A lot of weight problems due to emotional eating. If you can learn to control emotional eating, it will be easier to maintain a healthy weight.

When you reach for something to eat, stop and ask yourself if you really are hungry. If you are, then by all means, go ahead and eat. Take time to eat and enjoy your food. By not eat quickly, you will be able to stop when you are full.

If you’re not really hungry even try to find out why you want to eat. Do you feel stressed, bored, anxious, lonely or depressed? If yes, then look for ways to deal with what you feel besides food. If you are stressed, anxious or bored, take a walk or do some other form of exercise. If you feel lonely or depressed, you should write your feelings down in a journal or call and talk to a trusted friend.

Do you carry over habits you learned in your childhood? Many times, parents will reward children with cookies or candy for anything that was demonstrated. Do you reward yourself with food? If yes, find another way to celebrate your successes without food.

Also be aware of your eating habits when you’re out with friends. Social eating can be a form of emotional eating. Do you eat because food is readily available, and everyone else is eating? Again, if you’re hungry, then eat, but be aware of how much you eat.

If you must eat, choose healthy foods. Drink water instead of soda, reach for baby carrots or popcorn (without butter, of course!) Instead of chips.

The key to getting emotional eating under control is really to be aware of why you eat and solve the problem in another way.