Hypnotherapist Susan Hepburn has helped plenty of celebrities, including singer Lily Allen and Hollywood actress Thandie Newton, to lose weight by teaching them to eat more ‘mindfully’.
“If you’re an emotional eater, your primary source of comfort is eating,” says Susan. “Food is used as a reward if you’ve had a bad day, or cheer yourself up after a row with a boyfriend.”
Susan explains that while ‘mindful’ eaters feel satisfied after a meal, emotional eaters experience a thrill while they are eating which is soon followed by guilt and shame.
“With physical hunger, you stop eating when you are full. But emotional hunger isn’t satisfied by a full stomach and that can lead to overeating,” she adds.
The good news is that none of us are born with an emotional eating habit, so its something you can change.
What causes emotional eating?
Common reasons for emotional eating include sadness, loneliness, anxiety, boredom and stress.
It can also be triggered by positive emotions, such as rewarding yourself for a good day at work. The danger is that this eating pattern can lead to weight gain and low self-esteem.
Susan suggests keeping a food diary for two weeks, listing everything you eat and drink, and also noting your mood and emotions at the time.
She explains: “A food diary will help you to unpick the emotional associations you have with food and to understand your triggers.
“Mindful eating means eating consciously, and that stops emotions hijacking the process and demanding an immediate pay off with food.”
Next time you want to eat because you’re feeling happy, stressed, anxious or bored, Susan suggests putting down the cupcake and interrupting that thought by repeating one of the below phrases to yourself. By stopping to think, you’ll be able to recognise if you’re really hungry…
-“I will always find positive ways to deal with my anxiety and emotional stress. Food is not the answer”
-“I ignore false messages of hunger- it’s just my emotions trying to trick me into eating”
-“I am in complete control of my thoughts and my actions and will never overeat again”
-“I love my body and I want to take good care of it by eating correctly”
Six top tips to help you STOP overeating
Steps to think yourself slimmer, with Susan Hepburn
1 of 6Discover your inner calm
Try Susan’s technique for calm: Hold your left wrist in the palm of your right hand, then focus on the soft feeling of the skin on the back of your wrist until your craving passes.
2 of 6Distract yourself with exercise
Get outside and take a brisk 20-minute walk. Try to include some sort of physical activity in your life every day, as exercise is a great stress reducer, which boosts your mood and energy levels.
3 of 6Listen to music
Like physical exercise, music also has an amazing power to lift your mood in an instant. When you feel a craving coming on, put on a favourite song and play it loud. Dancing is completely optional.
4 of 6Deep breathe for one minute
When you feel the urge to eat, take five deep breaths- this will allow you time to reflect. In just one minute, the craving will pass and you will feel more able to resist the urge to eat.
5 of 6Dare to face your feelings
Allow yourself to feel your emotions, however difficult. Remind yourself that a specific emotional trigger is making you want to eat, not hunger. Emotions subside when you face them head on.
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6 of 6Enjoy your food
When you eat, really focus on the wonderful textures and flavours of the food. If you eat slowly, and chew your mouthful thoroughly, you will eat less as your body will register that it feels fuller. Clever, eh!