Many people struggle with emotional eating and food cravings. Negative feelings are often compensated for with food. One example is stress eating or comfort eating when you're frustrated. In times of grief, too, many people reach for food to push down the negative feelings. Food is also often used as an excuse for a little break or as something to do when you're bored. Whatever your reason for emotional eating, we give you tips on how to get a grip on it.
Normal hunger vs. emotional hunger
Before we get to coping strategies for emotional eating, you first need to know the difference between normal and emotional hunger.
Normal hunger shows up physically. You notice it because your stomach rumbles or your concentration fades. You simply lack energy. In that moment it makes no difference to you whether you eat a salad or a schnitzel. You just want energy to get through the rest of the day full of drive.
With emotional hunger it's different: your body doesn't send you hunger signals like a rumbling stomach or low energy. Instead you have a craving for one very specific thing, such as chocolate or a pizza. Emotional eating is a subconscious pattern of behaviour with which you compensate for certain feelings. You often realise it was emotional eating after your binge when feelings of guilt follow.
Find your trigger
Do you notice you get cravings more and more often and now and then have binges where you satisfy all your urges? That's a clear sign of emotional eating. But to overcome it, you first need to find out which emotions trigger the eating behaviour and what the trigger is. Do you often dip into your stash of sweets when you're stressed at work, or rather when you're frustrated and think the whole world is against you? If you can't yet fully identify what your reasons for emotional eating are, it's a good idea to start by keeping a food diary in which you note when you eat what and why.
Compensating for negative feelings with emotional eating
Overcoming emotional eating
To overcome emotional eating, it often helps to find countermeasures. Since you've already found out why you eat, you can now look specifically for ways to avoid eating. If you eat out of boredom, find an alternative and do something. That could be a walk, or a short video you watch simply to forget the urge to eat. If the reason is stress and frustration, a meditation or a short workout can help. Or a phone call with a good friend. That not only protects you from unnecessary calories, it also helps you deal with your feelings and work through your worries and fears in a healthy way.
The more often you use these countermeasures instead of eating, the sooner it becomes a habit, and you forget that food was something that used to help you feel good again.
Effects of emotional eating
Saying goodbye to emotional eating has many advantages. For one, you help prevent weight gain, because unconscious eating out of emotion often leads to extra calories and kilos, and for another, constant binges and the guilt that follows can lead to growing dissatisfaction, which creates a vicious circle. You also learn to deal with negative feelings and work through them in a healthy way. That can also help you get to know yourself better and live a more conscious life.
Many people struggle with emotional eating and food cravings. Often negative feelings are compensated for with food. One example is stress-eating out of frustration. Many also reach for food in times of grief to suppress negative feelings. Food is also often used as an excuse for a little break or as something to do when bored. Whatever your reason for emotional eating, we give you tips on how to get a grip on it.
Normal hunger vs. emotional hunger
Before we get to coping strategies for emotional eating, you first need to know the difference between normal and emotional hunger.
Normal hunger makes itself felt physically. You notice it because your stomach growls or your concentration fades. You simply lack energy. In that moment it makes no difference to you whether you eat a salad or a schnitzel. You just want energy to get through the rest of the day full of drive.
With emotional hunger it's different: your body doesn't send you hunger signals like a growling stomach or less energy. Instead you crave one very specific thing, such as chocolate or a pizza. Emotional eating is a subconscious pattern of behaviour with which you compensate for certain feelings. Often you can also tell after your binge that it was emotional eating if feelings of guilt follow.
Find your trigger
Do you notice that you get cravings more and more often and now and then have binges in which you satisfy all your urges? That's a clear sign of emotional eating. But to overcome it, you first need to find out which emotions trigger the eating behaviour and what the trigger is. Do you often dip into your stash of sweets when you're stressed at work, or more when you're frustrated and think the whole world is against you? If you can't quite identify yet what your reasons for emotional eating are, it's a good idea to start by keeping a food diary in which you note when you eat what and why.
Compensating for negative feelings with emotional eating
Overcoming emotional eating
To overcome emotional eating, it often helps to find countermeasures. Since you've already found out why you eat, you can now look specifically for ways to avoid eating. If you eat out of boredom, find an alternative and do something. That could be a walk, or a short video you watch simply to forget the urge to eat. If the reason is stress and frustration, a meditation or a short workout can help. Or a phone call with a good friend. That doesn't just protect you from unnecessary calories, it also helps you deal with your feelings and process your worries and fears in a healthy way.
The more often you use these countermeasures instead of eating, the sooner it becomes a habit, and you forget that food was something that used to help you feel good again.
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Effects of emotional eating
Saying goodbye to emotional eating has many benefits. For one, you prevent excess weight, because unconscious eating out of emotion often leads to surplus calories and kilos. And for another, the constant binges and the guilt that follows can lead to growing dissatisfaction, which creates a vicious circle. You also learn to deal with negative feelings in a healthy way and to process them. That can also help you get to know yourself better and live a more conscious life.
