Getting To Know Your Food Feelings…
Most people don’t realize just how much emotion gets tied into food. Food is essential for life, and therefore comes with a sense of security, and therefore- when it is threatened, it gets personal very quickly. Learning the ways your emotions are worked into your eating habits is a surprisingly helpful skill toward your health goals.
Are you an emotional eater?
Have you ever found you are eating simply, just to eat? Sometimes, completely disconnected from food or hunger? How familiar does this sound?
Sometimes it can be a distraction from stress or a way to think through a big problem. Eventually, it can become about soothing or suppressing emotions or a mechanism to regulate emotions, avoid unpleasant feelings, or uplift your mood. Emotional eating is strictly why diets just don’t work. We feel bad, we eat to make it better, then we feel guilty for eating too much – a vicious cycle. If any of that sounds familiar to you, you are likely letting your emotions make a lot of your eating decisions for you.
It’s not bad to include your emotions in your decisions, but your mind and body should be a part of that decision too. Think about ways you can use those emotions to your advantage. What if you found foods that supported positivity, energy, and creativity, and never had to restrict in the process?
Describe what you think that newfound freedom from guilt and stress would feel like- share in the comments!
Ok, so you’ve discovered you eat emotionally… but you don’t really know how to stop…
Here is some help! The best way to work through emotional eating is to really understand the habits you already have. The WHY? Emotions absolutely should be a part of your eating… the question is - who is in charge? You? Or the feelings you have?
Here are some of the most common emotional eating causes:
• To fill a void in your life
• You don’t have time for yourself
• You use food for comfort when you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or powerless
• To overcome low self-esteem, depression, or loneliness
• Lack of healthy coping skills for emotions
• Lack of healthy ways to address boredom
Yep - I’ve been dependent on every single one of these at some point in my life. I still battle with some of the triggers that land us in these situations. But knowing that they exist and that they can trap me in a non-productive spiral… helps me to steer clear of it a bit better. Not perfect yet, but certainly MUCH stronger and getting better every day! So don’t despair, there is a way forward!
Share in the comments which one sounds the most like you.
Finding… the me that is in charge!
By changing your eating habits, you can really learn more about the role your emotions play in your relationship with food. Now, I don’t mean the “change your eating habits” that is the same definition of dieting. That involves restrictions and guilt. Not going there… That's a recipe for failure.
I’m just saying, change up your habits enough to challenge what your body is used to, and how it typically uses food to cope. As you run into a situation you’d normally eat, you’ll find yourself challenged by your new habit - because it’s not your “go-to” to feel better. This is where you learn about yourself. Instead of looking at food as being your initial coping means, find better, healthier ways to deal with stress and pressure, like exercise, therapy, and meditation. You’ll address the real problem that’s bothering you, plus you’ll get rid of the control food has over you.
What emotional challenges have you faced when you’ve tried to diet?