Breaking Emotional Eating Behaviour
If you believe you’re an ‘emotional eater’ read on…
Emotional Eating refers to the habit of consuming food to cope with or suppress negative emotions, such as stress, sadness, boredom, loneliness, or anxiety, rather than to satisfy physical hunger. Emotional eating is distinct from physical hunger, which arises from the body's need for nourishment.
You may turn to food for comfort or distraction when you’re experiencing difficult emotions or situations.
Emotional eating may involve eating beyond the point of fullness and sometimes leads to choosing high-calorie, high-sugar, or high-fat foods. Once of the biggest challenges is that it's a behaviour that has no positive outcomes. For many people that I work with, it results in increased in body fat, and other physical health issues. It can also lead to depression, anxiety, and mental fatigue.
Stress eating, hormones, and hunger - what you may not realise
Studies have indicated that physical or emotional distress affects food preferences. People who are in a stressed state, appear to increase their intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both. This is potentially due to a combination of high cortisol levels and high insulin levels. Other research suggests that ghrelin, the "hunger hormone," may have a role.
The ingestion of high caloric foods seems to have a feedback effect that dampens stress related responses and emotions. This means that these foods counteract stress. But while stress-induced eating may be an effective coping strategy in the short-term, habitual consumption of these foods promotes obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
A British study conducted in 2007, showed that people who responded to stress with high cortisol levels in an experimental setting, were more likely to snack in response to daily stress in their regular lives compared with low-cortisol responders.
Of course, overeating isn't the only stress-related behaviour that can add body fat. When you’re stressed you also sleep less, exercise less, and drink more alcohol (if you drink), all of which can contribute to excess weight.
The Habit Loop to stop Emotional Eating
This is a concept popularised by Charles Duhigg in his book "The Power of Habit." It consists of three components: cue, routine, and reward. This loop is believed to be the mechanism behind how habits are formed and maintained.
Cue: This is the trigger that prompts the habit. It could be anything from a specific time of day, a particular emotion, a location, or an action.
Routine: This is the behaviour or action that follows the cue. It's the habit itself.
Reward: This is the benefit or pleasure that is derived from completing the routine. It's what reinforces the habit loop and makes it more likely to be repeated in the future.
Let’s use emotional eating through the Habit Loop:
Cue: Emotional distress, such as stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, or sadness, can trigger the desire to eat as a coping mechanism.
Routine: The individual engages in eating as a response to the emotional cue. This might involve consuming specific comfort foods or overeating in general.
Reward: Eating provides temporary relief or distraction from the uncomfortable emotions, leading to a sense of comfort or pleasure.
Over time, this habit loop becomes reinforced, and the association between emotional distress and eating becomes stronger. Even if the initial trigger (the emotional cue) is alleviated or absent, the habit of emotional eating can persist because the routine has become ingrained as a response to certain emotional states.
The key area to disrupt the habit loop, is to break the “Routine”.
Breaking the habit of emotional eating involves:
a) identifying and addressing the underlying emotional triggers.
b) finding alternative coping mechanisms.
c) disrupting the habit loop by substituting healthier behaviours in response to emotional cues. This might include activities like exercise, meditation, journaling, or seeking support.
However, for all the above to come into effect, it needs to be a conscious attempt at interrupting the habit loop and replacing the routine with the healthier alternatives, individuals can gradually break free from emotional eating patterns.
If you are mentally and physically fatigued form emotional eating, and are finding it challenging to reach your health and fitness goals, then let’s chat. Coaching is the fastest way to break free of the cycle.
