When it comes to emotional eating, concerns from our clients often sound something like…

Do any of the above resonate with you? If so, then this article is for you. We are aiming to answer your questions including:

Eating does not occur in a void and is inherently an emotional experience. Ever since you were a newborn, food has been a comfort. Think about a mother giving milk to her infant to soothe them when they are crying. just the smell of certain foods can evoke nostalgia and a sense of comfort. The smell of fresh bread baking, a curry simmering on the stove or a roast dinner in the oven.

There is a lot of dietary culture messaging out there that would have you believe something is wrong with your for turning to food to soothe yourself, But actually this is a very normal human thing to do, and something that all of we do, regardless of body shape or size.

So, all of we eat emotionally, It’s when eating is our MAIN or ONLY method to deal with difficult emotions, that emotional eating can become problematic.,

If this sounds like you, please know that you are far from being alone. So many of us have never learned the mechanisms we need to sit with and cope with difficult emotions. And so it makes sense that you are turning to food. It’s all you know and it is serving a purpose right now.

The exciting news is that with the right tools, education and support, you can learn new ways to cope with tough feelings, without always turning to food.,

If you are eating less calories than what your body needs, this can result in feeling very out of control around food, This is a common experience amongst our clients who are often engaged in weight loss attempts, which leave them feeling deprived and undernourished., No matter what myfitnesspal says, eating less than 2000kcal per day as a grown adult human is normally going to leave you feeling crazy around food, We have plenty of research to prove it. This is a survival mechanism. It’s your body saying, “There is a famine, my food supply is inadequate and unpredictable.” It doesn’t know you are on a diet. What happens is that you then experience “backlash” or “out-of-control eating” as your body’s attempt to get the calories it needs., And this occurs regardless of body fat stores, shape or size. This “backlash” eating can often feel very emotionally when in fact, it is not comfort eating but rather your body’s attempt to survive a perceived famine,

This is only something to be mindful of before reading the next sections of this article. Because often, when our clients learn how much food their body actually needs (not the crazy low amounts that years of dieting have instilled) and begin to nourish themselves, perceived emotional eating resolves (food for thought, maybe it wasn’t emotional eating, maybe you were just hungry?).

It is no use saying to yourself “uh, I’m such a pig for eating that tub of ice cream”. That will only make you feel worse. Research shows that harsh and negative self-talk actually demotivates us and prevents positive behavior change., This is why we teach our clients to tools of self-compassion and non-judgmental self-dialogue, This helps them to approach their behaviors from a place of curiosity, which leaves space to learn about their behaviors and how they might change them.,

For many, this is not a simple task. If you grew up in environments where you were not encouraged to express your emotions freelyit can be tricky at first to know what the heck it is your emotions even are, You are not alone and with practice you can learn. If this is tough for you, professional support can be particularly helpful in learning this important life skill.

Use the emotions you identified to figure out what is is you TRULY need in the moment.

Say you realized you are feeling lonely, then what you are needing is connection. Perhaps you can reach out to a friend on the phone.

If you are feeling sad, then you need joy. What activities can bring you joy? Petting a dog, watching a funny video, dancing to a feel-good song?

If you are feeling bored, you need stimulation.

This is the life-changing magic of tuning into our emotions. Once we learn how, we get a gateway into our NEEDS and once we learn to recognize & meet our needs, life usually gets a lot smoother.

4. Make a list of ways to soothe yourself, that aren’t food

• watching a show on netflix
• painting your nails
• calling your friend
• going for a walk around the block
• dancing to some happy music
• deep breathing into your belly for 10 counts
• a 10-minute yoga video like this one

Anything that makes you feel distracted and/or comfortable. Write the list in your phone notes or stick the piece of paper somewhere you can easily refer to it when you need.

Emotional eating isn’t inherently bad and there are many worse things you could be doing for your health than eating in times of stress and anxiety, Try looking at it through a different lens… this is an important clue that your body is giving you about your unmet needs, what are you really feeling? And thereforewhat do you really need? All if this can be a treasure trove of information when we are equipped with self-compassion and able to view it from a curious lens.