Welcome to the Weight Loss Cafe!

My name is Linda, and I’ll be taking care of you today. I’ll also be planning, cooking and serving your meal. And later, I’ll clear your table so you can have some more.

At this cafe, we serve only the BEST at our “all you can eat” buffet. So if you get tired of one subject area, you can order up something else.

I’m here almost every day, and I LOVE visiting with my regular customers. So speak up and tell me what’s on your mind. I’ll look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.

Here… try it out. Just click on “comments” below this post and tell me what you’d like to see on the menu at the cafe.

Invite all your friends too. We have unlimited seating and you can stay all day if you wish. So grab your favorite beverage, put your feet up, and enjoy this lively place.

Just yell “Hey Linda” whenever you need me. Or send me an email. That might be even faster.

To stop emotional eating, you first have to recognize you’re doing it. Take a look at how often you struggle with food issues. Do you feel out of control around food? Do you wish you had some other ways to manage your challenges?

Pay more attention to the times you eat when you aren’t actually hungry. Analyze your habits such as having a bowl of ice cream every night at bedtime or grabbing a few cookies every time you get off the phone with your mother.

Whenever you start thinking about food, take a minute to figure out whether you’re having a physical need or an emotional one. Before you put the first bite in your mouth, ask yourself…

Is this hunger or a desire to eat?

If you decide you are truly hungry give your body some fuel. But if you’re having a desire to eat, catch yourself on the spot and ask, “What’s going on here? What’s making me want to eat right now?” Then consider how you could take care of your real needs instead of appeasing them with food.

Question: What helps you recognize whether you’re having physical or emotional hunger?

You were doing so well on your diet, but then something went wrong. Maybe you got angry at your boss or upset with your kids. Perhaps you felt depressed about a bad investment or you struggled with a relationship problem.

You knew you weren’t hungry, but you reached for a few chips or cookies to make yourself feel better. You’ve just slipped into emotional eating.

Think about how often you eat for reasons other than hunger. Sneaking a candy bar in the middle of the afternoon, searching the cupboards when the kids go down for a nap, nibbling a free doughnut at the bank—none of these are actually related to your body’s need for fuel.

And by my definition, anytime you reach for food when you aren’t physically hungry or needing nutrition, you’re doing emotional eating.

It’s not that emotional eating is always a problem. If you occasionally grab a candy bar on a stressful day, you probably won’t do much damage. But if you aren’t careful, you can slide into using food to “fix” all of your emotional needs. Eventually, non-hungry can destroy your diet plan as well as harm your motivation and your self-esteem.