Food is emotional. It can evoke a variety of emotions like comfort. Think of that special recipe your mom has perfected, the warming aroma in the air, and the satisfaction once it hits your lips. Food can be used to celebrate - I have spent many birthday’s for my niece, nephews, and son stressing over designing an elaborate themed cake for their party (I have learned my lesson, and now let the professional bakers do cakes for parties lol).

It’s ok for food to be eaten for emotional reasons sometimes. It’s not something to be avoided all the time or make you feel ashamed or guilty.

On the flip side, there are times when we do need to avoid emotional eating like if you are eating to completely avoid a situation or eating to the point of numbness. Or if you feel guilty or ashamed afterwards, and feel you must compensate for the binge by restricting food intake.

These are instances where there should be other tools in your toolkit to use to combat the root cause that triggered the emotional eating in the first place.

Here are a few things you can try to help with emotional eating.

1) Awareness

Oftentimes, emotional eating is mindless. Do you know what typically causes us to do mindless things? Boredom.

Think of a time when you were home, maybe watching Netflix, and randomly grabbed some snacks to munch on.

Think of weekends, when there is typically more free time which leads to more mindless eating.

There’s nothing wrong with this, but you do want to bring awareness to it and recognize the behavior.

There can be other emotions that can trigger a mindless munch session, but try to acknowledge it. Look for patterns to when you find yourself mindlessly eating. Is it more on the weekends? Evenings? Do you do it more when you are stressed? Begin to recognize when you emotionally eat so you can begin to look for other solutions.

2) Are you truly hungry?

Once you are able to recognize and acknowledge the behavior, ask yourself if food is the solution to your emotions?

As I like to say to my clients, “If you’re not hungry, then what you need is not in the kitchen.”

Think about the emotion you are feeling. If you are stressed, is eating going to decrease your stress? If you are bored, will eating make you less bored? There isn’t a right answer here because sometimes food is the solution in that moment for you.

But remember - it’s just a temporary resolution to the unsolved problem. The underlying issue will still be there when you are done eating.

For example, say you are stressed because you have to submit a report to your client by 5 pm and it’s now 3 pm. Will eating a candy bar extend your deadline or magically make the report for you?

This is a great way to stop, ask yourself if you are truly hungry, and then move on to an activity that will really make you feel better.

This takes mindful eating from a unconscious behavior to a mindfulness approach where you are aware and consciously seeking a way to feel better.

3) Load up your toolkit!

This is one of my favorite things to do with clients. Once they have reached an awareness of their emotional eating behaviors, we discuss other things they enjoy in life besides food.

You can do the same! Maybe you used to love doing art or want to take some online courses. This is the perfect opportunity to make a “bucket list” of your dreams, desires, hobbies, and interests and go to that list anytime you recognize emotional eating.

For example, if you are home alone all weekend and feeling lonely Ben and Jerry’s ice cream calling out. Instead, think of 5 friends that you can reconnect with and reach out. Set up FaceTime chats or give them a call.

If you are stressed, make a schedule! I love schedules (hello type-A super moms lol) and think it’s a great way to visually see what you have going on week over week and plug in mini to-do lists to decrease anxiety of all the tasks you have to do.

Bored? Why not go out for a walk or sign up for a fun class on the weekends. You can meet new people and exercise a new part of your brain by learning a new skill.

There are so many other things in life that can be used to evoke more positive emotions than food, you just have to find what else brings you joy.

These are just tips to help you!

Food is amazing and meant to be enjoyed. So, if you are feeling like you need some of grandmas apple pie to bring you comfort, go for it. But, when you notice you are eating for negative reasons, then it’s time to go to your toolkit to do something else.