Many people turn to food, consciously or unconsciously, when facing a difficult problem or when they feel stressed, isolated, bored or even excited. Eating to suppress or soothe our emotions is often called emotional eating. It can include impulsive or binge eating, which is eating whatever is convenient, quickly and without enjoyment.
Women are more prone than men to emotional eating in response to both negative experiences and psychological changes, such as depression. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the top health complaints reported by women (other than the virus itself) was overeating.
Researchers aren’t sure why emotional eating is more common for women, but it may be due to differences in genetic or hormonal factors. Social stereotypes may also play a role: Since it’s more acceptable for men to eat big meals, they may engage in less emotional eating than women — or, at least, they may be less likely to recognize it as such.
Emotional eating usually leads to eating too much — and eating foods that don’t support what your body truly needs. While occasional comfort eating may not be a problem, ongoing emotional eating can increase your risk for more severe problems, such as binge eating disorder. Women are much more likely than men to develop eating disorders, which are serious mental illnesses and can be dangerous if they aren’t addressed.
Complicated Cycles
From as early as when you were nursing as a newborn, you’ve likely been taught that food is connected to comfort, security and love. You may have important memories of family meals or special treats that you shared with a parent or grandparent. You may have been rewarded with food when you behaved well or performed well at school. Friends and loved ones throughout your life may have used food to bond with you, to comfort you or to reward you — and in turn, you may have done the same with others.
And it’s not simply a psychological phenomenon. When we feel stressed or overwhelmed by emotions, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol. This hormone increases our cravings of sugary, fatty or salty foods. And after we eat those foods, our brains release a chemical called dopamine that makes us feel pleasure.
Breaking this brain cycle — and changing a lifelong pattern of turning to food for love and comfort — is the opposite of easy. But there are strategies for interrupting your cycle of emotional eating, which may lead not only to relief but also to better mental and physical health.
Hungry Belly — or Hungry Mind?
You may already know that you have a tendency toward emotional eating, but sometimes telling the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger is challenging. Here are a few ways to spot hunger that might be coming from your head or your heart instead of your belly.
In general, emotional hunger is:
- Sudden: Emotional hunger comes on suddenly and may feel overwhelming or urgent. Physical hunger comes on more gradually and doesn’t demand instant satisfaction.
- Specific: Emotional hunger craves specific comfort foods, such as high-fat, high-sugar or high-salt foods — a simple salad will not do. This craving is in your head; instead of feeling your stomach growling, you are fixated on the taste, smell or texture of a food. When you’re physically hungry, almost anything sounds good, even that salad.
- Insatiable: Emotional hunger isn’t satisfied once you’re full, and you may eat until you are almost painfully stuffed. When you’re eating in response to physical hunger, you are usually much more aware of what you’re doing and how full you are getting.
Emotional hunger often leads to regret, guilt or shame after eating. And that can lead to another unhealthy cycle: unhappy emotions trigger you to overeat; you feel shame for overeating; shame makes you feel unhappy; because you are unhappy, you overeat again.
Know the Cause
Combatting emotional eating begins with knowing what your unique triggers are. While major life events can be a factor, most often emotional eating is sparked by day-to-day stressors, such as:
- Fatigue
- Feeling anxious, angry, bored, nervous or sad
- Financial strain
- Relationship conflicts
- Social anxiety
- Work pressures
Consider the last few times you ate when you knew you weren’t hungry or you ate way past the point of feeling satisfied. If you notice that you tend to overeat after particular events or in particular situations, consider whether you may be using food as a comfort or a distraction from a situation or conflict in your life.
Find the Pause
The thing about emotional hunger is that you really can’t eat enough to make it go away. Eating may feel soothing in the moment, but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. And you may feel worse after you eat, either from shaming yourself or from feeling sluggish and uncomfortable after eating too much.
If you are an emotional eater, you already know that just stopping is easier said than done. Emotional eating tends to be mindless — many times you’re already halfway down a box of cookies before you even register what you’re doing. That said, gently applying a few strategies to put more mental space between what triggers you and your reaction can help you begin to interrupt these old habits and start to build new ones.
Next time you recognize that you’re having a craving, see if you can delay satisfying it, even if only for a minute. During that time, notice what you are feeling. You might still end up eating, but you’ll have a better sense of the emotions or situations that you are trying to stuff down or smooth over — and over time, you can develop other ways to address those triggers.
This pause also gives you the opportunity to make a different decision. Sometimes finding a short-term distraction can help you break the power of the craving. Consider:
- Calling a friend
- Doing a few minutes of gentle stretching
- Going for a five-minute walk
- Making some herbal tea
- Putting on music and singing or dancing
- Snuggling with your cat or dog
- Stepping outside
- Taking a shower
When you have an episode of emotional eating, the best thing to do is forgive yourself and start fresh. Remember that it may take time and a combination of approaches to stop emotional eating. Learning to recognize and name the episodes is a huge step toward breaking those cycles. Once you’ve named it, redirect your focus to the positive changes you’re making in your eating habits.
Nourish Yourself
Attending to your overall health and well-being may also help reduce the frequency or severity of emotional food cravings. Check in with your health habits and consider whether there is an area of your life that may need some attention.
- Address stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as gentle yoga or slow, mindful breathing.
- Connect with others. Spending time with supportive loved ones improves your emotional well-being, which may reduce cravings.
- Don’t deprive yourself. Rigid limiting of calories or cutting out entire categories of food may increase your cravings, especially in response to emotions. Eat satisfying amounts of foods, eat a variety of foods and enjoy an occasional treat.
- Don’t skimp on shut eye. When you don’t get the sleep you need, your body craves foods that will give you a quick energy boost.
- Feed yourself well. If you know you are likely to eat between meals, keep lots of health-supportive foods around you: think whole or frozen fresh fruit, vegetable sticks with guacamole, hummus or roasted chickpeas.
- Keep moving — but don’t overdo it. Physical activity is a powerful stress reducer and mood booster. You don’t need to go overboard — simply adding a walk outside to your daily routine can be a game changer. Overexercising, on the other hand, might contribute to food cravings.
- Schedule relaxation. Make leisure time a priority and give it the same weight in your calendar that a business meeting would get.
- Take away temptation. If you know you struggle with a particular comfort food — say, ice cream — avoid keeping that food in your home. It’s also wise to avoid grocery shopping when you are experiencing a triggering emotion.
When you’re feeling strong and well rested, you’re better able to handle the stress that comes at you without turning to emotional eating.
Love Your Food
Another strategy is to regularly practice the opposite of mindless eating: mindful eating. When you slow down and savor each bite, you are more likely to enjoy your food and less likely to overeat.
Try taking a few deep breaths before starting your food. Putting your utensils down between bites. Focusing on the textures, shapes, colors and smells as you eat. By slowing down, you’ll find you appreciate each bite of food much more. You also give your body time to send signal of fullness to your brain, so you may begin to eat much less and feel satisfied.
Mindful eating can also help you feel more relaxed and at ease — another way to interrupt the cycles of emotional eating.
When You Need Help, Get Help
We all need food, and we all deserve to enjoy our food. Occasionally using food as a comfort or reward isn’t a bad thing. But if you’ve tried different strategies to stop emotional eating and you continue to struggle, consider talking with your doctor, a registered dietitian, or a mental health professional.
Therapy can help you understand the emotional issues that underlie your eating habits and give you new coping skills. Your doctor or therapist can also help you determine whether you have an eating disorder, which can be connected to emotional eating.
Getting support when you need it is a sign of strength, not weakness. And it could be the healthiest habit you learn.
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Sources
https://www.womenshealthnetwork.com/weight-loss/emotional-eating/?msclkid=a9e73848bb5111ec9658cc2a22f43331
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-strategies-to-help-you-stop-emotional-eating/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/struggling-with-emotional-eating
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7598723/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4093980/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24850627/
https://www.ipsos.com/en/comfort-food-women-more-likely-admit-overeating-under-exercising-amid-covid-19
https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/mental-health-conditions/eating-disorders
WakeMed sources:
https://www.wakemed.org/care-and-services/nutrition-services/consultation-services
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