Emotional eating is the term used when people use food to hide from, cope with, or even celebrate intense human emotions. Emotional eating can be triggered by stress, fatigue, boredom, or emotions such as loneliness or sadness, among other things. If you find yourself turning to food for comfort or stress, it’s important to know that you’re not alone.
Emotional eating is a habit that many people have developed as a self-soothing technique. In this article, we’ll explore some common triggers for emotional eating and some simple tricks you can use to overcome emotional eating for good!
Stress eating
Stress is one of the biggest triggers when it comes to emotional eating. Stressful situations and stressful inputs such as work-related stress, financial stress, or family-related stress can all potentially trigger us to eat in order to relieve the feelings associated with the situation.
To avoid stress eating, it’s important to get in touch with your own hunger pangs so you can recognize whether you’re truly hungry or if you’re turning to food for comfort and stress relief. When you’re struggling with the urge to open the fridge, use a mindfulness practice to be in the moment and observe what’s happening. The pause should help you better understand the reasons behind your cravings.
Simple trick 1: take deep breaths
Yes, it sounds simple, but there’s a reason deep breathing tops the list of almost any meditation or de-stressing exercise, and that’s because it works. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for 3-5 minutes, filling your belly with air and pushing it all out.
Simple Trick 2: Drink Water or Tea
Water and tea are not only healthy and hydrating, but they can also distract you from any stress-eating hunger pangs. Many of us confuse hunger with thirst, not just in times of stress, but all the time. If you feel hungry, see if a big glass of water will fill you up first.
Intermittent fasting can be a way to be more conscious about what you eat. Also check the blog about intermittent fasting.
Eating when you are exhausted
It’s super common to crave food when you’re tired or fatigued. When you’ve been sitting in front of a computer for hours and can barely ask your brain to make another decision, it might seem like an easy, easy, and comfortable answer.
Simple trick: If you find yourself emotionally turning to food when you’re feeling overtired or burned out, a great way to distract yourself from this trigger is to take a break from the activity that’s causing you to feel tired. Take a nap, go outside, go for a walk, or do some housework. Give yourself a chance to fully reset before returning to the activity in question.
Eating when you're bored
Another common trigger is boredom. Between the constant influx of activities and stimulation from screens, we are no longer used to the feeling of boredom and it makes us feel uncomfortable and alone. Without adequate strategies, boredom can lead to eating or overeating, because eating is, well, something to do.
Simple trick: Have a list of possible activities you can do to relieve boredom.Think: read a book, play a game, do some laundry, do some gardening, etc. Keep this list handy for when the urge strikes.
Emotional eating from loneliness or sadness
Many of us use food to avoid unpleasant emotions. Food can be a way to calm our emotions, but it can also be a way to distract us from our emotions. While eating, you may feel some relief from the emotion, but as soon as you finish eating, the negative emotions will return.
The best way to work through this emotional eating trigger is to feel these unpleasant emotions differently. Remind yourself that emotions, even strong ones, are only temporary and will pass over time. You can also use other ways to distract or work through your emotions, such as writing, painting, exercising, or talking to someone about how you feel.
Simple trick: Try putting on some music! Create a go-to playlist that makes you feel good, energizes you, and lifts you up.
Emotional eating is a common problem that many of us deal with on a daily basis. It’s important to take steps to understand and address your emotional eating so that you can find better ways to cope with intense emotions, boredom, or fatigue. Overcoming emotional eating isn’t easy, so it’s important to be understanding of yourself on this journey. You probably won’t be able to break every bad eating habit in one day. Take it slow and practice addressing these common emotional eating triggers. Awareness of your trigger is a very important step in overcoming emotional eating. Go through this list whenever you feel the urge to soothe yourself with food.
