On Saturday, I posted “Stop Emotional Eating.” We were snowed-in here in the Mid-Atlantic area. What that meant is being around food, food, and more food.

According to one of my readers,

Your comments along with a video that I stumbled upon inspired me to write about mindless eating, again!

Your will-power is not as strong as you think

In the first post, I gave examples of things you can say to yourself to prevent emotional eating. Someone responded,

“What is wrong with me?” You might think. “Why did I fail so miserably?”

Nothing, my dear. We put so much faith in our will-power when we shouldn’t. We make hundreds of food-related decisions each day. If you can say no to candy 10 or 15 times, by the 16th time, you have no energy left. Instead of “I’m not hungry, I don’t need it” attitude, you’ll be in “oh well, can’t do it anymore” attitude.

What to do? Self-empowering positive talk helps stop emotional eating, but in a bad environment it won’t succeed. Change your surroundings. For example, when we visit relatives, I love the look of their homemade baked goods sitting on the kitchen counter. But I dare not do it at my home. It takes too much mental effort to eat just one or two pieces.

You’re probably thirsty, not hungry

Someone else pointed out that many times, you just need a drink; not sugar, fat, or calories. I agree. When you feel a temptation to eat, chug down a glass of water first.

If you’re simply thirsty, water has done its job–to hydrate you. If you still want food, then water helped fill you up a little. You’re likely to munch on less.

How easy would it be to get 8 cups of water a day if you drink every time you step in the kitchen for a bite? Very.

You eat with your eyes, not your stomach

According to Brian Wansink, a leader in nutrition research on mindless eating and author of the book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think people eat with their eyes. The two things that determine why people eat are convenience and visibility, he says. Watch the video.

Reduce the convenience of eating non-nutritious stuff. Other than putting the candy jar far from your arms reach, what can you do at your home or work? Can you place unhealthy foods out of reach inside your pantry or fridge? How about a bowl of fruit on your counter top or washed and pre-cut vegetables in your fridge?

Use visibility to your advantage. Scoop out the food you’re planning on eating and see how much it is instead of munching from the bag. Leave evidence of your crime, like candy wraps, to track how much you’ve eaten.

What are your ideas? Share with us…