How To Prevent Emotional Eating: Breaking Free

Emotional eating is a common behavior in which individuals use food to cope with their emotions rather than to satisfy physical hunger. This behavior can lead to unhealthy eating patterns, fluctuations in weight, and emotional distress. Understanding how to prevent emotional eating and break free from its cycle is crucial for achieving better physical and mental health. 

What is Emotional Eating?

Emotional eating involves using food to deal with emotions rather than to satisfy physical hunger. People often turn to food for comfort during stressful times, loneliness, boredom, or as a reward. The problem arises when this behavior becomes a regular coping mechanism, leading to negative consequences such as guilt, weight fluctuations, and worsened emotional health.

The key challenge with emotional eating is when one becomes reliant on eating for self-soothing. Self-soothing is a way to calm ourselves during periods of emotional distress. It typically involves engaging in activities or behaviors that help us regulate emotions and find a sense of inner peace. 

Healthy self-soothing techniques can include mindfulness (focusing attention on sensory experiences), breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, and engaging in hobbies that lead to a sense of joy. Emotional eating occurs when an individual too heavily relies on eating for self-soothing instead of having a healthy repertoire of alternatives.

How To Prevent Emotional Eating

Emotional eating can be prevented through various techniques, including mindfulness, therapy, and adopting better habits. 

Recognize Emotional Eating Triggers

The first step in preventing emotional eating is awareness. To change habitual behavior, we need to recognize it as a problem and be aware of when we engage in it. Once we are aware, we can start noticing what triggers it, what feelings and thoughts get triggered, and how to cope with it.

Common triggers include:

• Stress: High stress levels can lead to cravings for high-calorie, sweet, or fatty foods.
• Emotional Distress: Feelings of sadness, anxiety, or loneliness can prompt emotional eating.
• Boredom: Eating out of boredom is a way to fill time and provide a sense of activity.
• Habits: Certain situations or activities, like watching TV, can become associated with eating.

Keeping a journal to track your eating habits and emotions can help identify patterns and triggers. Note what you ate, how you felt before and after eating, and any specific events or circumstances that led to eating.

The awareness can be helpful in itself, as at least then you have a choice of whether to act on a habit or not. However, simply telling someone to throw away their only known source of self-soothing is not enough. Instead, they need to start practicing alternative techniques successfully so they no longer rely on eating to regulate their emotions.

Develop Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Once you know your triggers, you can decide how to act in the moment. The critical decision is whether to continue to use eating to self-soothe or start practicing alternative strategies to serve the same function. Here are some examples:

• Exercise: Physical activity is a great way to relieve stress and improve your mood. It releases endorphins, which are natural mood lifters.
• Meditation and Mindfulness:  Practicing mindfulness can help you stay present and aware of your emotions without reacting to them with food. A popular mindfulness tool is to create your own “soothing box,” a collection of items to stimulate the five senses in a way you like. You can, for example, put some pleasant fabrics in there, a scented skin-lotion, a music record (or a reminder of a soothing playlist), etc. Then, when you recognize a trigger, you can mindfully engage with the items in the box.
• Hobbies: Engaging in activities you enjoy, such as reading, gardening, or crafting, can distract you from emotional eating. Hobbies are natural ways to lift mood and a sense of fulfillment. Hobbies are particularly important if you lead a stressful life with many demands from the world, as they balance what you do for others with what you do for yourself.
• Social Support: Talking to friends, family, or a therapist can provide emotional support and help you deal with feelings constructively.

Establish Healthy Eating Habits

Developing healthy eating habits is essential to breaking free from emotional eating. By consciously choosing how, what, and when you want to eat, you can create new eating habits that are better for your physical and mental well-being. Here are some pointers to start thinking about this:

• Regular Meals: Eating regular, balanced meals can help maintain stable blood sugar and energy levels. This can prevent hunger-induced emotional fluctuations that result in emotional eating for some.
• Healthy Snacks: Keep healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables, and nuts on hand to avoid reaching for unhealthy options.
• Mindful Eating: Pay attention to your food, savor each bite, and eat slowly. This practice can help you become more aware of your hunger and fullness cues.
• Portion Control: Be mindful of portion sizes to avoid overeating, especially during emotional distress.

Self-Compassion

Practicing self-compassion is essential for preventing emotional eating. Practice recognizing and naming your emotions without judgment. Observe your emotions and thoughts with compassion; be kind to yourself if you experience a setback. Instead of criticizing yourself, view them as opportunities to learn and improve your coping strategies.

Some may struggle with the concept of self-compassion. Unfortunately, it is often confused with laziness or self-indulgence. However, self-compassion is better seen as acknowledging suffering and encouraging its relief.

For example, if someone falls, you don’t tell them just to stay down. That would encourage laziness. Instead, a compassionate response would be something like, “I see that you fell and got hurt, but now we need to get you back on your feet.” 

Similarly, if you experience difficulty or a setback, self-compassion does not mean letting yourself give in and keep using eating to cope. Instead, it would be something like, “I see that I am struggling now. It has been difficult, and that’s OK. But what can I do to improve things for myself moving forward?”

Seek Professional Help

If emotional eating significantly impacts your life, consider seeking help from a professional. Therapists can help you better understand and manage your emotions. Nutritionists can also provide guidance on healthy eating patterns and strategies to maintain a balanced diet.

The Bottom Line

Breaking free from emotional eating involves being aware and recognizing your triggers, developing a repertoire of healthy alternative coping mechanisms, and building eating habits that are better for your well-being than the short-term solution of emotional eating. By understanding your emotions and practicing self-compassion, you can overcome the cycle of emotional eating and improve your overall well-being. 

Remember, it is a journey that requires patience and persistence, but with the right strategies and support, you can achieve a healthier relationship with food and your emotions. By taking these steps, you can break the cycle of emotional eating and move towards a more balanced, healthy lifestyle.

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Written by Dr Erlend Slettevold

Dr Erlend Slettevold is a Clinical Psychologist at The Oak Tree Practice. His qualifications include a Psychology BSc, a Psychology MSd, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Erlend predominantly uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Systemic Therapy, and Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT) with his clients, often drawing from several different therapy models and integrating them to suit the needs of the person or family involved.

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Published July 29, 2024.