Are you out of control?

Sometimes the strongest cravings for food happen when you are feeling emotionally weak.Major life events and the problems of everyday life can trigger the urge to overeat and this usually includes too many high calorie, sweet, savoury and fatty foods. Emotional eating may be used to suppress or soothe negative emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, boredom and loneliness.

The problem is that emotional eating does not solve anything. It becomes a vicious circle, with a brief moment of comfort followed by feelings of guilt and regret. The worse people feel about themselves, the more they use food as a coping mechanism. Sometimes the urge to eat is constant and people find themselves eating continuously throughout the day. As body weight increases it becomes stressful and uncomfortable to exercise and lack of physical activity leads to more weight gain.

When people lose control of their eating they may find themselves eating normally in front of others but overeating when they are alone. They can rapidly eat large amounts of food but barely taste what they are eating. Some people never feel satisfied, no matter how much they eat.