We have all heard the common saying, “You are what you eat.”
But, have you heard, “You eat, how you feel?” There is a connection between what we eat and how we feel. It is estimated, that about 75% of all of our eating is emotionally driven. While there is no exact “right” or “normal” way to eat, as people have adopted different approaches. For example, individuals may have different frequency of meals (e.g., intermittent fasting) or eat or avoid certain types of food (e.g., plant-based, keto, Paleo, vegan, etc). However, frequent episodes of eating food to cope or change your emotions is extremely common and considered emotional eating. Like the usage of drugs, alcohol, shopping, or sex, food can allow us to escape uncomfortable emotions by either temporarily avoiding, distracting, numbing, changing, or intensifying them.
While occasional episodes of overeating or emotionally eating are normal and may not be problematic. However, about 38% of adults report they have overeaten or eaten unhealthy foods in the past month because of stress. 50% of these adults also report engaging in these behaviors weekly or more. This has led to binge eating disorder three times more prevalent than bulimia and anorexia.
Here are 2 tips to help gain awareness and manage emotional and binge eating.
1.) Increase Mindfulness and Attune to Emotions Without Food
Most people believe their issues with emotional, or binge eating are due to completely to intractable sugar or junk food cravings. We’ve all heard someone say or maybe we even believe we couldn’t live without cheese, sugar laden food, coffee, pizza, bread. We often feel if we didn’t have these cravings, then we would be able to stick to a diet or not engage in emotional eating.
Truth of the matter is that, when we engage in emotional eating, we don’t crave food. Yes, you read that correctly. What you’re craving is a different emotional experience or state, and you use food as a tool to satisfy that craving (i.e shift to a different emotional experience).
Look at a common situation of someone experiencing anxiety or worry, after learning about possible layoffs that may occur at their job. They began having ruminating thoughts of worry, difficulty sleeping, and become ridden with anxiety, which is an extremely unpleasant emotional state. This person seeks relief or desire a different emotional state (less anxiety, distracted, or numb), so they use comfort food to change or avoid their current emotional state of anxiety.
People don’t always realize that food, especially sugar or comfort foods, is akin to drugs. Similar to how we have a craving to feel less anxious in social situations, we may use alcohol as tool to satisfy that craving to change our emotional state from socially anxious to calm. Except we use food instead.
By practicing mindfulness and becoming aware of your emotions and triggers, you can begin to truly attune and regulate your emotions without reliance on food. Often emotional or binge eating becomes a habit, and people have become accustomed to using food anytime they experience any uncomfortable or unpleasant emotions.
Mindfulness is the practice in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. There are a several ways you can practice mindfulness including breathing, progressive muscle relaxation. All of which are beneficial ways to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.
Mindfulness allows you to become aware of your thoughts, feelings/emotions, urges, and behaviors. Once you become aware of what you’re feeling and determine the emotional state your craving, it’s easier to choose a different behavior (e.g., go for walk, call a friend, watch a tv show) to satisfy your craving for a different emotional state. Or it may be beneficial to use problem solving or distraction skills, or implement distress tolerance tactics to sit with your emotions.
As a psychologist, specializing in eating disorders, I often hear patients express feelings of shame and guilt related to their emotional and binge eating habits. I’ve never had a client that felt food attuned to their emotions or solved their problems. People find it has a tendency to exacerbate their feelings, because emotional eating only gives temporary relief. Two to three hours later people usually experience their original emotion more intensly, plus additional feelings of regret or guilt.
2.) Know the Difference between Emotional and Physiological Hunger
Recall that majority of our eating behaviors are driven by our emotions. Therefore, many people don’t recognize their physiological hunger cues. In addition to, poor eating habits, blood sugar issues, hormonal imbalances, genetics, cultural dynamics, trauma, or history of food insecurity may also complicate our ability to ignore emotional hunger cues.
Emotional vs. Physiological Hunger
Physiological hunger is the physical urge to consume food. This type of hunger occurs gradually over some time, usually several hours after a meal, and hunger usually disappears after reaching satiety. It may be accompanied by one or some of the following: hunger pangs, stomach noises, decreased energy, difficulty concentrating and making decisions, lightheadedness, headache, shakiness, irritability, and even nausea.
While emotional hunger tends to have a quick onset and not related to timing of last meal. It can continue, even after physical satiation is reached. It may also accompany feelings of guilt, regret or shame. Everyone can call to their mind, at time they felt completely stuffed after a large meal but say yes to dessert.
How can we learn to be attuned to our true physiological hunger cues and know the difference in the moment. Here are two ways to help you.
Desire for only a specific type of food.
An easy way to identify emotional hunger, is you have a desire for a specific type of food. Especially, if you’re wanting something sweet, savory, or junk food.
Whole unprocessed foods don’t seem appetizing.
If you got lost in the woods for a day, and when you’re finally found they only have an apple and a salad for you to eat. I can guarantee you’re not going to turn it down.
Next time, you’re feeling bored or anxious and find yourself looking in your cupboards or about to order Uber eats, ask yourself, Could I eat a salad and an apple? If the answer is no, it’s likely emotional hunger and not physiological hunger.
If you’re interested in learning new coping mechanisms and skills to help replace emotional eating, check out my CBT self-help book to help retrain the brain and regulate your emotions. CBT can be used to develop healthy coping skills, alter thinking patterns, and ultimately help people live happier lives.
Written By FitPros Wellbeing Speaker, Tiffany Loggins.
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