March is nutrition month and I’m looking forward to sharing some great guest posts by two talented dietitians this week and next on a range of topics. We start this week with discussing a topic that affects so many, emotional eating.
By Dana Al-Kahwaji, RD
We all have different strategies in coping with our emotions. Some seek help from a close one, some seek solitude and some simply eat…
When faced with a difficult problem, stress or boredom many people turn to food as an escape. This phenomenon can strike at any time: you find yourself eating, not to quench physical hunger, but rather an emotional hunger that is only fulfilled by a specific craving. The strongest food cravings hit when you are at your peak of emotions. Developing such a relationship with food is referred to as emotional eating.
Are you emotionally eating?
Do you eat when you are not physically hungry?
Is your hunger only satisfied by a specific food?
Do you eat more when you feel stressed or sad?
Do you reward yourself with food?
Do you find yourself munching on different foods when you’re bored?
If you answered yes to these questions, you are probably emotionally eating. This relationship with food isn’t necessarily harmful until it becomes your only way to manage your emotions leading to overeating and lack of control around food.
Food’s magic
Ever wondered why most cravings include chocolate, a warm cake or a bowl of crunchy chips? These foods are high in sugar, fat and/or sodium. When you are stressed your body releases high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which triggers a craving for such high-calorie foods that give you a burst of energy and pleasure. Chocolate, for example, boosts the “feel good” chemicals in your body giving you a kind of “snacker’s high”.
Break the cycle!
Emotional hunger suddenly hits in, and you quickly find your way to the kitchen to savor the flavor of your craving. This makes you happy for a short period and, sooner than you think, feelings of regret and guilt for overeating bring you back to what made you eat in the first place: your hunger for something other than food.
Food for thought
Changing the way you have adapted to respond to your emotions may be challenging. For a successful change, set a realistic goal by slowly working on breaking the food and mood connection you have developed. The key is to gently redirect your emotions away from food and train yourself to attain pleasure in other sources.
Evaluate your hunger: When you feel the urge to eat, ask yourself if you’re experiencing physical or emotional hunger, and how hungry you really are.
Goal:Being conscious of your emotions and realizing the difference between your body’s need for energy vs. your need to eat to escape feelings is crucial to a successful behavior change.
Keep a food diary:Keep track of your cravings and what triggered them. Next, indicate what you actually ate, how you felt before eating and how you felt afterwards.
Goal:This method allows you to identify emotional eating triggers, and think of healthier alternatives to feed your emotions. Furthermore, you will most likely observe a trend of overeating and guilt following each craving. This will motivate you to feed your emotions away from food to avoid experiencing guilt and regret.
Enjoy a fun distraction:Most emotional eaters will feel helpless around food and choose to eat in fear of being overwhelmed by their cravings. However, if you have already succeeded in recognizing emotional hunger and its trigger, try distracting yourself for a few minutes before reaching for food. Remember, what you’re really craving is to feel better.
Goal:Food cravings build, reach a peak and then disappear. If you can master distracting yourself with something you enjoy, you have a better chance of overcoming emotional eating altogether.
These are simple, yet powerful strategies to help you in your first steps to overcoming emotional eating and being conscious of your health. For further individualized advice, contact a nutritionist who will offer you the tools, motivation and support in your journey of change.
Dana is a very passionate dietitian and blogger who has chosen dietetics due to her interest in the important role nutrition plays in the management and prevention of diseases. Throughout her studies at McGill University, she has obtained extensive training in various nutrition specialty areas including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pregnancy, and pediatrics nutrition in addition to weight management. Her blog specializes in promoting easy day-to-day strategies to engage in a healthy lifestyle by sharing tips, discussing diet trends and myths and addressing nutrition topics as inquired by her followers.
Having lived in multiple countries with different cultures and cuisines, Dana has developed interest in experiencing various traditional recipes. To encourage healthy and happy cooking, she adds easy and affordable healthy twists to recipes and shares them with her followers on Facebook and Instagram.
As I have written, it is going to be very challenging at first. But if you can slowly distract yourself or try the other tips mentioned, the change will be easier.
Again, every person needs different strategies that work for them, it is never black or white nor a one fits all approach. If you are interested in more details you can always connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I definitely do this at times. If something exciting happens I reward myself with food and if I’m stressed out, I want ice cream or chocolate. Thanks for the tips on how to break out of those habits!
It is great that you are conscious of your emotional eating.
You can always adapt these tips to your lifestyle, to ensure long-term benefits that will last 😉
For more individualized ideas you can always connect with me via my Facebook page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I have many times eat something and then thought I didn’t even taste it or take time to enjoy it especially when I’m stressed. Love your suggestions, thanks!
Taking the time to chew and enjoy our food is definitely important. Before anything, you finish your meal feeling not only full but also satisfied! Additionally, it allows our brain to send out the appropriate signals of when to stop eating because our body obtained what it needs. This way, we avoid overeating.
For more information, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I’m totally an emotional eater! I get so made at myself when I eat when I’m not hungry but it’s just habit when I’m upset. I’m working on breaking that habit though!
It is ok to go through such emotions. This is why I dedicated a “break the cycle” section above, as this cycle of emotions and eating is very common.
The next time you find yourself emotionally eating, try avoiding the negative feelings that follow: tell yourself that you are working on improving this behaviour. As you become more conscious of what works best for you, you can then distract yourself from emotional eating altogether. Remember, what you really are craving is to feel good.
For more information, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I agree with you. For a successful behaviour change, we must be conscious of the behaviour and its triggers.
You can adapt these tips to your lifestyle to enjoy lasting results 🙂 If you need further personalized tips, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
Have you thought of consulting with a nutritionist to try and overcome emotional eating?
It is a great start for you to be conscious of this behaviour. Good news is, there are plenty of strategies that can be adapted to each person to slowly help them overcome emotional eating.
If you are interested in learning more, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
Yes! It is very normal, we all have engaged in emotional eating at some point in our life. The key is to be conscious of this behaviour and slowly stop it. Remember to strive for progression not perfection.
If you are interested in learning more, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I am happy to hear that you are making the efforts to eating healthier atleast. Overcoming emotional eating does not happen in one step. There are many more strategies and even healthy foods to begin with as you emotionally eat and slowly overcome emotional eating altogether. This helps avoid the guiltiness that follows a craving.
Ofcourse, such guidelines need to be adapted to individuals needs and different lifestyles. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
Indeed. It is not wrong to eat too soothe yourself from time to time, the idea is to keep this habit under control and avoid using it as a primary source to dealing with our emotions.
Emotional eating is something that is I do often. I don’t have to worry like some because of my high metabolism but I know that one day it will catch up with me, so I need to cut the habit now.
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Dana is a very passionate dietitian and blogger who has chosen dietetics due to her interest in the important role nutrition plays in the management and prevention of diseases. Throughout her studies at McGill University, she has obtained extensive training in various nutrition specialty areas including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pregnancy, and pediatrics nutrition in addition to weight management. Her blog specializes in promoting easy day-to-day strategies to engage in a healthy lifestyle by sharing tips, discussing diet trends and myths and addressing nutrition topics as inquired by her followers.
It’s not a grey area for me, when I am stressed, eating is my first thought. No question.
As I have written, it is going to be very challenging at first. But if you can slowly distract yourself or try the other tips mentioned, the change will be easier.
Again, every person needs different strategies that work for them, it is never black or white nor a one fits all approach. If you are interested in more details you can always connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
Thank you!
I definitely do this at times. If something exciting happens I reward myself with food and if I’m stressed out, I want ice cream or chocolate. Thanks for the tips on how to break out of those habits!
It is great that you are conscious of your emotional eating.
You can always adapt these tips to your lifestyle, to ensure long-term benefits that will last 😉
For more individualized ideas you can always connect with me via my Facebook page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
Thank you!
I have many times eat something and then thought I didn’t even taste it or take time to enjoy it especially when I’m stressed. Love your suggestions, thanks!
Taking the time to chew and enjoy our food is definitely important. Before anything, you finish your meal feeling not only full but also satisfied! Additionally, it allows our brain to send out the appropriate signals of when to stop eating because our body obtained what it needs. This way, we avoid overeating.
For more information, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I’m totally an emotional eater! I get so made at myself when I eat when I’m not hungry but it’s just habit when I’m upset. I’m working on breaking that habit though!
It is ok to go through such emotions. This is why I dedicated a “break the cycle” section above, as this cycle of emotions and eating is very common.
The next time you find yourself emotionally eating, try avoiding the negative feelings that follow: tell yourself that you are working on improving this behaviour. As you become more conscious of what works best for you, you can then distract yourself from emotional eating altogether. Remember, what you really are craving is to feel good.
For more information, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I can relate to a lot of this!! I think its important to make sure you know why you are eating, love the distraction ideas.
I agree with you. For a successful behaviour change, we must be conscious of the behaviour and its triggers.
You can adapt these tips to your lifestyle to enjoy lasting results 🙂 If you need further personalized tips, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I know I am an emotional eater. I have struggled with this since I was in my 20’s. That would be thirty years now.
Have you thought of consulting with a nutritionist to try and overcome emotional eating?
It is a great start for you to be conscious of this behaviour. Good news is, there are plenty of strategies that can be adapted to each person to slowly help them overcome emotional eating.
If you are interested in learning more, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I fall victim to this, as well! YIKES! I hate it! I’m going to be much more aware from now on!
Yes! It is very normal, we all have engaged in emotional eating at some point in our life. The key is to be conscious of this behaviour and slowly stop it. Remember to strive for progression not perfection.
If you are interested in learning more, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
I am definitely an emotional eater. I have been eating a lot healthier this year. I am trying my best to eat only when i am hungry.
I am happy to hear that you are making the efforts to eating healthier atleast. Overcoming emotional eating does not happen in one step. There are many more strategies and even healthy foods to begin with as you emotionally eat and slowly overcome emotional eating altogether. This helps avoid the guiltiness that follows a craving.
Ofcourse, such guidelines need to be adapted to individuals needs and different lifestyles. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to connect with me via my Facebook nutrition page: WiseNutrition – Dana Kahwaji, RD/Dt.P
It is so important to eat healthy and look at food as fuel. If you want your body to run well you need to put quality food into it.
I have found myself eating to self soothe in the past. Now, I am learning that fueling my body is what is important.
Indeed. It is not wrong to eat too soothe yourself from time to time, the idea is to keep this habit under control and avoid using it as a primary source to dealing with our emotions.
Emotional eating is something that is I do often. I don’t have to worry like some because of my high metabolism but I know that one day it will catch up with me, so I need to cut the habit now.