Rethinking Emotional Eating: Treatments And Symptoms

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Emotional eating happens when you turn to food for comfort to cope with sadness and other challenging emotions. This can help cope momentarily with an issue but it is not a permanent fix. When you consume food due to such coping, you tend to consume several calories your body will not use. At Spatz3 we think that the issue can lead to an increase in weight and could cause health complications. The article explores the symptoms, treatments, and best diet for emotional eaters.

Reasons people eat because of their emotions

Most times, it’s incredibly challenging to handle your feelings, and you need an outlet to cope with them. Common reasons why people do this include:

  • Financial distress.
  • Relationship issues.
  • Occupational stress.
  • Health challenges.
  • Restrictive dieting.
  • Difficulty differentiating between physical and emotional hunger.
  • Lack of reflective awareness.
  • Inability to process and manage your emotions.
  • Being unhappy with your body.
control emotional eating

Symptoms of Emotional Eating

Sudden, uncontrolled cravings for sugary and fatty foods.
An urge to eat despite not being hungry.

  • Using food to calm or reward yourself.
  • Eating when you feel strong emotions like stress, anxiety, or sadness.
  • Mindless eating without watching what you eat.
  • Guilt and regret after eating.
  • Weight gain.

Treatment: How to stop emotional eating

Changing such a habit is challenging but highly possible. You need to address the matter and get better ways of coping that are healthier and don’t interfere with your dietary habits. You can cope by using effective treatments like:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Therapy is highly effective in helping you identify and manage your emotional triggers for eating.

Practicing Mindfulness

When you practice mindful behaviours such as mindful eating and meditation, you become more aware of your emotions and are more conscious of your eating habits.

Opting for exercises

You can break the cycle of comfort eating by substituting it with exercises such as running, jogging, or physical exercises. Exercising is a healthier alternative to help you manage weight and avoid overeating. Physical strength and energy enable you to handle your emotions better, as daily exercise can lighten your mood.

Get adequate rest

You should always rest for 8 hours every night to ensure you give your body enough relaxation time. Ample sleep curbs your sugary cravings, and you can also control your appetite. Make time daily to decompress and unwind to ensure you are not stressed.

Journaling about your emotions

Pay close attention to your eating patterns when you experience any complex emotion. When you understand your habits, you can anticipate your reactions in certain scenarios which helps you change your eating habits. Record your eating patterns when you are emotional and your feelings.

Opt for an alternative coping mechanism

You can read a book, talk about your feelings with someone you can confide in, take a walk, or find a new hobby such as swimming or painting.

Don't starve yourself

Be sure to eat before you’re too hungry and irritable, as you may eat to eliminate the mood instead. Eat proteins that help you stay full to avoid such scenarios.

Plan your meals

If you have a difficult time with comfort eating, you should plan healthy meals. You can meal-prep salads and tasty, healthy foods to ensure you eat something healthy when you have these emotions. When you are comfort eating, ensure you prepare your comfort food using healthy dishes that don’t exceed your daily caloric intake.

best diet for emotional eaters

Best diet for emotional eaters

If you’re an emotional eater, you must realize that finding the best diet depends on you. You can incorporate some strategies to ensure you get the best diet for emotional eaters, including:

  • Always balance your meals and consume protein-rich meals to reduce cravings and keep you full quickly.
  • Have a regular eating schedule to avoid overeating at odd times.
  • Eat slowly by mindful eating and savour each bite.
  • Use healthy snacks to curb your cravings when you want to eat because of emotions.
  • Drink plenty of water.

A Positive Relationship with Food

Emotional eating can adversely affect your health, so you must recognize your symptoms and seek treatment to stop this neverending cycle. Finding the right solutions as an emotional eater can help you have a better relationship with food and achieve your dietary goals. When you can control emotional eating, you live a more fulfilled and healthy life and you are able to prevent your gastric balloon issues.

Rate this post

Contact a Spatz3 representative
near you

Learn More About The Spatz3

Contact A Spatz3 Representative Near You