Emotional eating, or do you really only eat when you're hungry?

Are you one of the part of the population that takes care of stress, fatigue, negative emotions or problems with food? Do you reach for ice cream when things go wrong? Do you prefer to go to the mecca or pizza after a hard day? If you recognize yourself, then you may have an emotional eating problem. Unfortunately, you're not alone in this. Emotional eating affects a really significant number of people, and so it's actually quite common for people to reach for a calorie-laden meal or a pile of food to feel good during some uncomfortable time. But as you probably know, emotional eating does not make you feel better later on. In fact, it makes you feel guilty, sad, and blame yourself for failing. This is exactly why it is so important to learn to practice intuitive eating and realize that food is for filling your stomach and giving you energy, not for "treating" your negative emotional experiences.

Theoretical window - what is emotional eating anyway?

Emotional eating is a situation where you eat because you are repelling stress or a negative emotion. It can be conscious, but it can also be unconscious, such as when a person is going through a stressful, uncomfortable, unpleasant situation, or even when they are bored and automatically reach for something to eat. For most emotional eaters, food is a comfort from negative feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, stress or fear. Research shows that emotional eaters attempt to "cure" their moods and glooms with food, usually by literally overeating.

Unpleasant life events can trigger the need for emotional eating or overeating, and even, logically, lead to weight gain and other negative health complications. However, emotional eating can also be triggered when feeling deprived, which can occur when severely restricting caloric intake or over-restricting foods that an individual enjoys. Negative emotions and stress can lead to feelings of emotional emptiness. In such a situation, food is seen as a way to fill this gap and create a false sense of 'fullness'. Unfortunately, this does not last long, so the problem is cyclical and it is very difficult to break this vicious cycle.

For such people, food is simply a comfort, either for the soul or for the calorie-restricted body. Very often emotional overeating is experienced by those who suffer from some eating disorder and deny the body the necessary nutrients. However, of course there are some people who eat because they are stressed - for example, because of a demanding job, sleep deprivation, some negative family event, financial problems, but also very often just out of boredom. However, according to various studies, emotional eating problems are much more common in women than in men.

The cycle of emotional overeating

Emotional eating is an unhealthy cycle that repeats itself over and over again and very often gets out of control. It is essentially a specific eating disorder. The emotional eating cycle is essentially continuous unless you start to address it. It starts with a trigger - stress, lack of sleep, sadness, boredom - that triggers the need to eat even when you're not hungry.

The cycle looks something like this:

A trigger kicks in (stress, fatigue, a difficult life situation, trials), then you reach for the food in which you find comfort. Unfortunately, this is only momentary. Then comes guilt, remorse and the bad feeling of overeating. And again and again.

Why do people seek comfort in food? Because it offers them a satisfaction they don't get in other areas of their lives. For example, in relationships, self-esteem, family, or work.

Emotional hunger vs. physical hunger

What is the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger? The two types are relatively easy to recognize and distinguish because they both have their own characteristics.

Physical hunger

• Develops over time and comes on slowly.
• It manifests itself with associated symptoms such as abdominal cramping, lack of energy, irritability.
• When you are physically hungry, you usually crave a balanced, varied meal, but nothing particularly specific.
• When you eat, you enjoy the cravings.
• You feel full and satisfied after eating.
• You do not experience feelings of guilt or blame after eating.

Emotional hunger

• Develops randomly and quickly, usually depending on a specific situation. Most of the time it does not manifest itself in any physical symptoms of hunger, but is caused by emotional discomfort. Its origin is therefore only in the head. It manifests itself in a specific appetite - your morbid craving is only for a certain type of food, such as chocolate, pasta, pastries and so on. In the case of emotional hunger, you need to have that particular food and no other. It is urgent - When it comes to emotional hunger, you want and need to eat right now. You need to relieve your emotional pain or other negative situation immediately, with food. You ignore the rusticity of portion sizes and often overeat. There is usually no sense of fulfillment after eating, so you usually continue eating. You feel like you are eating in a trance, which leads to feelings of guilt, regret and sadness.

How to get rid of emotional eating?

The good news - there are ways to combat emotional eating. Research suggests that exercise, healthy eating, relaxation techniques such as meditation and working with your mental side are very effective in combating this problem. However, sometimes emotional eaters get in over their heads with their food cravings and are unable to fight it on their own. In this case, it is better to seek professional help. However, let's give you some tips on how you can fight emotional eating yourself.

1. Identify your triggers

Perhaps the most important step in the whole process of overcoming emotional or binge eating, is identifying the triggers that trigger food cravings. What situations, conversations, events, or feelings are always at the beginning of the cycle? To identify your triggers, try keeping a journal that describes what happened before you started eating, even if you are not physically hungry. If you can identify them, you're on your way - if it's stress, for example, try a relaxation technique, go for a walk, get some exercise, read an interesting book, or call friends.

2. Avoid excessive calorie restriction

Are you constantly dieting and severely restricting your calorie intake? If you don't eat enough, you often think about food, you struggle with cravings, you're tired and significant calorie restriction is a significant stress for the body. If the restriction lasts too long or is too severe, you may be tempted to indulge in everything you've been denying your body for so long. If fatigue or cravings overtake you, give your body a " refeed", add calories, but in a healthy way - this will simply avoid overeating.

Even a healthy diet can be very tasty, plentiful and varied, and you can still reduce fat! No starvation diets or extremes, make sure that your calorie restriction is sensible and that your diet contains all the important nutrients in the right proportions and amounts to reflect your needs. Avoid restricting individual macronutrients, overly processed foods, starvation and other extremes. Eat food that is real food and don't be afraid to give your body what it needs, because that is the only way to ensure that it can function properly. Don't underestimate your drinking and box preparation either!

3. Be respectful of your body

The fact that people need sufficient intake for their body to function optimally is probably not news to anyone. The body sends signals that indicate hunger - a growling stomach, an empty feeling, fatigue. Can't tell real hunger from cravings? If you find it difficult to tell the difference between emotional and physical hunger, try establishing regular eating habits. Eat at least the main meals at around the same time every day so that the body gets used to this regular ration and will itself send signals at regular intervals that it's time to eat. You can add two or three snacks in between. With regularity, you won't have to think about whether you are hungry or not and the need to eat will become routine.

4. Keep moving!

Studies show that many emotional eaters find relief in sports. Walking, yoga, or working hard in the gym? Try anything! It turns out that people who have a binge eating problem and start playing sports are motivated not to overeat because they start to see the results of exercise on their bodies. Swapping drowning your sorrows in food for venting them in sports sounds pretty cool, right?

5. Practice mindfull eating

When we eat, we should give our full attention to our food. Notice the colors, flavors, textures, chew carefully and enjoy the food with all your senses. Some sources state that we should chew each bite up to 30 times before we even swallow it. No watching TV, catching up on work or reading the newspaper. Because if we are focused on something else, we are unable to perceive the body's signals that we are already full and we easily overeat. If you can concentrate on your food and enjoy it thoroughly, you will find that a smaller amount is enough to make you feel full.

6. Find another way to vent stress.

We all encounter stress, boredom, negative emotions or anxieties and we all deal with them in our own way. Fighting it off with food is unfortunately not the best way, so maybe it's time to try something different. Some good ways include yoga, stretching, moving in the fresh air, running or cycling, working out at the gym, coffee with friends, journaling, a book or some creative activity. In short, experiment with different activities to find the right one that works for you.

7. Work on getting enough sleep!

Time and time again, we come to the fact that sleep is an extremely essential factor for health and it is no different with emotional eating. In fact, if we don't get enough sleep, our bodies are stressed and we tend to eat more and also seek out higher calorie foods. If sleep deprivation becomes a daily occurrence, it is very possible that it will affect your eating habits and preferences, and consequently your health and physique. Sufficient sleep, in terms of time and quality, should be one of everyone's top priorities. Optimally, we should sleep 6 to 9 hours a day.

8. Be considerate to yourself

Be kind to yourself and avoid negative emotions that you bring on yourself - for example, negative body image, body hatred and self-reproach. It's important to be critical of yourself, but being overly critical of yourself will only lead to feelings of worthlessness and anger, which will encourage an emotional eating cycle. Learn to praise and appreciate yourself. If you want to stop eating stress, you need to change the way you treat yourself and begin to have a positive perception of your own worth. Work on your self-esteem and self-perception. Learn to praise and appreciate your achievements.

What to take away from the article?

Do you have a problem with overeating or eating "unhealthy" foods when you are stressed or struggling with a negative emotion? If so, you are not alone. Many people struggle with emotional eating, even if they don't publicly declare it, and for some, they can't even control it and spin in a constant cycle of helplessness. Emotional eating can be triggered by boredom, stress, fatigue, anxiety, or too much calorie restriction. To stop this cycle first find the trigger, and start working on a healthier solution to the trouble you find - start eating healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep, try yoga or meditation, and hide yourself kindly. If the problem is getting over your head, don't be afraid to confide in a loved one or straight to a professional who can help you deal with it

Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2859040/#!po=6.48148
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioural-and-cognitive-psychotherapy/article/pilot-study-measuring-the-impact-of-yoga-on-the-trait-of-mindfulness/9A4B7A188547CDB4B10A8C1AFD9B3CE1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137864/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2859040/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2859040/#!po=6.48148
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/feeding-your-feelings
http://diet.mayoclinic.org/diet/motivate/ways-to-curb-emotional-eating?xid=nl_MayoClinicDiet_20151125
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stres