Calling Yourself An Emotional Eater? Here's the Problem with Labeling
By Kayley George, RDN, LD
LABELS
Can foods be good or bad? Have you labeled food such as comfort food, easy food, party food, happy food, sad food, lazy food, stress food?
It is a common practice for most of us as we have been raised in a society where food is used to express emotions a lot of times. Different foods stand for different meanings and represent certain occasions e.g. roasted turkey for thanksgiving, wings for Super Bowl, etc. but, these kinds of practices can lead to emotional eating.
EMOTIONAL EATING
Emotional eating is when food is used to satisfy emotions and feed the feelings rather than feeding the body. Generally, these foods tend to be rich and heavily filled with high calories such as fried chicken, burger, etc. But the truth is that although for a little bit you might feel better emotional eating comes with its own a lot of other consequences that can be harmful
Emotional eating is a cycle in which something upsets you and makes you want to eat because of how you ‘feel’. This way you end up eating more and feel guilty and powerless over food which makes you upset again causing the cycle to continue.
ARE YOU REALLY HUNGRY?
As mentioned above one kind of hunger is because of emotions which are known as Emotional Hunger. The other kind aka Physical Hunger is when your stomach is empty, and the body signals that you are hungry.
It can be difficult to distinguish between the two at times so here are some quick tips
1. Pause and Check: a simple rule stated by experts is analyzing the situation before eating. taking a small break to question and check up on yourself if the food you craving are will feed your body or feelings. cues like when and how you start feeling hungry and how does it feel after the meals can help you decide.
2. Self-discovery about which emotions affect you the most while you are eating. how you might associate different emotions with different patterns of eating. e.g. might eat more when stressed.
Recognizing the pattern in which they trigger you. Why do you feel a certain emotion? Discover the root cause of it. how does the emotion trigger you?
Mindful eating. Simply knowing what is going inside your body system. Realizing what you are eating in every bite. Listening to your body. Concentrate on your food.
Are you providing food to nourish your body or to celebrate/overcome an emotion? Is the emotion that you feel linked with the speed at which you eat? Does your stomach feel empty or you just feel bored/sad? Are you sitting on a dining table or are you munching while gazing at the fridge and cabinets?
EMOTIONAL HUNGER VS PHYSICAL HUNGER
Emotional hunger tends to occur abruptly after an explosion of feelings whereas physical hunger develops over time as food takes a while to digest. Emotional eating is generally centered on one food group and foods. If you feel physically hungry you want closer to a balanced meal containing different food groups. Lastly, physical hunger is easier to satisfy and detect when you are full and don't want to eat more but when eating emotionally the sense of fullness can be lost and binge eating can occur making you feel guilty and ashamed about it.
The reason for emotional eating can be various. Food gives us a feeling of fullness but sometimes we try to use the same food to give us the same fullness to our feeling and fill the void. Stress, boredom, social influence, habits from younger life, stuffing emotions or feelings of emptiness are some of the common reasons why people start eating emotionally
DIVERT THE ENERGY
As life moves on problems arise and we feel emotions. These emotions are what make us human. therefore, emotions can’t be avoided but emotional eating can be avoided. Try other ways to deal and help you cope with the stress that will lead to benefits and further help in solving the issues than creating new ones
Here are some of the alternatives to deal with emotions rather than emotional eating:
1. Exercise and Yoga
2. Meditation
3. Affirmations
4. Food Journaling
5. Reading
6. Eating a healthy balanced diet
7. Seek support
BE MORE MINDFUL
It can be quite difficult after realizing that you have been eating emotionally to stop. Some tips to do this is by focusing on what you eat. Eating mindfully by controlling the portion sizes, taking out the foods that you usually tend to give in when you feel a certain way, not going to the grocery store when overwhelmed with emotions and reducing the distractions while eating so that all the concentration can be paid to what you are eating.
DON’T STOP YOUR FEELINGS
It is almost impossible to not feel anything for food as food is personal and emotional. Feelings relate to food and it is important to maintain that connection with it healthily. Feeling for food is normal and good but depending on food to make us feel better or using it to suppress our feelings is unhealthy.
AM I AN EMOTIONAL EATER?
A lot of us can relate to emotional eating on some level but does identify yourself as one fulfills the purpose? It does not. It is very easy to assume that it is too hard to ever remove yourself from being an emotional eater and permanently label yourself and then making it your identity. But, doing this is although the simpler and easier route, it defeats the purpose. We as humans can mold ourselves and improve each day. Therefore, instead of giving irreversible tags about eating lifestyle, let's work towards on how to achieve the healthiest relationship towards food that I mindful and intuitive.
CONCLUSION
In a world where we are dealing with so much around us and the fear of unknown growing each day, there is a chance that you might feel stressed and feel like eating emotionally but learn on how to differentiate between emotional and physical hunger. stop using food to achieve or cope with emotional satisfaction. find another route to work through your emotions such as journaling etc. Believe in yourself that you can change and do not make these labels your identity.
To get in contract with a registered dietitian for more guidance on eating, set up a FREE consultation with us!
Published on Aug 24, 2020 at 7:14 am