That's Fit

I guess at times I'd consider myself an emotional eater. Sometimes I eat for comfort. Sometimes I eat when I'm stressed. Occasionally, I eat to satisfy a craving that seems bigger than my power to keep it at bay.

Emotional eating stops many of us, especially women, from reaching our healthiest weights. To get a handle on this type of eating, you've got to look at the problems behind it, says Susan Lolen-Hoeksema, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Yale University and author of Eating, Drinking, Overthinking.

Some emotional eaters indulge in the form of celebration when they're happy or excited. Many more eat when sad, stressed, lonely, or angry. In one study, women ate 23 percent more than normal after suffering a blow to their self-esteem. Why exactly does this happen?

"When you're eating, you can escape reality and just focus on the physical sensations, not your problems," says Nolen-Hoeksema. There also may be a biological basis for this trend in eating.

Food alters the brain's chemistry the instant it touches the taste buds. "Many foods, carbohydrates in particular, are natural antidepressants, boosting serotonin levels and making you feel both relaxed and revived," says Judith J. Wurtman, Ph.D., coauthor of The Serotonin Power Diet. When we eat, especially if we binge, our bodies release dopamine, a pleasure chemical. We all know the catch: The good feelings don't last. After our feast, we realize our problems still exist. Plus, we feel badly about overeating.

While there's no surefire way to kick emotional eating forever, there are a few steps we can take to minimize our chances of caving to our guilty pleasures.

• Get out your food diary. Document your habits and watch for patterns you might avoid in the future.

• Create a diversion. Write down a few non-food-related activities that make you feel good (like reading, watching TV, getting a massage) and turn to these instead of the fridge. If exercise makes you feel good, put this on your list and jump on the treadmill when the food urge strikes. You'll not only skirt the binge, you'll burn calories too.

• Ask for help. Reach out to friends, family, a weight loss group, or a therapist when the going gets tough.

• Be easy on yourself. Chances are, you'll fall prey to your favorite foods now and then. That's OK. Forgive yourself and move on. It's all any of us can do.