We have ALL had stints with emotional eating. Sometimes those stints can be for a short period of time (ew, heartache!), or becomes a habitual cycle that acts as a common coping mechanism for boredom, sadness or fear. Frustratingly, emotional eating is often a habit that is not aligned with our core values and goals, which then leaves us feeling guilty and annoyed at ourselves for ‘not doing better’.
You are not alone, defective or weak. Congratulations, you are a woman. In most instances, emotional eating is linked to an unpleasant feeling or life-changing scenario, but it can also be triggered by intense positive emotions.
All habits serve a purpose. Sometimes those habits are mal-adaptive – in other words, they’re not effective at solving the problem you seek to tackle.
Example:
I get a stressful email from my boss, and I eat a KitKat. The KitKat doesn’t solve my boss being a dick – it provides a soothing moment, which quickly passes once the KitKat is eaten. In the short-term it increases the serotonin production in my gut (yay food is coming down!) but then within a few minutes, that calming feeling is gone and I’ve now consumed energy my body didn’t functionally require = in comes the guilt.
Source: Emotional Eating and How to Stop It – Help Guide
So how do we tackle this cycle in the best way to manage this mal-adaptive coping mechanism?
We need to identify the issue the habit seeks to resolve, and then re-design our coping mechanisms.
Tip: Next time you find yourself eating emotionally, tell yourself to HALT the BS. An acronym that asks – am I feeling Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, Bored or Stressed? Only the first feeling requires intake of food.
Tips to avoid emotional eating:
Serotonin is the Neurotransmitter that helps us feel happy, calm and in control. Often people that suffer from disordered eating have low production of serotonin.
Check in with yourself right now – is food one of the biggest providers of joy in your day? If so, it’s time to add more joy into your life daily.
To ensure you have enough serotonin production, look after your gut health (where 80% of your serotonin is produced).
- Aim for 30g fibre daily
- Avoid ultra-processed food
- Engage in 10-20 minutes of joyous, playful activities for YOURSELF daily – that might be petting a dog, painting, hugging your partner, colouring, self-massage, singing, dancing around your apartment, having an orgasm etc – but this must be away from digital screens, and must be ENGAGED play – not zoning out with Netflix.
- Reduce known causes of stress and consider a quality adaptogen supplement.
- Improve sleep quality and quantity.
Tip: Try scheduling in 10 minutes of daily PLAY once a day (set a calendar reminder) and see your reliance on food as your JOY fall away.
References:
The role of serotonin in eating disorders | PMID: 2197074
Toward a unified theory of serotonin dysregulation in eating and related disorders | PMID: 8584599
Our Memberships are for you.
Need structure and to be held accountable to hit your goals?
