4 Ways to Curb Emotional Eating
Food is a huge form of comfort for the majority of us and certainly in times of high stress. When we feel out of control, sad, anxious, lonely, stressed or even just bored, food can feel somewhat like a comfort blanket. Many of us turn to food for stress relief or to reward ourselves after a tough day.
These are all normal coping mechanisms to help us deal with stress and anxiety.
I always tell my clients using food to soothe yourself does not make you a weak or bad person- it makes you a human being. It’s the guilt and shame that go along with it that poses an issue.
When we do reach for food as comfort, oftentimes it’s junk food, sweets, and other comforting but unhealthy foods. You have to understand something: this food is designed to be over eaten, it’s chemically engineered and made to be over consumed due to it’s highly palatable taste, high sugar content and low grade quality.
You might reach for a pint of ice cream when you’re feeling down, order a pizza if you’re bored or lonely, or swing by the McDonalds drive-through after a tough day at work.All common ways to get your fix.
Emotional eating is using food to make yourself feel better—to fill emotional needs, rather than your stomach. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, emotional eating doesn’t help to fix emotional problems. In fact, it usually makes them worse. That’s because not only does the original emotion remain, but you’re also plagued with the feeling of guilt and/or shame. The likelihood of you restricting yourself to get “back on track” starts and the cycle repeats itself. Anyone can find themselves stuck in a cycle like this- it’s more common than you think
The cycle goes something like this:
Source: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/diets/emotional-eating.htm
So knowing this is a common phenomenon hopefully will bring you some comfort. When I tell you most people struggle with emotional eating, I’m telling you 95% of all clients I’ve ever worked with struggle with this.
To give you some idea, I’ve been a nutritionist for 15 years and I’ve worked with hundreds of folks. Most people struggle with this exact same issue. Knowing and understanding you are not alone is crucial. There's just such a stigma that goes along with it it’s often not spoken about which only perpetuates the guilt/shame cycle.
Today I want to discuss four ways to help you overcome this cycle and move into a much more positive and peaceful relationship with food. Below are my top four tips to help overcome emotional eating.
1. Identify your personal common triggers for emotional eating
Think about what situations, places, or feelings make you reach for the comfort of food? Most emotional eating is linked to unpleasant feelings, but it can also be triggered by positive emotions, such as rewarding yourself for achieving a goal or celebrating a holiday or happy event.
Take note of the next time you feel out of control around food and notice if you are feeling hungry or just running off of a specific emotion? Write down triggers for a month and you’ll be able to identify which situation, people or events tend to trigger you.
2. Pause when you have a craving and check in on your hunger levels
Most emotional eaters feel powerless over their food cravings. When the urge to eat hits, it’s all you can think about. You feel an almost unbearable tension that demands to be fed- the feeling is urgent AF. Something I encourage my clients to do is to take 5 minutes when a craving hits to just breathe and drop into your body. Emotional eating tends to be automatic and virtually mindless. Before you even realize what you’re doing, you’ve reached for a tub of ice cream and polished off half of it.
But if you can take a moment to pause and reflect when you’re hit with a craving, you give yourself the opportunity to make a different decision.
3. Practice mindful eating
This means slowing down, sitting down to eat your food without any distractions, observing the taste, smell and texture of food and taking a few deep breaths before starting to eat your food- this REALLY helps!
Slowing down and savoring your food is an important aspect of mindful eating- the opposite of mindless, emotional eating. Try paying attention to the textures, shapes, colors and smells of your food. How does it taste? How does it make your body feel?
4. Support yourself by making healthy lifestyle habits and managing your stress on the daily!
When you’re well rested, exercising on a weekly basis, managing your stress daily, happy and healthy, you’ll be much more equipped to handle life's inevitable curveballs. When you’re exhausted, overworked and overwhelmed, any issue that comes up has the potential to send you off the rails.
I recommend prioritizing the following:
Make daily exercise a priority. Physical activity does wonders for your mood and energy levels, and it’s also a powerful stress reducer. And getting into the exercise habit is easier than you may think.
Aim for 8 hours of sleep every night. When you don’t get the sleep you need, your body craves sugary foods that will give you a quick energy boost. Getting plenty of rest will help with appetite control and reduce food cravings.
Meditate or practice some deep belly breathing. Give yourself permission to take at least 30 minutes every day to relax, decompress, and connect to your body. Keep in mind stress is cumulative and builds up in the body if we don’t find a way to release it.
Reach out to your friends, family and support system.. Don’t underestimate the importance of close relationships and social activities. Spending time with positive people can enhance your life and literally change your thoughts.