The issue of emotional eating affects many people. It’s very common, so don’t be embarrassed if this is a problem for you. It’s important that you don’t beat yourself up over anything as you work to make improvements.
Emotional hunger is different from physical hunger, but it can be hard to tell the difference between the two. Emotional hunger can cause these symptoms:
• Feelings of pain in the heart
• Feeling that something is missing in your life
• Feeling of needing comfort
• Need to fill a void in your life
This is different from physical hunger, which is commonly felt as:
• Emptiness in the stomach
• Weakness
• Lack of energy
• Grunting noises
It is important to ask yourself before you eat if you feel physically hungry. If you find that this is not the case, you need to find out what it is that you really feel that makes you want to eat. These are some feelings that can make people want to eat: sadness, anger, confusion, fear, depression, boredom, disappointment, discomfort, bad mood, irritation, feeling insecure, upset, puzzled, procrastination, stress.
The process of eating is supposed to be enjoyable, but eating to deal with an emotion or fix something in your life is not going to work. Food can comfort you in the short term, distract you from bread, or even numb you with a food hangover, but when you’re done eating, not only is the root problem still there, but now you probably feel guilty about eating all of the food. Every emotion or problem has a solution.
If you have used food to deal with emotions, it is important to acknowledge this and be kind to yourself. Let go of any guilt or shame you feel or have felt about turning to food to be happy. Dieting is another thing that leads to emotional eating: dieting en masse with your emotions, so you not only binge because of the overwhelming biological urge to eat, but you eat to comfort yourself from the pain of dieting!
Here are 3 ways to work on overcoming emotional eating:
1) Ask yourself: Am I physically hungry? If the answer is yes, ask yourself what you want to eat and allow yourself to eat! Honor your hunger and satiety. Eat until you are full and know you have nourished your body. If the answer is no, go to step 2:
2) Ask yourself: What am I feeling right now? When you realize you’re not biologically hungry, take a break instead of reaching for food and look deeply to see what you’re really feeling. This may not be an easy question to answer, especially if you are out of touch with your emotions. However, if you know you’re not physically hungry and are turning to food for another reason, this is a great place to start! Give yourself a pat on the back for being aware that there is another reason you want food.
3) Ask yourself: What do I need? Many people eat to satisfy some unfulfilled need. If you discover the emotions you’re experiencing, try to figure out what you can do besides eat that actually addresses the issue at hand.
Emotional eating can be a dangerous thing if it gets out of control. Not only does it lead to weight gain, but it can also make you sick and avoid the emotions that make you turn to food.