Breaking the Cycle: Strategies to Stop Emotional Eating

This blog will also tackle the different triggers of this type of coping, how to develop healthier coping mechanisms, and how to build long-term habits to regain control over your relationship with food.

What is emotional eating?

We tend to desire food when we eat to cope and to sooth stress, anxiety, sadness or boredom. This differs from actual hunger because emotional eating serves to manage feelings instead of satisfying the physical need for food.

Here are some signs of emotional eating:
Craving specific “comfort foods” such as sweets like ice cream and the most common one – chocolate, salty snacks, or junk food.
Eating when not physically hungry.
Feeling guilty or regretful after eating.

Why We Eat Emotionally

Stress Relief

Stressful events lead to the release of cortisol, a very important hormone that increases the craving for sugary, salty or fatty foods.

Boredom

Emotionally eating is an easy way to create excitement, delight or pleasure and when one is bored silly, or when there is little or no stimulation around. Food can easily be used to pass time.

Sadness or Loneliness

Eating can be quite comforting or a way of escaping from feelings which are mostly negative. Other feelings may include isolation, sadness or the lack of connection with others.

Fatigue or Exhaustion

When tired the body cries for energy and this results in emotional eating especially for high carb or sugary foods which give the body an energy boost quickly.

Social Pressure

Most social gatherings like buffet dinners are all about food. We may eat to fit in according to peer pressure or because of social anxiety, or we may eat to control uncomfortable emotions in group settings.

Avoidance of Deeper Issues

Food can be used as a way of escaping from other problems, it can be used to escape from deep emotional pain, trauma or feelings that are uncomfortable to deal with.

Identifying Emotional Eating Triggers

Strong emotions can be reasons for emotional eating (eg. anger, jealousy, grief). These feelings may create an urge to self-soothe with food.

When you know the feeling that keeps triggering emotional eating write it down. Keep a food and mood journal. Start by writing down what you eat, when you eat it, and how you feel at that moment. You will start to see patterns emerge over time, which will help you more easily identify potential triggers.

Other Triggers of Emotional Eating

Relationship Conflicts

Arguments, romantic breakups, fight among close friends or feelings of rejection can prompt people to turn to food for comfort.

Financial Worries

Stress are often related to money problems. This can cause people to emotionally eat when they are in a financially stressed and may feel insecure or anxious.

Negative Self-Talk

Feeling low when lacking self-esteem or self-criticising all the time can make individuals seek solace in food to temporarily numb emotions.

Seasonal or Weather Changes

The craving for warm comforting foods like soups, sweets or baked goods has been noted by people when they are feeling cold and gloomy or even diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Building Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Once triggers are found, focus on healthier alternatives to deal with emotions.

Replace food with other stress-relief activities like exercise (Take a walk or do some pilates or yoga or do a quick workout like HIIT. Stress is reduced and endorphins are increased by physical activity.)

Being creative by doing drawing, journaling, or playing a musical instrument like the cello or violin?

Trying out some relaxation techniques.

Practising Mindful Eating

Being totally engaged in the present while eating is mindful eating.

Ways of mindful eating

• Eat slowly, and savour each bite.
• Eliminate common and daily distractions like TV or phones especially when eating meals.
• Check in with your body to see if you are hungry or even thirsty or emotionally eating.

Creating a Supportive Environment

Factors like the environment effectively influence the emotional eating patterns.

Remove tempting “comfort foods” like chocolates. Show food that induce overeating to either reside in hidden places like the top most shelf of a kitchen cabinet or totally make it unavailable in the home. More healthy choices of food should include fruits, nuts, or dairy.

Share goals with friends or family. Why this is good? Because they are the people who can offer their love, stability, encouragement, and someone we can ask as an accountability partner.

If possible, get involved with a group meeting locally that is specific or if you can, see a therapist you think you can open up to.

Long-Term Strategies for Success

To break the emotional eating cycle it needs consistency and patience as well.

Start small by identifying one or two triggers to address first. Mix these healthier habits gradually into daily routine.

Acknowledge and celebrate progress. No matter how small it is. Positive reinforcement, done constantly, boosts confidence and motivation.

Seek professional help if needed:

If emotional eating feels overwhelming or becoming too much or deeply ingrained, a therapist or nutritionist can help uncover underlying issues and create a personalised plan.

Conclusion

Breaking the cycle is important when emotional eating is happening.

There is no quick solution to change this situation. Some of the ways are to figure out the triggers, to establish better coping strategies and to practice conscious eating to regain control over one’s food and emotions relationship.

Remember, small, consistent steps lead to lasting change. Start with one strategy and build from there.

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