Emotional Eating?

Are you an emotional eater? Emotional eating is not just eating when you are feeling sad, it’s also eating when you are highly stressed, bored, and even happy or nostalgic – such as eating because something reminds you of feel-good moments, like an ice cream reward when you got a good grade at school. Emotional eating isn’t always bad in the case of it being for a reward, but you should still only try to eat when you are actually hungry. Emotional eating can be recognized by its sudden nature compared to actual hunger which typical comes on much more gradual. The reason for this instant need to eat when you are bored, sad, or stressed, is that your brain is searching for an instant gratifier – this is the brains reward system in effect. Your brain is trying to find ways to ease your emotions or satisfy you while you are bored or actively/subconsciously avoiding tasks that involve delayed gratification. However, these tasks – whether they are work related or otherwise, are a great solution to dive into when you are in your feelings. They are a great distractor and ultimately leave you feeling accomplished. Another indicator of emotional cravings for food is specific cravings for certain foods. When you are truly hungry, almost anything sounds good. Also, if you feel guilt or shame after eating handfuls of snacks and a large portion of comfort/high calorie food – you are more than likely emotionally eating. When you eat because you are truly hungry, you typically shouldn’t feel guilty afterwards. Lasty, physical hungry is satisfied when you become full, unlike emotional eating, which you can find yourself still wanting more even when you are already stuffed. One of the best ways to prevent emotional eating is mindfulness; checking in with yourself and start recognizing some of these signs of emotional hunger vs. real physical hunger. Allow yourself to move through the boredom, sadness, or anxiety by engaging in other activities that can sooth your feelings. Engage in a task when you are bored; call a friend when you are sad or stressed; go for a walk; read a book; put on your favorite show; listen to music – whatever works for you! Emotional eating is an unhealthy habit, as it doesn’t actually solve the problem, leads to more uncomfortable feelings, and can lead to over-nutrition and weight gain.

Below I list some ways to break the emotional eating habit and move in a healthier direction, see if some of these options work for you. Checkout some of the sources listed as well!

• Check-in with yourself
• Practice mindful eating
• Find ways to manage stress – such as meditation or exercise
• Keep a food diary – to track how you are feeling and your emotional eating habits; this can help you to recognize triggers
• Get support
• Change your environment regarding food – to reduce temptations
• Snack smart – keep healthy alternatives
• Learn from fallbacks –don’t get held up too much in shaming yourself, just do better next time, resist temptations, so you can feel proud not guilty

Remember changing habits takes A LOT of time, especially if it’s a habit that is deeply ingrained, but I promise when you consistently put in the effort to go another direction and instill better nutrition habits, you will notice some amazing and healthy changes!

Sources:

[1]. Emotional Eating and How to Stop It- HelpGuide.org

[2]. Weight loss: Gain control ofemotional eating – Mayo Clinic