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Eating Our Emotions
Health | May 25, 2014
Emotional eating is a phrase commonly thrown around these days. Often it’s used in a comical manner to indicate that someone is binging on large amounts of junk food – foods high in saturated fats and/or processed sugar – for a days or even weeks due to stress or anxiety. The truth is that emotional eating, also known as stress eating, plays a significant role in the obesity epidemic and can also be an indication of deeper, dangerous disorders. Recent research done by the American Psychological Association demonstrated a very strong link between stress and weight gain.
Emotional eating tends to effect women more than men. A recent Harvard study indicated that women were more likely to turn to food when stressed whereas men were more likely to use smoking and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Aside from stress and anxiety, another factor that may contribute to emotional eating is our unhealthy desire to be perfect, especially as women. A study out of the University of North Carolina demonstrated that women who felt a greater need to be perfect were also more likely to binge on junk food.
Though reaching for comfort foods every once and while is perfectly okay, when we do it to compensate for negative feelings or to counter the effects of stress or anxiety, it can become a legitimate problem, especially if this becomes a habit. Also when stress is coupled with an unhealthy fixation on our body image, it can even lead to eating disorders such as bulimia.
First and foremost, when trying to combat emotional eating, we shouldn’t focus on what’s on our plate, we should focus on what’s going on inside our hearts and heads. If we can counter the effects of stress, we can curb our need to emotionally eat as well.
If you already consistently work out with me at the Zgym, then you know that daily exercise is incredibly beneficial for countering negative moods and stress. Meditation is also scientifically proven to positively help manage our emotions. Interacting with friends and family is important for establish healthy moods as well. Research shows that a strong social network allows us to manage stress and anxiety with greater ease than without one.
When was the last time you emotionally ate? How did you deal with it? Let me know. This is an important discussion.
Private Member |
Sugar is my emotional food. If I am stressed or emotional, I crave sugary foods and soda. Becoming aware that the emotion triggers the craving was easy enough to figure out. It was realizing those cravings in the midst of the emotional turmoil and/or stress and not succumbing to them that is more difficult. I still struggle with it. Of late, the recent stress of major life changes have superceded the desire for six-pack abs. I’ve never shied away from a tough workout, but the discipline to eat right has always been my struggle.
Private Member |
I’m currently obese because I’m an emotional eater. I struggle with depression and it’s impossible to adequately express my feelings, so I always turn to food. At 5’4, my heaviest was 289. Last year I was able to bring it down to 203, but my anxiety and panic worsened and I turned to food again. I’m currently 230 lbs.
I know how to eat clean and train hard. I love to run and lift weights. I like HIIT. I know HOW it works. And I’ll have a few good days of eating and working out, then someone will happen and I’m running to the store to buy chips and soda.
Because I seem to lack self-control, I bought a cork board and push pins. I’ve printed out quotes, blank calendars to keep track of 30 day challenges, before/after photos. Anything that inspires me. When I feel low, I will look to that and try to keep myself in check.
Private Member |
I understand where you coming from I have the same problem. But we have to become stronger in our minds. We can do it!!!
Private Member |
I’ve run the gamut of eating disorders (anorexia, compulsive exercising, binge eating, bulimia, etc) and I know without a doubt I turn to food when I want to “numb” myself or escape from thoughts & feelings. I started using food when I was transitioning from high school to college and life felt chaotic and out of control. Restricting my food gave me a sense of peace in stressful/anxious situations. You can only starve yourself for so long before you either die or allow yourself to start eating again, and when I did the latter I couldn’t stop. I’d binge for physiological and psychological reasons and then restrict or overexercise to compensate for the calories. Eventually, eating became my emotional crutch any time life threw me for a loop. So long as I was putting food in my mouth I wasn’t thinking or feeling. I’d go back and forth between restricting and bingeing, but the more I binged the more habitual it became to turn to food instead of identifying and sitting with my feelings. Before long I was controlling my weight by bingeing and then purging.
Emotional eating is one thing (we all do it, like you said) but allowing it to become a habit is a very dangerous and slippery slope. I wouldn’t wish an eating disorder (no matter what it is) on anyone. I try not to judge a book by its cover – ever. If I see someone overweight I remind myself that I don’t know their story.
Not sure that’s what you were looking for in a comment! Once I start I can’t seem to stop myself 🙂
Private Member |
nice comment . constructive and positive. keep going, you seem to be a nice mumm (today is “happy mother’s day” in France) . Have a nice day like I wish for all the Warriors… no one said it’s easy ! 😉
Private Member |
Thanks for sharing so unreservedly. I’m sure your post will help others facing similar issues .Often emotional eating is symptomatic of deeper issues within. The ability to sit with the “discomfort” , observe the uncomfortable feelings and stay with it is key . With awareness , time and practice of sitting with the discomfort , the uncomfortable feelings may just let go of its grip and not seem so scary.
Private Member |
Thank you both very much. I’ve been more open lately hoping I may be able to help someone (anyone) else who might be struggling. I’ve also learned that keeping this stuff secret only perpetuates the problems. Like if no one knows about it then it isn’t really happening. Anyway, I really appreciate your kind feedback. Thank you 🙂
Private Member |
I find myself more of the “I’m stressed so I should have a glass of wine at the end of the day” person. However, as we all know, 1 or 2 glasses of wine often weakens our resolve enough that we end up eating more food or worse quality food then when we are sober. I am going to try switching to an herbal tea for anxiety at night, because I hate when I eat awesome all day then have a stupid cookie at night. I don’t binge, but I feel really bad when I get up, work out, eat my veggies and protein all day and then at night put the kids to bed, feel stressed, and have wine. Then I end up eating the cookie I had avoided all day. Sigh.
Private Member |
I tend to eat when I’m tired. I work nightshift on weekends & I stay at home with my 2 year old during the week, so this happens more often than I would like.
Private Member |
I teach mindfulness and meditation to my clients and often once they start becoming more mindful of why they are overeating and understand the reasons for going to that place they begin seeing changes in their bodies. When we understand our thinking patterns and adapt them over time we empower ourselves to live towards a brighter future where our light can shine forth!! Thanks Zuzka xx
Private Member |
That’s awesome…mindfulness and meditation do wonders to help with food issues.
Private Member |
I was an emotional eater like all my life, from being a child until growing up. I was always eating a looooot of sweets which caused that although I was exercising a lot (swimming 4x per week, when I stopped swimming I was playing tennis, then I started with karate). I was moving really a lot, but because of sweets I was always overweight. Now I’m 23, I became very interested in clean eating as a prevention of many diseases (even more after my mum died of gastric cancer 2 years ago after eating modern society “healthy” diet her whole life). I exercise less then when I was younger, doing Zuzka’s short but intense workouts on a daily basis, my weight is falling down, I’m getting stronger, I got rid of emotional eating and any moods (typical after some types of foods), I’m perfectly healthy now – I haven’t been taking any medications for like 4-5 years and I have like a little running nose (in the worst case) when everyone else around me is struggling with fever and taking meds.
Sorry for the long comment, basically what I wanted to say is that you can get rid of emotional eating, you just have to train not only your body but also your metabolism, treat yourself with amazing but HEALTHY foods (not healthy that you see in commercials and what is presented as healthy by food industry) and you will have much better, easier, healthier and longer life.
Have a nice day everyone, and as my favourite lifestyle figure always says: “BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY!”
Private Member |
I highly recommend everyone to read Brain Over Binge !!!
Private Member |
First of all, thank you Zuzka for writing such well-researched articles.
Secondly, I think it’s awesome that the community on this site (and even on your facebook-site) is SO honest, kind and positive (as opposed to other “fitness” sites…)
Thank you all!
Private Member |
Ditto that!
Private Member |
when i am stressed or tired or both 😉 i tend to eat a huge amount of Food. i don’t crave junk, however eating huge amounts of healthy stuff adds up, too and leads to gastrointestinal discomfort. i get constipated and feel horrible. i am Aware that it is wrong, but i find myself doing it over and over again. eating is comfort and makes me feel nothing. I will get out of there. step by step. by replaceing Food with something else like talking a walk or calling someone up. all the best out there who can relate!