Here are 5 clues that you might want to watch out for: Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food -- usually "comfort" or junk foods -- in response to feelings instead of hunger. Some of the common emotional eating cues are:

1. Anger

   Whether you're angry at yourself, another person or a situation, you stifle your feelings using food rather than confronting them and releasing them. It's easier to smother a problem than to deal with it. 
    

2. Hopelessness

   You think: Nothing really matters anyway. Nothing's ever going to change or get better for me. So, why should I care about my health or weight? Besides, eating makes me feel better. (Please note: Extreme feelings of hopelessness are typical of chronic depression. Please talk to a mental health professional if you find yourself feeling perpetually hopeless.)
   

3. Lack of Control

   You think: My life is out of control. There is nothing in it that I am in charge of. Everyone and everything around me rules my life. Except for eating... I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want it. So I will.
   

4. Feeling Unappreciated

   Perhaps you've accomplished something exceptional at work and no one has noticed. Or maybe you've made a personal achievement you'd dreamed of for years. But no one at home shares your pride. You find yourself tempted to congratulate yourself by "treating" yourself to a binge.
   

5. Boredom

   There's nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Perhaps you feel lonely, too. There's nothing at home to occupy your mind or your hours. But there is a pantry full of comfort food that will kill some of that empty time.

If you fit into any one of these five profiles, try sitting down with a piece of paper and brainstorming to find alternative behaviors to eating. You may be surprised at the solutions you come up with... and at just how well they work once you try them.  Then, write your ideas on notecards and post them where you will see them in your moment of need -- how about on the refrigerator door or next to the pantry? Accepting why you eat the way you do can be a big step towards breaking the cycle of emotional eating.

Can you change your unhealthy habits to healthy ones? Sure, why not?

It’ll take some discipline and willpower in the beginning, but after a few weeks, you’ll see how your new routine will become the norm.

1 Eating late at night – make yourself a meal bedtime. Put eating to sleep at 6, or 7, or 8 o'clock, whatever is realistic for you. Make your eating bedtime at least two hours before you actually go to bed.

2 Not exercising – Get a friend to join you three days a week for a walk before you start your day. Make a commitment to each other and hold each other accountable. You may want to impose a penalty – $10 every time you miss a workout?

3 Eating too much sugar, bread or fast food - It’s tough to reduce intake. Easier, I have found, to take it out altogether. So if sugar, or coffee, or soda is your nemesis, take that option off the table, entirely. You will be amazed at how powerful, and healthy, you feel once you do.

4 Beating yourself up – this is a big one. Do you look at what you are wearing and pick out everything you don’t like? Do you curse yourself for eating too much? Stop it!

Becoming aware of what you are doing is the first step. When you notice yourself doing it, reverse it by saying something nice – even if you don’t believe it at first. Force yourself to praise yourself - surely you can find something that you appreciate about you.

This will change how you see yourself, how you feel about yourself, and ultimately how you treat yourself. That means the behavior that you have been doing that has given you license to get down on yourself will stop.