It's a hard day - you've reached office late, got a firing from the boss, your hubby called to say he's down with fever and you know you have to stay late at work today…suddenly that bar of sugar-candy on canteen shelf looks extremely enticing, oily samosas seem a good prospect and five minutes after lunch, you can feel hunger gnawing inside.
Stress isn't the only reason behind emotional eating - there are various situations that trigger it.
Grief
Megha Narain went from a slim 53 kg to whopping 90 kg in eight months of her divorce proceedings. "I simply couldn't come to terms with the fact that I was single again after eight years and my marriage is broken. To hide from ugly reality, I would burry myself in food all the time," she laments.
According to fitness expert Yashwant Oswal from Cloud 9 gym unless these underlying issues are dealt with, you may not be able to lose weight. So you may need to go for psychological counselling.
Guilt
Often you are tricked into overeating on account of guilt. The guilt that won't let you waste half a roti on your kid's plate. The guilt that forces you to binge on sweets as you leave your toddler at a crèche.
When you say "it's too little to be doggy-bagged" at a restaurant, it's guilt again that forces you to overeat.
Depression
We have all heard that depression brings on eating spells. Just like alcohol or nicotine, even food, especially sweet food gives you a momentary high and takes the your mind off the cause of distress.
"While food is comforting while you are depressed, there is no use of telling yourself to simply stop eating. What you need is some other distraction to replace food with," according to psychologist Dr Leena Bahrani.
Temptation
You just 'accompany' a colleague to lunch and end up 'tasting' the dishes and ordering one or two yourself even though you are full. In a wedding lunch, you can't help but take the fifth Gulab Jamun 'lovingly' offered by your aunt. Dietician Sushila Sharangdhar calls it the tongue-ruling-over-tummy effect.
Stress
Hectic work schedules or deadline pressure create illusion of hunger. "Many times mental stress tires out people and at the end of the day, they feel as if they've worked very hard and feel very hungry. In reality, it's just sudden relief from stress that prompts them to overstuff themselves," says Sharangdhar.
Self image
Monica, from the popular TV series, Friends, once remarked, "I still feel like a fat girl inside."
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