Are You an Emotional Eater?

🍕What is emotional eating?

Reaching for food several times a week or more to suppress and soothe negative feelings. Some have guilt after eating this way, leading to overeating with a negative relationship to food.

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🍕Why do people cope with food?

Food fills voids and creates temporary wholeness with a feeling of warmth, compassion, and fullness that most humans endure.

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🍕What do you do?

🍒Recognize the difference between emotional hunger vs. true hunger. If you are only craving certain foods, your hunger comes about abruptly, you binge with no sense of fullness, or you feel guilty about eating -you are experiencing emotional hunger.

🍒Find other ways to cope with stress. When my clients check-in with me, I always ask what stressors are occurring in their life and how they are dealing with it. I always encourage daily practice of hobbies.

🍒Move your body. Find your exercise.

🍒Meditation, if that’s your thing.

🍒Keep a food diary.

🍒Work on positive self-talk.

🍒Don’t restrict yourself. Restriction or repetitive meals with no change can cause negative eating behaviors within individuals that use food as coping mechanisms.

🍒If you are working with a nutritionist/coach and these types of solutions are not discussed or encouraged, time for a new nutritionist.

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🍕Food may temporarily cause ease with emotions, but the feelings behind the hunger must be addressed.