Are You Eating Compulsively?

Many people eat as a way of dealing with anxiety. Once stress rears its ugly head, they're on their way to the refrigerator. Several studies have shown that overweight people are more responsive to emotional stimuli and that anxiety is frequently associated with increased food intake. Try to deal with stress by using relaxation, exercise or another positive approach. While food may trigger a hormonal response to make you feel better over the short term, eating to cope with anxiety can only be destructive and unhealthy over the long run.

External factors also such as people who may, either consciously or unconsciously, try to get you off your diet also add your bad eating habits. If you find yourself with a dinner date that's constantly trying to load you up with foods you don't want, you may want to make a change. The same applies to someone who may be critical of your diet or unsupportive around the dinner table. You need to stay in control of what you eat at all times. Try to be around people who support your diet program. At this stage, you need to be encouraged as much as possible.