Emotional Eating Explained

Whether we realize it or not, many of us have established a particular relationship with the foods we eat. This means that instead of treating food as nutrients that must be consumed for energy or health, we often turn to certain foods at certain times for comfort, as a reward, or to feel joy. In other words, emotional eating.

Everyone has food preferences, but the types of food we turn to when we are feeling emotional generally tend to be high in sugar and fat. This can contribute to a toxic cycle in which we eat because we are feeling emotional, and then become emotional because of the amount of food or type of food we have consumed. This is the essence of emotional eating and is something that an estimated 38% of American adults experience.

Emotional eating explained.

Scientists have found a link between the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), insulin (the hormone that regulates glucose levels in the blood), and the food we prefer when under stress or emotional turmoil. Studies show that foods that are high in sugar and fat have a stress-dampening effect on our nervous systems when consumed.

We might not be aware of any nutritional science when eating our favorite takeout foods, but we certainly feel the effects of them in countering whatever emotional state we were in.

Emotional eating is often learned at a young age, where foods like pizza, chocolate, candy, and soda were often rewards for good behavior, and achievements, or were soothing tools given by exasperated parents.

This builds a subconscious connection in our brains from a young age that good behavior must be rewarded with certain “treats.” The sugar content in most children’s food and drink items, such as cereal and fruit juices, is incredibly high.

Studies have shown that dietary habits are often fueled by culture. For example, in America, women are five times more likely to use food as a stress-coping mechanism while men tend toward alcohol, cigarettes, or other substances to deal with stress. Meanwhile, in Finland and Sweden, it is men who mostly consume sugary foods along with heavy usage of alcohol, although it is not necessarily linked to stress.

Are you an emotional eater?

Emotional eaters generally have a long and sometimes complicated relationship with food. On the other hand, some of our habits as emotional eaters may be so ingrained that we are unaware of the habits we have that may be contributing to our poor physical health and emotional well-being.

If we become rattled or defensive when questioned about our dietary habits, this is a good indicator that we have an emotional connection to food. A tool that may help you is a food journal.

This means simply keeping a record of every meal you have and the mental or emotional state you were in when you ate it. This will provide a visual overview of your eating habits and might provide some insight into the subconscious choices you are making.

It is helpful to begin to recognize physical hunger versus emotional hunger. For example, emotional hunger often arrives suddenly with seemingly no prompt. The urge to consume something, generally something specific like a candy bar, is urgent with emotional hunger.

When we consume something in an emotional state, we tend to “zone out,” meaning that before we know it, we have consumed an entire carton of ice cream or simply more food than we realized. Unlike physical hunger, which begins as a rumbling in the belly, emotional hunger often begins with a mental fixation which may sound like “I need to eat ___” if you were to verbalize it.

There are questions you might want to consider such as: does food make you feel safe? Do you regularly feel out of control around certain foods? How often do you use food as a reward? Do you find yourself eating when you are not hungry? Do you regularly eat until you reach the point where you feel sick or stuffed?

It’s important to remember that our weight, our health, our self-image, and our confidence are all connected. It is incredibly common to carry around some trauma in any of these areas.

Emotional eating is often part of a cycle in which we attempt to find comfort, reward, or control, and none of these instincts are bad or wrong. Self-care is incredibly important. But some of the tools we use to try and practice self-care might be negatively impacting our lives, and certain foods are toxic for us in the long term.

Breaking the emotional eating cycle.

One of the things that many have found when trying to address their health and diet is that they may fall into the binge-purge cycle. This is where we try to steer our habits in the opposite direction by making sudden and extreme changes.

The binge-purge cycle is often driven by shame or frustration. It might look like throwing all the food out of your freezer and buying natural, healthy ingredients, while adopting a steely resolution to change.

Sadly, this often results in moments of temptation and “failure,” where you go back on your resolution and feast on all the foods you have been missing and craving. So begins a cycle that is a pendulum between shame and determination.

Emotional eating cannot be treated simply as a problem to be banished from our life. It certainly cannot be addressed by extreme, overnight changes. The way to break the cycle of emotional eating might not be so clear-cut, because every individual is triggered by a unique set of challenges.

You might want to begin by identifying the most common triggers that cause you to indulge. It might simply be a matter of having a stressful timetable and choosing convenient meals that also bring comfort. Perhaps you established some unhealthy eating patterns during the pandemic that now are causing issues with your mental or physical health.

Checking in with yourself and considering your stressors is a good start, and you may want to continue by altering your meal plans. Remember to institute gradual changes. For example, rather than eliminating take-out foods, limit them to one meal a week. Instead of cutting out candy completely, have less of it and have more naturally sweet fruits. Changes should never be sudden or extreme if you want to see long-term results.

Physical exercise is important for both physical and emotional health. The act of getting up and making physical changes to your routine is often where true change begins. Whatever type of physical activity you choose, ensure that it becomes a regular part of your routine and that you continue especially when you feel least up for it. This is another practical way of affecting your thought patterns and interrupting your emotional urges.

Not all emotional eating stems from stress or emotional trauma. Many of us use food to stave off boredom. Depending on your personality type and schedule, you might want to take up a new hobby, learn a new skill, or make more intentional use of your free time.

We tend to eat mindlessly while watching TV or scrolling through apps, so replacing junk food with healthy options like carrots which have a satisfying crunch might be a good idea. You will still be eating merely to have something to do, but the foods themselves will be contributing positively to your nervous system.

Next Steps

Many of us have a complex relationship with food and use it for joy, comfort, or as a reward. The food toward which we gravitate is often unhealthy and can contribute to low self-esteem and health issues. It takes intention and disruption of our habits to become healthier and must be a long-term process made up of small steps.

You may wish to contact a dietician or health expert to gain control of your life if you feel that emotional eating has become a problem for you. You may also wish to consider spending some time with a counselor at Redlands Christian Counseling to understand the core of your emotional eating in a safe, judgment-free space.

Contact us to find a Christian counselor in Redlands, California who will be the right fit for you on your journey to better health and emotional wellness.