Gain Control Over Emotional Eating

What is Emotional Eating?

Emotional eating takes place when people respond to negative emotions such as stress, disappointment or boredom with food. Often the food we choose to make ourselves feel better is nostalgic and brings about a sense of belonging. There is also a correlation between feeling bad and reaching for high carbohydrate/high sugary snacks. An article in the Atlantic “Why Comfort Food Comforts” sheds more light on this phenomenon. Whether it’s a sense of belonging or a rush of sugar, emotional eating is the habit of filling an emotional need with food.

Knowing your Triggers

There is not one cause of emotional eating. Where emotional eating stems from is unique to the person going through it. Unawareness on multiple levels can characterize emotional eating. One way to counteract this unawareness is by investigating your triggers. Do you eat because of loneliness, stress, boredom or anger? You can’t overcome emotional eating without first understanding your emotional triggers. By understanding your trigger is boredom, you can now more strategically find other activities to address your need for stimulation.

It is essential to make space to feel these negative emotions. As a society, we very quickly turn away from discomfort. Our feelings serve a purpose and are there to guide us. Next time you have a problematic emotion, lean into the discomfort. Don’t get swallowed up, but honour what you are feeling. This emotional awareness can help guide you towards change.

Mindful Eating

Mindfulness is the act of paying attention in the present moment non-judgementally. Regarding emotional eating, mindfulness means being aware while you eat, paying attention to all the senses. Mindfulness is crucial for people who eat an entire bowl of popcorn without even noticing. Mindfulness takes us out of autopilot and gives us the opportunity to enjoy what we are eating thoroughly. The flip side is that maybe that grill cheese sandwich is not as tasty as you thought it was going to be. Being mindful is a great tool when trying to change how we eat.

Non-Food Sources of Pleasure

Regardless of emotional triggers,  we turn to the pleasure derived from food to sooth away the negative emotions. To overcome emotional eating, it is vital that we explore all the different ways in which we experience pleasure. Make a list of non-food sources of pleasure. Making this list might be difficult for some people, look online for suggestions to get you started. As you mindfully go through your day and find yourself wanting to eat not out of hunger, but to sooth difficult emotions, turn to your list and pick a pleasurable activity like cuddling your cat or phoning a friend. Let’s get creative and see all the opportunities for pleasure the world has to offer.

Some Practical tips

• Think ahead. Map out your week finding situations that usually trigger emotional eating and have some pleasurable activity planned
• Hunger check-in. When you first feel hungry, take a moment to investigate whether it is true hunger or emotional hunger.
• Explore how your family viewed food. Was food used as a reward or punishment?
• Limit the unhealthy food in the house, so when you are vulnerable there are less alluring options
• Don’t go grocery shopping hungry. Planning will help limit the unhealthy impulse buys.

Be gentle with yourself. Overcoming emotional eating is a journey. On some level, we all struggle with eating for reasons other than hunger. Use this journey to become aware and build up your capacity for pleasure.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/04/why-comfort-food-comforts/389613/