Food and Emotions
Why food
Negative emotions may lead to a feeling of emptiness or an emotional void. Food is believed to be a way to fil...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Emotional vs. true hunger
Physical hunger It develops slowly over time. You desire a variety of food groups. You feel the sensation of fullne...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Emotional hunger isn’t easily quelled
While filling up could work in the moment, eating because of negative emotions often leaves people feeling more upset...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Ways to cope with stress
Discovering another way to deal with negative emotions is often the first step toward overcoming emotional eating. Th...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Move your body
Some people find relief in getting regular exercise. A walk or jog around the block or a quickie yoga routine may hel...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Try meditation
There are a variety of studies that support mindfulness meditation as a treatment for binge eating disorder and emoti...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Start a food diary
Keeping a log of what you eat and when you eat it may help you identify triggers that lead to emotional eating. ...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Eat a healthy diet
Make sure you get enough nutrients to fuel your body. If you eat well throughout the day, it may be easier to spot wh...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Remove common offenders
Consider trashing or donating foods in your cupboards that you often reach for in moments of strife. Think hi...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Pay attention to volume
Resist grabbing a whole bag of chips or other food to snack on. Measuring out portions and choosing small plates to ...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Seek support
Resist isolation in moments of sadness or anxiety. Even a quick phone call to a friend or family member can do wonder...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Banish distractions
You may find yourself eating in front of the television, computer, or some other distraction. Try switching off the t...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Work on positive self-talk
Feelings of shame and guilt are associated with emotional eating. It’s important to work on the self-talk you experie...
Emotional Eating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Start a list of the emotions
Pay attention to your emotions as you start to think about eating (you might feel hungry, or have a craving to eat so...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Pick one emotion to start with
Start with the emotional trigger that occurs most frequently . So if you only have social eating triggers once or twi...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Find a healthy alternative
If the need is a way to cope with stress, you need to find some healthy way of doing that other than eating . If you ...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Pay close attention
If you’re focusing on stress, pay close attention to it. Try to notice every time it comes up . You might want some k...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Use your new coping technique
If the technique is going for a walk when you get stressed, then every time you notice the trigger, go for a walk, ev...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Call upon social support
Ask friends and people online to support your new change. Report to them daily and ask them to hold you accountable.
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Repeat
Do this technique for one emotional trigger for at least a couple weeks , if not a month. When you feel you ha...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Stress
Instead of eating, try some kind of exercise, such as pushups, walking, jogging, weights, or yoga. Try deep breathing...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Boredom
Some healthy ways to deal with boredom is to go for a walk. Find a comfy spot and read a novel. Find friends to play ...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Reward
Did you put in a hard day’s work? Did you accomplish something great? Don't reward yourself with food. Instea...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Comfort – sadness, depression, loneliness
We often use food as a way to comfort ourselves. Find a friend or loved one to comfort you or give you a hug. ...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Social
Often we eat as a way to socialize, or because other people we’re socializing are eating. Learn other ways to sociali...
Mindful Diet: Dealing with Emotional Eating Issues : zen habits
Awareness Is Key
Emotional eating is sometimes called "mindless eating" because we often don't think about what we're doing and let ou...
These Stress-Relieving Techniques Can Stop Emotional Eating
Find Relaxation Techniques
When you’re under stress, your body is likely producing higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that tends to mak...
These Stress-Relieving Techniques Can Stop Emotional Eating
Cope in Healthy Ways
Many people use food to deal with uncomfortable emotions like anger, frustration, and fear. There are healthier ways ...
These Stress-Relieving Techniques Can Stop Emotional Eating
Face Your Problems
If you’re using food to muffle your feelings in a difficult relationship, try assertiveness instead. If food ...
These Stress-Relieving Techniques Can Stop Emotional Eating
Use Mindfulness Exercises
Mindfulness, the act of being present and aware, can help people get out of the habit of acting on their cravings wit...
These Stress-Relieving Techniques Can Stop Emotional Eating
Try Healthy Alternatives
If these techniques don’t completely eliminate your emotional eating urges, go ahead and indulge—but use healthier fa...
These Stress-Relieving Techniques Can Stop Emotional Eating
Eating Distract from Emotions
We often associate eating with relief or even excitement, and it’s only natural that we’d reach for those same feelin...
Experts Reveal What Triggers Emotional Eating And How To Control It
Why we choose comfort food
Comfort foods don’t tend to be healthy. We want cake or pasta or chips when we’re emotionally eating. We have emotion...
Experts Reveal What Triggers Emotional Eating And How To Control It
Comfort food
We associate comfort food with positive memories. Think about all the happy and comforting memories you have involv...
Experts Reveal What Triggers Emotional Eating And How To Control It
Control emotional eating
Remember food’s true purpose ― to nourish you. Seek comfort through friends , doing kind things for yourself a...
Experts Reveal What Triggers Emotional Eating And How To Control It
Eat often enough
According to research, eating regular meals and snacks at the same time every day helps keep your blood sugar levels ...
Mood Food: Can What You Eat Affect Your Happiness?
Don’t skip meals
Skipping meals actually makes your body less able to assimilate food, and you are more liable to overeat at the next ...
Mood Food: Can What You Eat Affect Your Happiness?
What foods to avoid
The biggest bad mood culprits are refined carbohydrates and refined white starches that cause your blood sugar to go ...
Mood Food: Can What You Eat Affect Your Happiness?
The best foods to eat
Protein to help slow the absorption of carbohydrates in your blood and increase the release of dopamine. Vitamin D ...
Mood Food: Can What You Eat Affect Your Happiness?