Understanding Emotional Eating
Think about a time when you used food to soothe an uncomfortable emotion.
Emotional eating often gets a bad rap, when in reality it can be an effective coping mechanism. Food is more than fuel and has been at the centre of social and cultural events for centuries. When there’s a wedding or a birthday we celebrate with cake. When you’re a kid and you win a football competition, you go for a pizza with friends. Ham, pastelles, crab back, and sorrel are abundant over the Christmas period. If your friend is sad or having a hard time, you may bake them something. When we’re living away from home, we might spend a Sunday cooking macaroni pie, stew chicken, red beans and rice to feel connected. There are sandwiches and pasta salad when you’re at a funeral grieving. It’s no wonder food is so linked to our emotions. Food can be used to comfort, to distract, to soothe.
Recognising the fact that food plays such a large role in our lives can help people start to make sense of why food is used so heavily as a coping mechanism for some. And to be honest, it’s probably healthier than choosing to get blind drunk or smoking several times a day.
Think about a time when you used food to soothe an uncomfortable emotion. Did you have a bad day at work and decide to relax on the couch with a big bag of chips? Were you feeling homesick and cooked up a big ‘Sunday lunch’? These are all ways you can choose food to soothe your emotions. The issue however with emotional eating is if it’s your only coping mechanism. It becomes the ‘default’ and you may feel like you’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of emotional eating.
Signs of emotional hunger
- No physical hunger cues
- Very specific cravings
- You don’t feel satisfied after eating and feel as though you need more food
- Occurs shortly after your last meal
- Looking aimlessly in the fridge
Coping with Emotional Eating
The first step is to check in with your physical hunger (hunger & fullness scale) to see if you are hungry. If you’re hungry, eat. If not, ask yourself, ‘What am I feeling?’. Take time to write out your feelings, call a friend, practice meditation and breathe deeply, or let yourself cry. The next step is to figure out what you need. It’s common for eating to replace an unmet need. Are you over-worked right now and not allowing yourself to rest and instead searching out for a bowl of ice cream or chocolate?
Meeting our basic needs can allow us to cope without using food. Our basic needs are important, however often discounted. These include:
- Getting rest
- Being able to express your feelings
- Being heard, understood, and accepted
- Receive comfort and warmth (a nice, big hug)
- Being intellectually and creatively motivated
It can be tough when we start to work through our food issues and figure out what we are really experiencing. However, you may notice that food doesn’t have that power over you as it once did. It also doesn’t mean that you will no longer eat emotionally. Sometimes it’s the only coping mechanism available to you in that moment and that’s perfectly fine. Remember food is just one way to cope with emotions. When you do choose to eat emotionally, try to bring intention and mindfulness towards the situation.
Information this week by: Kirstyn Church, an Associate Nutritionist with Nutrition Consulting Services. Tru Valu Supermarket is one of the leading grocery chains in Trinidad and Tobago with five stores and the best customers. Have a question? Email us truvalusupermarkets@gmail.com.
