We’ve all been there. We’re sad, stressed, or lonely, and we “eat our feelings”. Emotional eating isn’t a sheer matter of willpower. It’s a coping mechanism, and fast and easy way to feel better or gain a sense of control when emotions are high. If our trigger is long-lasting, weight gain can be rapid and significant. However, we may not gain any weight when overeating for a day or two.
Whether it’s a bad day, week, or season, what we eat can make us feel better or worse. Let’s explore how to manage food cravings and address emotions.
What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating is a method of self-soothing when dealing with uncomfortable feelings. This coping method activates our body’s natural reward and pleasure response. It increases dopamine levels in our brain, providing a temporary boost in our mood. The boost is short-lived, which can lead to a vicious cycle of eating more to feel better. Since our food cravings are sweet, salty, and greasy, increased calorie consumption isn’t the only concern. The more of these foods we eat, the more likely we are to feel negative physical and emotional effects.
Top causes of emotional hunger include:
- Anxiety
- Boredom
- Fear
- Loneliness
- Sadness
- Stress
How to know if you’re hungry or stress eating?
When we’re stressed, we may burn more calories. Stress activates our fight-or-flight response, which raises adrenaline and cortisol levels. These hormones can speed up our metabolism, which can increase hunger. They can also increase your heart rate, breathing, and create hormonal imbalances throughout your body. However, hunger and stress eating are two distinctly different things.
Consider the factors below for accurately identifying if your appetite is hunger or emotions.
Physical hunger vs. stress eating
- Hunger comes on gradually, versus an intense craving, typically for unhealthy foods.
- A well-balanced meal satiates hunger, versus binge eating or eating more than an average meal.
- Eating a standard portion and no more once full, versus eating more in a setting or more throughout the day.
- No shame or guilt, versus feeling bad about food choices or how much was consumed.
Is emotional eating bad for you?
When stress is high at home or work, we might turn to a bag of chips, a candy bar, or our go-to indulgent food. Sometimes we’re left in shock at how quickly we consume our indulgence. This can leave us craving more.
When this is a one-off, it’s typically not an issue. But even a one-off overindulgence causes blood sugar to rapidly spike and drop. So, we feel a high, followed by a low. This can span the range of feeling down again to feeling fatigued. If our indulgence is greasy, it can slow our digestion and contribute to other digestive issues. As a result, we may feel tired, heavy, and sluggish.
In addition to how we feel physically after emotional overeating, we may beat ourselves up for “eating our feelings” which can leave us feeling worse than before we indulged.
Is emotional eating an eating disorder?
Neither “emotional eating” or “stress eating” are classified eating disorders. Binge eating for a single meal or day isn’t the same as a binge eating diagnosis.
The longer your emotions go unresolved, the higher your risk of creating a long-term unhealthy habit. This might include developing an eating disorder, but it isn’t something that occurs overnight.
Being properly diagnosed with and treating eating disorders requires a medical professional who specializes in eating disorders.
How to cope with emotional eating
It’s unlikely that you’ll 100% stop turning to food in response to uncomfortable emotions. So, take a proactive approach to minimize how long and how much you overindulge.
#1 Know your triggers
One of the first tools is learning the circumstances that increase your likelihood of emotional eating. Learning your triggers empowers you to take a proactive approach. For example, the holiday season is a popular time for weight gain. This isn’t just due to sweets and holiday treats, but the increase in financial stress and family stress that contribute to emotional overeating.
Top overeating triggers include:
- Conflict: Personal or professional conflict of any kind. This includes relationship conflicts with an employee, colleague, teacher, friend, or family member.
- Stress and anxiety: Feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or worried about work, school, health, family, or anything. Even external stressors, such as the news.
- Boredom: If you’ve counted down all week for the weekend but have nothing to do, you may find yourself bored and overeating.
- Loneliness: We’re amid a loneliness epidemic. Even if you’re constantly connected, you may be lacking genuine connection.
- Grief: An underestimated emotion, we grieve far more than death. A failed relationship, career, dream, or unfulfilled expectation may cause grief.
- Financial stress: A type of stress that warrants its own category, as financial stress typically lasts more than a day or two.
- Fatigue: From jet lag to insomnia, and burning the candle at both ends, you may not make the most nutritious choices when tired, increasing fatigue.
#2 Allow some indulgence
Food can’t address the underlying cause of your emotions, but that isn’t to say there isn’t any value in treating yourself. The key is moderation. So, if eating a pint of ice cream after a breakup is your go-to (and blood sugar isn’t an issue), go for it. But just 1. Or just half a pint.
Or enjoy your winter comfort meal, or the full-fat, full-sugar version of foods you typically swap for something healthier. Or pizza, French fries, or whatever greasy fast food you haven’t had in ages. But just 1 meal.
The key here is to be intentional about it and limit yourself to 1 meal or indulgence. This satiates your craving, without the guilt of mindless eating. Like when you eat a full bag of chips but don’t really remember eating it.
Savor every bite!
#3 Be kind to yourself
If you slipped up for a full day or several days, it’s in the past—so let it go. You’re already navigating a challenging time, so adding the guilt of emotional eating only makes things worse.
Even if it’s been a few months, implementing healthy changes is more challenging if you’re judging yourself. Instead of focusing on what you got wrong, focus on what you got right, and healthier things that make you feel better.
#4 Identify what works for you
Focus less on food, and more on how to manage your current emotions. Consider what will make you feel better that’s healthy and isn’t related to food. The key is in identifying what works for you, as there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Different tools may work in response to different triggers or in different circumstances and seasons of life.
The tips below provide a healthy and longer-lasting method of increasing feel-good hormones that prompt your body’s reward response. Use them for inspiration and make them your own.
Mindfulness practices
Head to YouTube or your preferred wellness app and complete a quick mindfulness activity. This could be guided meditation, journaling, or even counting to 20 before you decide if you’re truly hungry or tempted to eat emotionally. ASMR and other sound therapy can also lift your spirits.
Curb cravings with something healthy
If you like crunch, munch on carrot sticks. Maybe with hummus. If you’re craving something salty, eat veggie chips or healthy popcorn. If you have a sweet tooth, try fulfilling it with frozen yogurt, melon, or sweet fruits. Or sweets made with monk fruit or allulose sugar.
Get moving
It’s challenging to ruminate when working out, but you don’t necessarily need to break a sweat to benefit from this tip. A brisk 15 minute walk or a leisurely stroll in nature boosts your feel-good hormones and can help to refocus your attention. Maybe even walking the dog or walking to a coffee shop.
Genuinely connect with someone
Call a friend, video chat, or make plans to have face-to-face time with someone. This can include someone you can vent to, or someone you catch up with to get your mind off of it. Who you connect with matters, though. This isn’t the time for someone judgmental, but someone who will lift you up.
Do something
Do something non-work related, ideally something that sparks creativity. Read a magazine or book, draw, color, knit, complete a puzzle, or anything that you enjoy. This tip might encourage you to take up a new hobby. Just don’t go down the rabbit hole of mindless gaming, as that can leave you feeling down too.
On-demand talk therapy
Did you know you can schedule an on-demand therapist? If you don’t have the right person to vent to, on-demand therapy might be an option. Even if it’s just a one-off session, you’ll have a compassionate listener and a judgement-free space to share. Your therapist can advise on tailored tools and techniques to ease your emotions. This might include scheduling more sessions.
Ready to recommit to your nutrition?
If you’re overcoming a long period of emotional eating and put on a few pounds, or you want to recommit to nutrition for any reason—we’re here to help! Our Medical Weight Loss Programs provide filling and nutritious meal plans that support health and weight loss, without the extreme deprivation of fad diets. We also offer GLP-1 and other wellness injections.
Schedule an appointment in our Phoenix, Tempe, or Glendale office to learn more!
