Thanh Thanh
15 thg 11, 2021
To ease negative feelings, many of us turn to food many times a week or more. We may even feel guilty or ashamed after eating in this manner, which can contribute to a cycle of overeating and weight gain.
When you're feeling down or upset, do you find yourself rushing to the pantry? Finding solace in food is a typical occurrence, and it's referred to as emotional eating.
What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating means that you eat for reasons other than hunger. You may eat because you're sad, depressed, stressed, or lonely. When you're feeling down, it might feel good to grab a chocolate bar, order a pizza or stop by your favorite fast food store. Food can be comforting and can help you forget about what's upsetting you.
You may not follow your body's natural hunger and fullness signals if you are an emotional eater. You may consume more food than you need. Emotional eating, however, does not solve emotional problems. In most cases, it makes you feel worse.
Celebrities who have experienced this eating disorder
Candace Cameron Bure had a healthy body image growing up, but that changed after moving to Montreal for her husband’s hockey career, where she turned to food for comfort when he was out of town during the season. “It became a very destructive relationship, and it was one that really caught me off guard,” she shared. “I got into a cycle of binge-eating and feeling such guilt and shame for that, that I would start purging. And without even knowing, it soon just took over to a point where you feel such a loss of control.”
Demi Lovato began bingeing at the age of eight, and after going three years without purging while dating a boyfriend, she began purging again as soon as their relationship ended. “When we broke up, that’s one of the first things I did,” she said. “The less I have to think about food, the easier it is to go about having a normal life and I don’t want to let anybody down so when I do have moments when I slip up, I feel very ashamed. And when I feel lonely, my heart feels hungry and I end up binging.”
Paula Abdul began to be self-conscious about her powerful physique at the age of seven. She started bingeing, purging, and exercising excessively. In 1994, she checked herself into a mental health facility. She still relies on the help of nutritionists and therapists to this day.
Why do we eat our feelings?
Workplace stress, money difficulties, health issues, and relationship problems could all be the cause of your emotional eating.
Here are some of the most common reasons for emotional eating:
Stress. When you're under a lot of stress, as we all are in today's fast-paced world, your body creates a lot of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Cortisol makes you crave salty, sugary, or fried meals.
Stuffing emotions. Anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, resentment, and guilt are some of the feelings that eating can temporarily suppress or "stuff down."
Boredom or feelings of emptiness. Food is a way to occupy your mouth and time when you are unsatisfied and empty. It fills you up in the moment and takes your mind off of your underlying emotions.
Childhood habits. Parents often give their children sweets or fast food as a reward for good behavior. These tendencies are frequently carried over into adulthood.
Social influences. You might overeat in social situations because you're nervous. Perhaps your family or circle of friends pushes you to overeat, and it's more convenient to join in.
How to deal with emotional eating?
Recommended ways to figure out what triggers emotional eating is to
1. Keep a food journal
Keeping a food and mood diary is one of the most effective strategies to identify the patterns behind your emotional eating. For example, you may discover that whenever you begin to study for a test at school, you order a large fast food combo to relieve your stress.
The next stage is to figure out healthier ways to fuel your emotions once you've identified your emotional eating triggers.
2. Use a hunger scale
When you start to feel hungry, score your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 meaning you're starving and 10 meaning you're so full you're ill. A 5 or 6 suggests you're in a good place—not too hungry or too full.
3. Get to the root of the problem
Emotional eating can be triggered by major problems such as chronic stress, long-term anger, sadness, and other challenges. It's a good idea to figure out what's causing your emotional eating and fix it with proper counseling, stress management, exercise, and other strategies.
4. Change your food choice
Dark cherries, rather than ice cream, are a good choice if you like to eat late at night. Salmon and other fish instead of hot wings may help you sleep well. Whole grains, nuts, legumes, and fruits and vegetables all help to keep the mind in good shape.
Consider throwing out or giving harmful foods that you frequently grab for in times of stress. This could help you break the cycle by allowing you to think before you eat.
5. Get some exercising
Participants in one study were required to practice yoga for eight weeks. They were then graded on their awareness and insightful understanding – in other words, how well they understood themselves and the settings in which they found themselves.
Regular yoga, according to the findings, may be a good prophylactic approach in helping to dissolve emotional states like anxiety and despair.
6. Utilize positive self-talk
Emotional eating is linked to feelings of shame and guilt. It's critical to work on the self-talk you have following an incident, as it can lead to a vicious cycle of emotional eating.
Rather than taking it personally, try to learn from your setback. Make the most of it by making plans for the future. When you achieve progress, reward yourself with self-care activities like having a bath or going for a leisurely walk.
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