Soul Rebel Digest Vol 5.24

EMOTIONAL EATING

There are various degrees of emotional eating & whilst I am not a dietician nor psychologist, I am keen to share some thoughts on the topic that may help you or give you ideas to think about. These ideas have come about through my own personal experiences, from conversations with other people as well as my own research into the topic.

What is emotional eating?

Emotional eating is when people use food as a way to deal with feelings or emotions. This type of disordered eating can affect anyone regardless of size, age, gender, profession, culture etc. It is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, but definitely something you can overcome or improve on with time & the right support system behind you!

are you eating enough?

There's a common theme here with all the Soul Rebel Digests so far... are you eating enough? Of the right foods. It's super easy to make poor decisions when in a state of hunger combined with uncontrolled emotions. If you have the tendency to give into emotional eating, let's first look at if you're eating enough of the right foods day to day.

identify the emotion

Take a moment to pause before you make any decision when in a highly emotional state. Having this moment will enable you to get a better idea of how you're feeling & why you may be feeling it. You can then take action on helping you to feel better & see that the answer may not be requiring food to soothe yourself physically or mentally.
If you emotionally eat you may feel:
Lonely, anxious, stressed out, sad, bored... etc
Actionable ideas that can help you better deal with these emotions:
Call someone, organise a catch up with friends or family, sit in a cafe, sit in a park, go for a walk amongst the trees, have a good cry if you need to & last but not least - train! Your body needs movement. Your body is designed to move, getting moving will help send signals to your body & mind that you're ok. An example of this is if you're bored working from home & you want to go to the fridge, yet know you're not hungry, hit 3 rounds of 10 push ups & 10 air squats or go for a walk around the block.
Your body may be asking for action, not fuel.

no guilt or regret

Regardless of whether you emotionally eat or not, associating food with guilt or regret should be avoided. It doesn't serve you. It doesn't serve the adult or child next to you either, so avoid putting these pressures onto other people as well as yourself. If you make decisions you aren't happy with, you can't change them if they have already happened. But you CAN learn from them & try to make better decisions next time. The best thing you can do is to move on & not dwell on it. Easier said than done, particularly if this mentality is so engrained within you. But like anything in the gym, if you practice it consistently enough, you will get better at it. Adjusting your mindset is no different.

the language you use

Changing the language you use around food can help you dissociate foods to certain emotions. There are no 'good' or 'bad' foods. All foods are foods, it's just that there are 'all the time' foods & 'sometimes' foods. You don't need to 'earn' your food. You can have a dessert because you 'feel like it' rather than 'to make you feel better'. Avoid putting 'sometimes' foods on pedestals & remember context is important.

food is emotional

Right from the moment we are born, food is emotional. A baby can cry for reasons other than hunger, yet can be soothed by breastfeeding or the bottle because of the action of the jaw. So it can be a way to calm ourselves down. Think about if you're unwell, you may have fond memories of your mum's homemade chicken noodle soup. Maybe the cookie at the cafe looks like the ones you used to make with your kids. At Christmas time many people get excited about the nostalgia around the meal shared with others. A friend might cook you dinner that takes you on a journey from that time you travelled overseas. Food can certainly be more than just filling your stomach, it's about energy, healing, growing, remembering, reflecting, embracing & so much more. So don't fight it in the right context, embrace it!

wrap up

I am always here to have the conversation with you as a starting point if you need, as well as the rest of the coaching team, so please don't hesitate to reach out. Hopefully the above information has given you some different ideas to try out or think about. If this is a chronic issue for you, I recommend seeking help to find yourself some tools to implement. The link below will take you to the Butterfly Foundation website. This is an Australian charity with the focus on helping all Australians impacted by food or body image issues as well as being a great resource for families, friends & communities to support anyone affected.