If you’re one of those people who thinks that if someone is overweight, they need to just shut their mouths and hop on a treadmill (my radio co-host Ramiro!), I suggest you stop reading and let the rest of us bond over our eating issues. Britney Spears’ ex Kevin Federline, who is on the upcoming season on Celebrity Fit Club, recently made some statements that I can totally relate to. In an interview with Access Hollywood, he talks about how his divorce from Britney led him to depression, which played a part in his weight gain because of overeating. I can relate!

Yes, I am one of those people who “eats my feelings.”  I could be sad, angry, frustrated, bored and yes even happy, and I will overeat because of it. You know what I’m talking about. We eat ice cream after a break-up, potato chips when we’re pissed, and ___ when we’re ___. You can fill in the blanks for yourself. People who don’t do this have no idea what it feels like, and I don’t know about you, but they are no help. They actually can make it worse, get you mad, and the next thing you know you’re diving head-first into a pint of Caramel Cone Haagen-Daz.  So what do you do?

It’s funny because this was the topic in my Weight Watchers meeting this week. Most of us could relate to this emotional eating, which was no surprise. Hey, we didn’t all end up sitting on folding chairs wearing “Hi my name is…” tags for nothing. The good thing is, we didn’t all sit around having a pity party, although the short time we did was a lot of fun! We actually talked about solutions to our emotional eating.

Not to share any deep, dark WW secrets, but we talked about identifying when we are REALLY hungry and when we’re just hungry for another reason. The one sign of true hunger is that if you’re really hungry, you’ll eat an apple, vegetables or something healthy to fill that void. When you’re hungry for another reason, that’s when you find yourself looking around the house for “a little something.” That’s always when you end up eating crap, which only makes you feel guilty, and then you end up eating more because you already ruined everything so “what the hell.” Or maybe that’s just me!

The other tip that I really like is making a list of 10 fun things that you like to do. Then, the next time you’re feeling emotional, pick something on the list and do that instead of eating. That’s the challenge this week, and so far, it’s working. The only thing I won’t put on my list is watching television, because we all know that TV and snacks go hand in hand. Some of the things on my list: reading, doing some kind of arts & crafts, and going on Facebook and Twitter. Be careful though because that last one can cause another type of addiction!

If you’re like me and can relate to Kevin Federline’s depression/overeating cycle. It’s not going to be easy, but we can stop this vicious cycle. This is life…we’re still going to be stressed, get angry, bored, etc. But if we can come up with a strategy to deal with these emotions, we can make the changes we need to, and get rid of those extra pounds!

Good luck everyone and if you come across one of those “shut your mouth and get on the treadmill” people, tell them…never mind, I’ll be nice!

I would love to hear from you! Let me know what has helped you deal with emotional eating!  Leave a comment below!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles