to send every once in a while for my clients as a reminder. Because even I'm pretty sure you have heard about these things, we still tend to forget these things, because it that's how human nature is going so, but it's, it's just that pick checklist, what you can do before your every meal or every time you are about to put something. So first of all, that you you are sitting, you are not eating on a bowl, and don't give that excuse that you don't have time. No, you have to sit every time, then you are eating without distractions. So there is no you are not going to watch phone, you are not going to do something else while you are eating. So take your time to enjoy every bite and eating without destruction. So only only these things, these are going to help you more than you believe. If you are not currently doing them, then third step is, basically what I love to have, is to have a glass of water before your meal. So this is, this makes you feel fuller when you are already full or starting to get full, and making sure that you are hyped to step number four is that you stop eating when you start to feel full. So I love to use this here is like 80% when you start to feel but 80% full. But this is something like that. What I always I struggle with myself too, that. How the hell I should know if I'm 70% or 85 person? But it's, it's kind of thing that you start to feel full, and that is the moment when you should stop being and thinking like that. If you are not sure, stop right before you are feeling, because it takes like, 1520, minutes before your brain actually get this, gets that information from your stomach that you are actually full. And especially if you are eating, eating very fast, then it's you often you can you stop earlier, and then you recognize that, okay, I actually don't need more. You can eat it. And if you if, in the worst case, if it happens that you are still hungry after 15 minutes waiting, you can always eat more. So this is kind of those are quick, quick things, obviously. Then there's a you can add, putting your fork down every time, biting eating as basically, it's just as low as you can. And those are, those, are those mindful eating. There are so many or a couple more tips what you would be doing. But if you get started with these, these things, that's a great start. And this is all about how you are eating, instead of, instead of eating like what you are eating. So then, long term, sorry, is what, what we talked already in previous episodes, little bit is a little bit like kind of cognitive behavior therapy. And this, this is not, this is not like a, not some therapist or anything, but this is a little bit combination. I'll explain how it works. So you have idea. We talked about this in in the previous episodes, and these are often the best long term services. So it's a it's a form of psychotherapy that aims to change pattern of thinking or behavior that are behind people's difficulties, so So since the way they feel so this, I had to read it, because I, like I said, I'm not that. I'm not some therapist, but this is basically what, what I have been doing without actually knowing what I'm doing, and I'm when I have a couple of clients who are actually therapists, and they were always like, they were telling me, like that, wow, this is, did you know that today how you're talking, it's this kind of therapy, that you would be great doing it. And I was like that. I have no idea i This is the person who I am and how I am, but I have no idea. I haven't started any Hello G or something. But this is basically, I read a lot. I try to, I work with a lot of people. What I have worked for the people, but I'm not, I don't follow some model of geologic so, so I can't even pronounce it. So, so this is just basically how you can apply that cognitive behavioral therapy to effective to address it because it tackles the root causes. So basically, the root causes are often the negative thoughts and feelings that lead to the behavior. So if you if you think that how this one is then working for emotional eating. So it's identifying those triggers. So, like, the first series of this emotional eating episode, it start to you, start to helping, like, identify the specific situations, emotional states and thought patterns that trigger for that emotional eating so this could be stress, it could be boredom, sadness, or maybe even some social situation. So basically, you just have to learn from your parents. That's the always the first step, what is the root cause? What is when it's happening? And learning those your triggers, and then when you have when you are having those negative thoughts, then it starts that you are, you are challenging those your negative thoughts. So once you have triggers, you have identified those triggers. So you are, you are next step is challenging those negative thoughts. So So you are you are learning how to change those negative thoughts. So, for example, those thoughts that I must eat up in a healthier way. So this is like, this is like what we talk in episode two, defining those healthier and already before this episode defining those healthier solutions. So if your mind is like that, you are craving for some potato chips, if you buy them, like resistive potato chips, or you have prepared that you have already prepared in advance. You have made potato chips yourself, so you still give that same thing, but just a healthier option for your brain. And it's not, it's not too bad thing if you are craving something sweet, if you have available some berries, like a strawberries or frozen berries with the Greek this is something what, what I personally love like if you have just if you are, for example, craving ice cream. What my wife have been doing recently is just that, basically Greek EU court with frozen berries, putting it into a mixer and without sugar, without anything, it tastes so good and high in protein, high in fiber, because, of course, this like a kind of ice cream, but healthier version, without added sugars. So obviously it's not that exactly the same thing, but then the real thing. But if you if this happens often, it's all about finding those, those healthier ways for your railings, and then that behavior experiment. So how is that, then that cognitive behavior there is. So it's working that it involves testing this new thought patterns through behavioral experiments. So for emotional eating, it could be meaning, like implementing those alternative actions. So when, when the urge to eat from emotion arises, like, if you eat the church to eat, like, now I'm stressed, I need to eat, but then you replace that action for something else. You are waiting for five minutes. You go for a walk. You are engaging with the hobby. You can clean the house. You can call a friend. So, so this is just the testing new alternative behaviors. And this is, these are, these are the long term surrogates. And there is no one thing that works for all. It's all about testing, trying new, different things. What works for you individually, and if it's not working for the first time, stay patient, keep trying for a couple more times, because this is, this is it's not if you have struggled with emotional eating and coping, different coping mechanism for past 30 years, you can't expect that with within a couple days or a week you are going to fix all these problems, once and for good. So, so then second, then, how this kind of skills, this techniques, going to learn how to deal with the problems and reduce the stress that the that, and that was that stress is ultimately cautioned, that emotional healing so so you are learning to deal the stress like we talked in the previous episode, where breathing exercises and some muscle Relax relaxation exercises, and these are all kind of techniques that you could, you could be trying to reduce that stress and that you don't have that urge of eating foods, what you want, so, so what you what you always do when you feel stressed. So, and this is then, ultimately, the step, step, what you would be doing is this, just that you are keeping the track for things, how things are working, if you can actually measure them and when, when these are happening. Like this is first like, just to identifying those triggers, but also emotions, like what you have been eating and how you are feeling, so kind of that food diary for emotional ears is not only that what you are eating, but also the emotions felt that the time to just to increase your self awareness and control. So when you when you are able to see that while this I feel that I feel bored, I feel stressed, and now I need to eat. And then, you know you wrote, you write down what you were eating, what happened. And then when you become aware of these emotions, why this is happening, and then it's so much easier to understand that if you start to talk to yourself, that, okay, I feel stressed. I'm craving ice cream. So it's that's first of all. And if you, in the end, if you end up eating ice cream, that's totally fine, but you have then that, Okay, what else I would be doing? So would it be? Could it be that taking those actions, should it? Should I start to implement some stress relieving exercises, like breathing exercise first, just for a minute to should I go for a walk? Should I do some physical activity and to deal with the stress and not suppress that unwanted feeling with the food, and then, if it's not food, or you can, if you still decide to suppress those feelings with the food, you can that you can ask yourself, are you going to have some more balanced or healthier version of that? What I originally wanted that would be the would that be helpful? And then then ultimately, that making just this is if you are going to eat or not. So then that's, that's kind of, that's cognitive therapy, what is in the long term thing and and then, ultimately, like that. There is a there is a Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. And this is, this is something, what I'm, what I'm very good, or I don't like to put myself, but what I'm, what I'm, what I have seen that this works so well for the most of the people I work with, because we are, we tend to be so hard on ourselves, like, you know, we are, we are, you know, if everything is going good, you are, you're having perfectly, perfect week we you lead to all your workouts. You were eating mostly healthy, you slept good. But then you are, like, end of the week that okay, it was what it should be. And then when you have a week that everything wasn't perfect, there was one bad day, you were eating or drinking a lot more than you should be doing. You missed one workout, and then we feel so much guilt about that, and it's it's kind of same thing that that with that emotional eating, so Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, it's, that's the name of that kind of therapy thing. So it's, it's, it usually is basically acceptance and mindful mindfulness strategies mixed in a different ways with the commitment and behavior change strategies to increase that geological flexibility. So, so why? Why this is, then this kind of approach is helping with with emotional eating, because it helps you to accept your emotions and thoughts without judgment, focusing on aligning your actions with your values rather than immediate impulses. So, so this is, this is, firstly, how this is then working in a real life. Is that that ACD so that, basically, you are learning to accept your emotions and cravings without acting on them. So this is, this is going to be huge, if you are like, if you you feel that kind of diary, learning what you are feeling, how you are feeling, and then you understand that, okay, I'm, I'm now, I'm stressed. I don't need to. It's it's a normal feeling. It's normal emotion. Maybe I'm bored, whatever, whatever emotion you are feeling. And then, like that, you don't need to act right away, immediately on them. So instead fighting or feeling guilty about cravings, that you understand that this, this is a feeling that it will, it will, it's, it's, it will pass. And I don't need to do anything on it. So when you are stressed, okay, it's, I don't like to be stressed. There's a lot, lot of things to do, but it will pass, like, maybe just in a couple hours or couple days, stress is gone. If you are bored, then you are bored. But make, make you can make yourself busy if it's something what you don't want to feel, because this is how our brain is working. You are you need to get kind of that immediate satisfaction and immediate. Do something against it. And this is, like, kind of long term. It's always the delay, like, there's, there was a, I'm sure you have, or I know if you have heard this is like the marshmallow test when, when they were giving for the kids like that, they could, they were, I can't remember now exactly, but that's basically understanding like that kids that they could choose that either they get one marshmallow now right away, or if they are willing to wait for a couple hours, they would get five or something like that. And there is, there is a, it's a big, big. It was a big study at the time, and those people who decided to, or those kids who decided that immediate satisfaction, and they were in delay later in the life, they were doing not so well as those who were able to delay that satisfaction, and then they got more. So this is kind of all thinking, like, if you think that long term, there's always short term solution. What is always that tempting and it's so hard? Like it's about everything. It's about emotional eating. It's about working out, like there's nobody who is motivated all the time, but you know that in the long, long term, to feel better, you have to take that unwanted action. And it's same thing with the emotional eating. And this is, this is something like that. If you if you are not able to take it, then often the reason is that your reason why you are doing it. It's not strong enough, so you have to find more meaningful reason, more painful reason, why you have to be able to do these long term things. Because if you don't have that strong enough reason, you will always be struggling with that. And that's why all my coaching programs, I always want to start, to start with your, what is your WHY training? And it's, it's some it's a training what will make you cry? And if it doesn't, it's, you have to repeat it until you really get emotional. And when I did it for myself, I understood like this, this is now not only about emotion leading, but for my own workouts. And when I did it, I understood that I went deeper in my thoughts, and I understood that my mind motivation, what I'm actually doing, it starts all always from love, from my dad. What was basically something, what I was missing I didn't probably get enough I wanted, and then it was always like, kind of pleasuring my dad what he wanted. Now he unfortunately passed away. I, I, I loved him, even he was probably not the best loving father of what UBI Madison to have, but it's still like trying to be good enough for him was is basically worst for me, or it is still kind of a reason, what I'm aiming for, what I'm doing and understanding that and when, when I saw his struggles with his health, when he was laying in a bed not able to lost his all his muscle mass, ability to walk, at age of 60, and passed away, unfortunately at age of 70, without having a Basically any life quality for the past five, six years of his life, and I was like that, okay, this is something, what I am willing to do everything in my power to avoid. And this fear and this pain is always it's in my mind, it's greater than the pain of fear of doing those things. Now what I know that I need be doing, and that's basically how I very rarely struggle with my consistency. I I'm not motivated. I hate doing my strength training. I don't always with eating. It's not I'm not the perfect person. I do it, not always, like mostly healthy, but there will be, there is always. I love enjoyment too. I like to enjoy food, drinks so, but trying to have kind of moderation in those things and and that's, that's basically why you should be always starting. It's not about being perfect, but because in the end, you are some of your habits what you are doing now. And that is kind of thinking that what you are doing now, it's that you are some of your actions today in next five years. So you might not see the difference in tomorrow, but in six months, year from now, five years from today, you are some from your actions, and you might be okay now, but longer you keep avoiding work, what you know you need to be doing, it's it's going to be, It's more likely it is that you will struggle in the long term. So, but this is, was a little bit side note for for my accidents and these things how we feel guilty. So basically, this is, this is those feelings, they come and go and and then you are understanding that what is truly important and meaningful for you. So if that your health, well being or relationships, that what is actually important for you. And then when you understand those your values. So if, for example, if you struggle with emotional eating. So it might be you, you might want to focus on long term wellness and your how, how your eating behaviors are aligning with this value. So how to, then, how to apply this kind of, this Acceptance and Commitment their therapy? So it's basically that you are setting realistic away achievable goals that are aligned with your values. So for emotional eating, it could be having some goals around healthy eating, mindful eating, like and and kind of your how you are responding rather than reacting. So it's not always it's, this is the hardest thing to understand, that it's, it's not always that how you are, how you are actually responding when things are not going well. So what is, what is how you how you talk to yourself, how you are, if, because it's, it's always like that. It's so much easier to talk, talk in a way like that. You know, I'm a fucking idiot or something, but why? I didn't do these things. But this is the best advice. What I always love to tell to people who are struggling with this, to think, think of your best friend if you had a bad week and you end up you your goal is to improve your emotional eating. You ended up feeling emotionally for your stress, or whatever feelings you were feeling, or something didn't go as planned. And then you are talking to yourself like that, immediate what I just did now, I I must punish myself with the workout. I won't I will start to skip meals. And then think about like this, what you would tell your best friend in this situation, you won't talk in a way you talk to yourself, so try to talk yourself in a way that you would talk to your best friend, who would just tell you exactly the same thing? And that's why, like being a coach, it's kind of very simple, but we are so hard on ourselves and saying that what you would if, if I would just explain to you, this is my favorite, faces, phrases, what I tell to my clients is that what you just told me, if I would tell you the same thing, what you would advise, what advice you would give to me. And then they are like that, yeah, probably like, don't be so hard on yourself. And it's one day, it's a couple days. It doesn't matter in the long term. Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to hear and and these are, these are, ultimately what is, what is to happen, and when you sit these kind of goals, like, what is, what are aligned with your values, trying to be kind of that mindful, and ending, going to the mindful mindfulness and mindful eating, focusing on the present moment and making choices that are aligned with your goals and values, rather than trying to trying to suppress those unwanted feelings of temporary emotions. So these are basically those kind of long term strategies, and then obviously, what is, what is reducing stress, like long term strategies, it's always kind of incorporating some kind of regular physical activity. So this is, this is especially being outside, doing some walks. Walking is, is it's by far the simplest, by far the most beneficial exercise, what you could be doing. So don't it's at least for me and reducing stress. It's my my therapy is going for a walk every Sunday, going to a hike, or, like almost every Sunday, that is something what helps with the with that emotional eating, and it's it can it can be what you enjoy, what I always remember, it's walking is, and that's a must if you are able To walk. And then some kind of resistance training. It's, this is in a long term, long term study, even if you don't enjoy doing it, but some kind of lifting weights using rubber pants, that's resistance training. That's make your body feel better, decreasing when you feel strong you are feeling that's the best feeling what you can have, and that helps you to feel less stressed. And when you know that you know you are strong, that's that's something. But obviously physical activity, it don't have to be. Most important is that you enjoy doing it. It's something what you what you enjoy doing. So this is this, this, if you what is the when in a long term, when we talk about in a long term, how to actually maintain your results in the long term, it's learning to identify those warning signs. So how, if you because this is, this is one of the hardest things, and it's one of the biggest fears. What when you are when you see that, okay, now you start to see some improvements with your emotional eating, but then you start to see that now I'm going back to my old habits, so you are reverting. This is how our mind, how our bodies are ultimately going like that. You might be able to do it for short time, but when you start to see patterns that you are going back to your sciences. So this was something, what I recently, there were a couple of my clients. We worked together, like four or five years ago, and they reached out recently, they said that now everything went so well for the next two, three years, all strategies they learned and everything they were doing themselves. But then after three, four years, it they started to recognize that now they need a little push again to because they start to go back to old patterns, and this is something, what is such a powerful they were kind of feeling little bit sad like that in my there's something wrong with me. Can I, can I still contact you that it was so helpful at the time we were but, but now it feels like that if I need a game like that's actually a good sign that you are recognizing those patterns, that you are going back to your old habits, and before it's you just let it go, in a way it used to be, you are actually taking action. So it doesn't mean that maybe for for this, like you are able to with that accountability, because we all need in some form of accountability. Otherwise you will lose that motivation or or even you know things, what you should be doing, but you are just not doing them. So some form of accountability, it's we, we are all different, and we need different kind of but it's basically just the most important thing is the learning from your barriers what you are doing. And if you, if you, if there is some warning signs that you start to recognize that you are going back, and then it's time to do something immediately, and not like going, letting yourself to go back. So always, what argument that? What is the smallest thing you can do immediately? So this is, it's emotional eating. Could it be stepping waiting for some of my other people who struggle with the workouts. For example, I said, What is the simplest thing, if you keep telling yourself that you can't work out, you don't have time to work out, how much you have time? Because you have time, but it's a stress initiative. How much if you said you don't have 30 minute time for 30 minute workout? How about 15 minutes? If 15 minutes sounds too much, five minutes? If five minutes, then do one push up. It doesn't matter. Just for yourself what you promised to start taking action with your work ones. So these are kind of kind of strategies when you start to learn from your that you are not reverting those old habits and getting those setbacks. So setbacks you will always they will always happen. They will always in some form. There is no not the one person who is it's like at the once, everything is fixed, and you never need to go back. So there will be setbacks, but it's about how you are learning from them, how you are bouncing back, how fast you are able to get back on drag, push. This is it's all about that, or if you let it be that one you know, once you ended up eating emotionally it it now there's it doesn't matter anymore. And it's kind of same thing. The understanding the progress is that if you struggle with the emotional eating, if you are if you would be eating 10 out of 10 emotionally in these situations, and now you are eating only eight out of 10, so to from then you have improved. And that is, that is the hardest thing to understand, that it's not progress. It's not that you are able to do it perfectly. Progress is that you are able to improve it. So thank you for listening. I really hope these strategies were helpful. If they were, I would appreciate it to let me know in my Instagram, send me DM, send me email, Turo Virta com, and if there's anything else I can help you, just let me know. Obviously, I'm a coach. Coaching is what I do for living. If you need any help with this, I'm planning to do some kind of program. With this one on one coaching is always option, and just shoot me, the EM, email, Dora at feed me to rat po mod in my Instagram. So, thank you for listening, and talk to you. So.