Do You Struggle With Emotional Eating?

86% of people who are trying to improve their eating habits and achieve a healthy weight report some degree of emotional eating. We are human. Emotional eating is something that we are probably always going to do to some degree. It’s ok to eat emotionally occasionally. It’s a problem if we frequently eat emotionally. It’s a problem if we feel out of control in our emotional eating. It’s a problem when we form the habit of eating when we feel an emotion (stress, anxiety, boredom, overwhelm, excitement, even happiness etc).

If you are one of the many who eats emotionally, Step 1 is becoming aware that you are eating in response to an emotion and not hunger. This is a huge step and it takes practice.

Practice tuning into your hunger and satiety. If you find yourself in front of the pantry or fridge and you are not hungry, can you set a timer for 5 minutes and check in with yourself? Your craving may dissipate or you may even realize that you need something other than food…a stretch, a cool glass of water, a short rest on the couch, a phone call with a friend?

Check in with yourself. What do you really need?❤️