One of the key factors in successful weight loss is identifying eating patterns and determining why you overeat or have certain unhealthy habits. Once we've identified emotional or other eating triggers, it becomes easier to get on the right track to losing and maintaining a healthy weight.

Have you identified any emotional triggers to how you approach food?

How did you overcome any bad eating patterns or emotional triggers toward food?

I used to find myself eating chocolate chip cookies whenever I was sad. Now I don't keep cookies in the house, so if I'm sad I have to find another way to deal with that emotion. Boredom is probably the biggest emotional reason right now that leads me to eat. If I find myself trolling through the kitchen, bored but not hungry, I know it's time to break out the chore list and get busy!

Stress and being emotionally upset trigger my eating every time. I have tried to be aware of it first and foremost. I ask myself why I'm eating and if it will help solve the problem. Doing that mentally helps to remind me that this is just a bad habit and nothing more. Next, I try to find something that will actually help the problem like some time to relax, deep breathing, or writing down my feelings. I still struggle with it, but slowly I'm learning to use new ways to deal with my emotional eating.