10 Ways to Control Emotional Eating

Have you ever strongly desired to eat sweets after a hard day?

Or perhaps you ate a heavy meal after an emotional experience?

Emotion may lead us to search for food to feel comfortable or entertained Thus, this behavior greatly affects our health.

By reading this article, you will get valuable tips and information about emotional eating, which will help you learn about your eating habits, and how to improve them to achieve better health.

You will discover how emotional eating can affect your weight and overall health. We will highlight the link between emotional eating and mental health, and how it can affect your mood and mental well-being. So, follow along.

What is Emotional Eating?

Emotional eating refers to eating as an escape from negative emotions, such as stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness.

When you constantly eat excessive food that exceeds the body’s needs, this behavior becomes the main means of dealing with negative emotions. Thus this can lead to weight gain and a negative impact on personal well-being and happiness.

Emotional eating also harms mental health, as it can increase feelings of guilt or low self-esteem.

Choosing Foods to Fight Stress

Why do most people turn to eating when feeling stressed?

Factors leading to overeating when experiencing negative emotions can be classified as follows:

• Eating food stimulates the secretion of dopamine in the brain, which is a chemical that makes us feel happy and satisfied. When we feel negative emotions, eating is a way to calm down and feel comfortable.

• When we get used to eating when we feel upset or have negative emotions, this habit becomes an established part of our behavior. Thus, we find ourselves automatically resorting to food as a way to get rid of or alleviate negative emotions.

• The availability of food easily, everywhere, quickly, and affordably makes it a suitable choice for dealing with negative emotions, given the difficulty of implementing some other behaviors during periods of anger or sadness.

• When the body is exposed to mental stress, the secretion of the hormone cortisol increases, which stimulates the appetite for sugars, salty, and fatty foods.

• Food advertisements and images reinforce our feeling of hunger. Food companies use innovative marketing techniques such as delicious images and promotions; To stimulate our desire to eat when we feel negative emotions.

In general, these factors interact with each other in an interconnected manner, as the feeling of satisfaction after eating is triggered by dopamine, which leads to the repetition and reinforcement of this behavioral pattern.

When emotional eating becomes an automatic reaction to feeling negative emotions, it is difficult to shift the habit without making conscious efforts to process emotions in different ways.

Can emotional eating be considered a diet disorder?

Emotional eating alone is not usually classified as an eating disorder, but it can be evidence of stress in your relationship with food, which may eventually lead to the development of a true eating disorder.

Eating problems include:

• Follow strict rules regarding food choices.
• Classifying foods as either good or bad.
• Follow diets regularly, or impose severe restrictions on eating.
• Eating out of emotion rather than actual hunger.
• Lack of organization in eating times.
• Anxious thoughts about food begin to affect your daily life.
• Feeling remorse or embarrassment after eating foods considered unhealthy.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, eating disorders are diagnosed when a person’s eating behaviors meet specific criteria.

Many people suffer from eating disorders but do not meet the criteria for an eating disorder diagnosis, and this is widespread among different age groups.

The main difference between emotional eating and compulsive eating disorder is the amount of food eaten.

In emotional eating, a person eats a moderate to large amount of food as the sole symptom, while a binge eating disorder is a psychological disorder characterized by compulsive and rapid eating of massive amounts of food, accompanied by other behaviors and symptoms.

Binge eating disorder is diagnosed when episodes occur once a week for 3 months

So it’s a good idea to seek help. Regardless of whether you have a formal eating disorder diagnosis, the goal is to keep a positive relationship with food.

Physical Hunger and Emotional Hunger Differences

We can check some of these signals to see if our bodies really need food, or if we’re just looking for them to ignore our emotions.

Physical hunger signs

• Hunger comes gradually, not suddenly.
• The desire to eat gradually increases and becomes urgent.
• Any type of food sounds good and satisfying, including healthy foods like vegetables.
• The ability to feel full and satisfied when your stomach is full.
• Feeling weak or dizzy.
• Difficulty concentrating.

Emotional hunger signs

• Impulsive cravings and urgency to eat.
• Craving only specific foods.
• Willpower weakens in front of favorite foods.
• Feeling that eating relieves emotional disturbances.
• You feel so hungry that you can’t shake it from your mind.
• Difficulty feeling full and constantly wanting more.
• Frequently going to the kitchen and eating at unusual times.
• Eating mindlessly or eating large quantities without fully enjoying them.
• Feeling remorse or embarrassment after eating.

Reasons that Trigger Emotional Eating

During our childhood, we relied on external signs to know when we should stop eating.

For example, as soon as we finished the food on the plate, we thought that we were full and that the meal was over,

Our parents encouraged us to eat all the food available, so we would eat without relying on signs of hunger and fullness.

When we eat because of emotions, we can have difficulty distinguishing between internal signals that tell us we are truly hungry or full, and hunger resulting from emotions.

1. Diet

Eating small amounts and abstaining from favorite foods may be popular while dieting, but do you realize that this approach may lead to completely undesirable results?

Diet factors can act as major triggers for emotional eating. Instead of dieting, you may find yourself craving food and relying on it as a way to deal with negative emotions.

2. Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the emotions that affects our relationship with food, as it is a major driver of emotional eating.

However, the body’s reaction to anxiety varies from one person to another. Some people resort to eating large amounts of food when they feel anxious, while some people lose their appetite completely!

In both cases, it becomes difficult for us to hear internal hunger signals.

3. External factors

Emotional eating is not limited to negative emotions such as sadness and anger, but external factors can play a major role, including:

• Daily life stressors.
• Feeling empty.
• Feeling isolated.
• Problems in relationships.
• Financial crisis.
• Attraction towards stimuli that cause happiness, such as fast food and its mood-enhancing ingredients.

4. Biological factors

The nature of the human body affects its emotions, which makes some people more susceptible to emotional eating than others. Examples of this include:

• Weight

According to studies, obese people are more likely to become more sensitive to emotions, making them vulnerable to emotional eating.

• Gender

Hormonal changes make women resort more to eating as a way to escape from their intense feelings.

Emotional Eating Solving Tips

It may be difficult to change a habit like emotional eating, but it is not impossible. Here are some ways that can help you deal with it:

1. Start writing down feelings

It is important to understand your habits better, as eating can automatically trigger an emotional response.

The more you understand how you feel when you do certain things, the more likely you are to turn things around, so try keeping a record of those times when you eat but aren’t hungry.

Write down:

• What was happening?
• How were you feeling?
• What emotions did you notice when you felt like eating?
• Did you eat right away or did you wait a few minutes?
• Did you do something to distract yourself?

Try not to judge what you find in your logs, and also try to develop a genuine curiosity about what happens with emotional eating.

This takes a lot of practice, be gentle with yourself as you explore, and it doesn’t have to be perfect.

2. Find a new way to interact

We’ve learned the drivers behind emotional eating, and it’s time to move from diagnosis to treatment.

Once you discover what triggers your emotional eating, whether it’s certain feelings, situations, or thoughts running through your mind, you can start making positive changes.

For example, if you notice that you always turn to food when you feel stressed, this means that stress is the problem you should focus on.

So try techniques like exercise, meditation, or relaxing in a warm bath to help relieve stress and therefore emotional eating.

If you find yourself eating without hunger just because you’re bored, try creating new ways to avoid this feeling, such as exploring a new hobby, reading a book, or taking a short walk.

Do not give up. Changing your way of thinking and moving from relying on food to participating in new activities requires patience.

Try a variety of things to find out exactly what works for you, and stay aware that every little step you take toward a healthy relationship with food brings you closer to achieving your goals.

3. Mindfulness exercises

Mindfulness benefits mental health, as it has been proven effective in controlling anxiety and depression, and studies have shown that it reduces excess food intake as a result of stress.

Practicing mindfulness means staying in the present moment without distractions. If you find that stress, low mood, and anxiety are triggers for your eating, mindfulness may help you.

Here are some examples of mindfulness:

• Relax quietly while focusing on breathing.
• Pay attention to tight areas of the body and consciously relax them.
• Listening to guided meditation is a process in which you use mental images of places or things that help you relax. This method aims to use all the senses as much as possible, including smells and things that you can smell, see, hear, and feel.

Mindful eating is an approach to life that focuses on the relationship between the individual and his food, and is not just a new diet, but rather allows the mind, eyes, and senses of taste to control eating habits, instead of relying on bad habits, feeling bored or stressed.

It improves the relationship between you and food, and you will be able to appreciate every bite and enjoy eating healthy and balanced food, so these benefits will reflect positively on your mental and physical health.

It is worth noting that mindful eating is not only about the food itself, but before you reach for fast food, ask yourself: Am I really hungry or am I bored? Is this feeling caused by emotions or hunger? Can I drink water instead of eating?

Implementing these steps comes with training and practice, and you can look for an experienced nutritionist in the field of conscious eating; To help you implement this concept correctly.

4. Watch your appetite

Discovering the feeling of hunger and fullness requires focus and exercise. Over time, we can notice signs of hunger

Such as stomach noises, feeling dizzy, and low energy levels, we also recognize the signs of excessive satiety.

Therefore, it is recommended to monitor your hunger level on a scale from one to ten and check it regularly to observe your personal hunger and satiety patterns.

Level one is extreme hunger, where you may feel physically uncomfortable, weak, and ready to eat anything edible, while level ten is extreme satiety, such as after a large meal.

5. Ask for support

Don’t isolate yourself when you feel sad or anxious, as it can be difficult to deal with these feelings alone.

A quick call to a friend or family member may have a positive impact on your mood, and there are also formal support groups that can help you.

Also, look for a dietitian with experience supporting people with emotional eating or eating disorders, who can help you identify and deal with the causes of eating.

6. Physical movement

Movement activities help reduce the level of stress hormones in the body. They also release mood-boosting endorphins, so an exercise schedule can help control the underlying emotional triggers of eating.

You can do some simple exercises or go out for a short five-minute walk if you are currently inactive, and see how this affects your mood.

7. Schedule your meals

Scheduling your meals is an important part of cognitive behavioral therapy for emotional eating, as it includes behavioral strategies such as eating regular meals at specific times.

Scheduling your meals can help control physical hunger, and may also help control emotional hunger.

Meal scheduling has been associated with food variety, diet quality, and a lower rate of obesity, and scheduling doesn’t mean you need to prepare an entire week’s worth of food in advance.

Alternatively, you can create a weekly eating plan that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack, then decide what time you will eat each meal.

8. Avoid dispersants

Avoid distraction while eating. If you are working or watching TV, your mind may miss the entire food experience and speed up your eating.

You should devote your full attention to food to increase your enjoyment of it and know when you feel full before you eat an excessive amount.

9. Promote positive self-talk

Self positivity and compassion, They are tools that can help you control emotional eating and promote a healthy diet.

Try to become more aware of the stories you tell yourself. It may be helpful to write down some of the recurring negative thoughts that come to your mind.

Remember that you don’t have to believe everything your mind tells you, and be curious about where these thoughts come from.

As you become more aware of all the negative thoughts that come up, you can begin to change them. Write down how you can change the way you talk to yourself. Consider that you are talking to a dear friend and use that language to yourself.

10. Eat an appropriate amount of food

We realize that emotional hunger and physical hunger can be two very different things, however making sure you get enough food is an important foundational habit.

Our brains are programmed to make sure we eat enough food to survive. You may notice that you feel like eating more food late in the day if you haven’t eaten enough that day.

Many people find that eating a variety of foods with their meals is the most filling, and you can try different meals to see which meals fill you up the most.

If you notice that you always feel physically hungry during the day, it may help to increase your protein intake, which keeps you feeling full longer.

Try to have 30% of your daily food needs from protein sources. They include:

• Meat, poultry and seafood.
• Eggs.
• Dairy products.
• Soy and tofu drinks.
• Legumes and lentils.
• Nuts and seeds.

In conclusion, emotional eating is an experience known to most and is considered a source of comfort and happiness at the moment, but we need to remember that taking care of our general health is also of great importance. We can achieve this balance by applying some of the simple guidelines that we mentioned.

So, let’s remember that consciously enjoying food and eating balanced meals that contain a variety of healthy nutrients are key.

We must also learn how to deal with emotions and stress healthily, engage in regular physical activity, and make sure to get enough sleep.

Ultimately, we can enjoy food and take care of our health at the same time. Let food fill our hearts with happiness and our bodies with energy and activity. Start today to follow a healthy and balanced lifestyle, and always remember that you deserve care and good health.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Emotional Eating

Written by: Dr. Nahed Abd-Alkareem Ahmad

Sources:

clevelandclinic

healthline

helpguide