The Emotional Eating Diet

Let’s face it. Emotional eating is really hard to stop. So why not try to create a diet where you take your binging into account and give yourself a chance to lose weight at the same time?

The Emotional Eater’s Diet to Lose Weight

We know that if you continued eating the same amount of food and the same types of food that you usually do, then you would either stay at the same weight or gain some incrementally over time.

That’s what we don’t want.

Now, to continue eating that way and be able to lose weight you’ll need to replace one of those variables (amount or type). Since emotional eaters like to eat it won’t be the amount we have to change. It will have to be the type.

And when I say changing the type of foods eaten I don’t mean switching over that cheesy, baked lasagna for a carrot and celery salad. That diet would last all of a day and a half before a tidal wave of a binge would take over and make things worse for you than they were before.

BBQ Ribs

GOOD STUFF

I’m talking about switching over that lasagna for another lasagna that tastes “almost” as good and has pretty much all of the same ingredients in them. When I say almost I mean that this new lasagna will deliver the same satisfaction flavor-wise as the old one did.

The ingredients in a lasagna are pasta, meat, cheese, veggies, sauce and spices. The ingredient in that list that causes weight gain is the pasta of course so what we’ll do is we’ll make a new lasagna with almond flour noodles which you can either buy or make yourself.

Almond four has very little to negligible amounts of carbs and so it will taste and feel a bit different but you’ll still enjoy it along with the gooey, melted cheese, meat, and sauces.

In case you haven’t guessed by now I’m talking about a low-carb, Atkins, Keto, Paleo type diet. Most of the time people assume that those diets are only about meat and cream etc., but they have become much more interesting in the last few years.

Read on to see what I mean and to see how you could eat foods you love with a few minor adjustments to how you prepare them … AND lose some weight.

Keto Biscuits

Breads, Breakfast and Dessert

Those biscuits above have almost no carbs in them and yet they look and taste like bread. You can eat some every night and still have a carb free diet. Cut them open, add some butter and cheese and you won’t even know you’re on a diet.

This is how you make them.

KETO BISCUITS RECIPE:

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon b. powder
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven or 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and butter.

In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the two bowls together. Stir in the cheese.

Shape batter into mounds onto the baking pan, about 3 small spoons each.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
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And that’s it. Guilt free bread. You can bake it or buy some if you are not up to doing the work yourself.

What you’re doing here is not really going on any diet per say. You’re keeping carbs low and enjoying all the foods you used to enjoy except in their low carb form.

That way you still get to eat all the foods you used to, which satisfies the emotionally, anxious urge, but yet you won’t gain weight. You may even lose some.

Now granted if you were to eat 10,000 calories a day in this new, low carb fashion you still might gain weight … BUT … if you were eating 10,000 calories a day on your old diet that had lots of carbs and sugars and processed food, then I guarantee that by eating that same amount in this new low carb form that you will lose some weight due to the change in macro nutrients.

Breakfast that is Low Carb for Emotional Eating

Keto Blueberry Pancakes

Keys to this Diet

In order to make this work you’ll have to commit to a few things.

1- Make sure you set aside some time each week (20 minutes should suffice) to look up a new recipe that replaces your old one. For example if you used to have pancakes for breakfast on Sundays then keep doing so but find a recipe made with almond flour instead.

Like this:

Almond Flour Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour
2 teaspoons b soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix it all up and make them like you usually do. For toppings you can buy sugar free syrup or add a homemade fruit sauce with sweetener.

So that’s the first key. To slowly replace what you eat on a weekly basis with it’s low carb twin.

2- Make sure you eat as much as you used to. The goal here is to satisfy the powerful pull exerted by your emotional eating brain so that you don’t feel that this is an effort or a strain that needs willpower to get through.

Emotions trump willpower and always will so it’s best to accept that and work around it while managing the problem at hand. Meaning you accept that working on your emotions is the best way forward when trying to deal with emotional eating, but that takes time and so until then you so something right now which is to modify your diet to help move you along the path of progress.

This modification or new diet as I’m calling it will result in some weight loss if done correctly and consistently, and is much, much better for your health overall. Too many carbs (especially sugars) cause a whole host of health issues in our bodies.

Keto Chocolate Cake

3- Make sure you really enjoy yourself.

People don’t generally do things that they don’t like to do, at least not voluntarily. Nobody asks for a root canal or for their in-laws to stay the weekend if they don’t need or want that.

The same holds true for your diet. You’re not going to make any changes around it if you really aren’t looking forward to the ‘reward’ that are your meals during the day.

So when you are making these substitutions we’re talking about above keep in mind that you have to make sure you are putting enough focus and effort into making the foods taste as good or better than before.

It doesn’t need to be perfect but when you take a bite you should have an internal reaction that, if it could speak would ask you to, ‘do that again.’ If your taste buds and body want more of it then you will easily follow this new diet (your same diet just different) without needing willpower.

In fact you’ll look forward to eating and feel even better about it than before as you know that you are making progress and doing something that’s good for you.

That would be improving your health, weight and your confidence also. Knowing that you can change and be better.

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THE EATING LOVE GUIDE (FREE)

The Eating Love Guide has helped many people regain control of their eating patterns, resulting not only in weight loss but also better health and improved self-esteem. To read it online, click here.