Emotional Eating
Emotional eating can be defined as eating to calm strong emotions rather than eating out of hunger. It is usually associated with eating large quantities of junk food to provide some kind of perceived comfort.
Eating to calm strong emotions rather than eating out of hunger
Emotional eating can be triggered by all types of emotions; happy, sad, mad, depressed, overwhelmed, “I deserve this” and much more…
It is estimated by psychology experts that 75% of overeating in America is caused by emotional eating.
Now these cold hard facts are all well and fine but what does emotional eating look like?
Imagine this with me:
Suzy heads home from work after a long day of getting yelled at by customers. She is frazzled and just needs some relief so on the way home she dreams of dipping her spoon into her favorite cappuccino chunky chocolate ice cream and eating as much as she wants. As soon as s comes in the door Suzy drops all her stuff on the counter and heads right to the freezer. With her spoon in hand she digs into the ice cream even though she isn’t hungry because she wants to forget what happened and feel happy again.
Now if we are honest, most of us have been there (or might be there right now). Emotional eating is one of the most common coping mechanisms we use to deal with life. But the good news is we can change habits and get back control.
Yes it might take time, planning and effort, but you can do it! Here are some things that have helped myself and my clients win over emotional eating.
6 Strategies to Help:
| 1 | Get to know your triggers. If certain things make you head for the pantry, try to figure out what they are. If possible, avoid these triggers. |
| 2 | Identify emotion when you are experiencing it. Is it __________________ Then try to channel that emotion into some other outlet |
| 3 | Reduce stress. Discover your favorite/most effective quick and long term stress relief method QUICK: ____________________________________________________________ LONG-TERM: _______________________________________________________ |
| 4 | Tap into your brain. Use mindfulness techniques like deep breathing,meditation, listening to music, manual labor or a hobby to deal with your emotions. |
| 5 | Connect to process. Use connection with others in a support group, calling a friend or writing in a journal to process through your emotions. |
| 6 | Exercise- Moving your body is one of the most effective ways to process emotions and avoid emotional eating. Try taking a 20 minute walk or doing a yoga workout. |
Do you have any other ideas? What has worked for you in the past?
I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or send me a message and let’s brainstorm!
You can find the victory you are looking for starting today!
