Non Diet solutions to permanent weight loss

Emotional eating is often a coping mechanism to deal with all the conflicting and mostly overwhelming thoughts that are constants in our heads. We have developed many coping mechanisms to deal with stress and anxiety brought on by these thoughts and challenges which show up in our daily lives. Food becomes the distraction, because it enables us to not have to dwell on a thought or feeling that doesn't make us feel good. Unfortunately this often doesn't work for long.

The answer is not about seeking an external distraction, because that does nothing to replace or modify the debilitating thought or feeling we are trying to deal with. A better approach is really to work from the inside replacing the thoughts we do not like with some other much more pleasant thoughts and feelings. Methods we can use to achieve this include adapting a hobby, especially one which enables you to be active physically or using any self-improvement activity or process that really engages you mentally in a positve way.

It's about doing things which make for sustained improvement in our wellbeing unlike the short lived "good feeling” we get from emotional eating.

There are several ways by which you can begin to end the cycle of emotional eating. Consider these:

1. Work on your ability to deal with stresses. When you invest in your emotional wellbeing, you are less likely to eat in excess. It is challenging to change the way we respond to stress and emotional unrest. But it can be done. One technique that has worked for many is the Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.

2. Understand your body. Each person is not built the same way. Our bodies and how they function is very unique to each of us. Taking the time to fully understand how your body works in terms of hunger cues, what frequency of meals work best for you, your metabolic rate etc, would help you make changes that could result not only in a fitter but an overall healthier body. Being healthy is is even more important than just weight loss.

3. Recognize real hunger. Are you really satisfying your hunger or are you merely satisfying the need to subdue stress, discomfort, boredom etc. External stimulus like sight or smell are precursors to psychological hunger where we don't eat because of internal cues of true hunger. If you are intuned to what your body is telling you, then you will know when to say no to these stimuli.

The road to ending emotional eating begins first with awareness and then a willingness to change. This is a core issue which must be addressed before we can experience any sustained permanent weight loss.

If you have something to say about dieting, the Non-Diet Approach to weight loss or have tried one of the non-diet programs mentioned here, you can join the conversation and comment below.