Name one effective strategy for overcoming emotional eating.

Practicing mindful eating is an effective strategy for overcoming emotional eating because it involves being present and fully aware of the eating experience. This practice encourages individuals to pay attention to their hunger cues and identify emotional triggers that lead to eating when they are not physically hungry. By focusing on the sensory aspects of eating—such as taste, texture, and smell—individuals can cultivate a healthier relationship with food, enabling them to distinguish between true hunger and emotional cravings. This heightened awareness can help individuals make more conscious choices about when and what they eat, ultimately reducing instances of emotional eating.

The other strategies provided do not promote healthy eating habits. For instance, avoiding all social situations can lead to isolation and can increase emotional distress, which often exacerbates emotional eating rather than alleviating it. Similarly, significantly restricting calories can lead to unhealthy behaviors, including binge eating, as it can create an unhealthy preoccupation with food. Eating only when distracted by media diminishes the enjoyment and mindfulness of eating, which can lead to overeating and a lack of awareness regarding hunger and satiety signals.