Emotional' Eaters Most Likely To Regain Lost Weight

new study led by researchers at The Miriam Hospital’s Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center finds that dieters who have the tendency to eat in response to external factors, such as at festive celebrations, have fewer problems with their weight loss than those who eat in response to internal factors such as emotions. The study also found that emotional eating was associated with weight regain in successful losers.

The study is published in the October 2007 issue of Obesity.

“We found that the more people report eating in response to thoughts and feelings, such as, ‘when I feel lonely, I console myself by eating,’ the less weight they lost in a behavioral weight loss program. In addition, amongst successful weight losers, those who report emotional eating are more likely to regain,” says lead author Heather Niemeier, Ph.D.

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I always find this sort of thing interesting and don't know where I fit. I'm likely to not eat if I am upset, to withdraw and allow myself to sick. I usually overeat because I'm "hungry' . . . feel empty or unsatisfied on some level. I usually lose weight when I'm in a new relationship and then regain it when the relationship gets distant.

Emotional Eating

A lot of women say they overeat when they are upset. I've tried to watch for patterns of that in myself, but I find that I don't consistantly overeat when I am angry or sad. I have a lot of reasons to be sad lately, what with getting a divorce from my third husband, who I love more than I've loved anyone before, and getting older and the dead of my second husband. So I've tried to track if any of this effects my eating.

What I've found is that I am likely to eat unwisely when I am lonely. When I miss my husband I really wish he was with me and loved and desired me. I eat when I want to be touched and held. Does anyone else experience weight gain when they don't get and want sex?

This week I posted another loss. I'm quite excited. That's at least a month of losses. So obviously I'm not succumbing to eating when I'm lonely. I've been trying to decide what my affirmation for this week should be and I'm drawing a blank. I suppose I could recycle an old one. Maybe I'll do I accept myself the way I am again