How to nix emotional eating

Is there more to the change in your eating habits than just winter? Recent studies published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition have shown that, on average, we consume approximately 200 extra calories per day during the colder months, resulting in up to 2lbs of weight gain. For many, the root cause is emotional eating, which we are more susceptible to during the winter – although emotional eating can affect us at any time of the year. Difficult to spot because of the numerous triggers, eating for comfort can quickly become routine.

Founder and director of Life Changing Fitness, Daniel Wheeler says the world around us is a key component when it comes to emotional eating. ‘In an omnipresent world where food is readily available humans are one of the few animals who eat for purely non-hunger related reasons,’ says Daniel. ‘These include, but are not limited to, boredom, depression, stress, sleep deprivation, because its meal time, the smell of a particular food, childhood memories, ingrained habits such as finishing everything on your plate, TV commercials and social occasions.’

Secret eating, having a blowout day, eating more rapidly than normal, eating a large amount when not physically hungry and eating until uncomfortably full are key indicators of emotional eating that can be challenging to regain control of.  Below are Daniel’s 10 tips to nix that habit.

Identify triggers

Keeping a food diary can be crucial for noticing changes to your eating habits, regardless of whether your emotional eating begins gradually or suddenly. Making a note of your moods alongside the foods you eat will help you to identify the triggers as well as make associations between cravings.

Pinpoint the root problem

Emotional and physical factors such as yo-yo dieting and severe low-calorie diets can be the root cause of triggers surrounding comfort eating. To avoid your eating habits escalating into an eating disorder, try to identify the root problem.

Seek support from a nutritionist

Having regular communication with a specialist can help you to gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding your food consumption, along with regaining a healthy perception of food through accountability. A nutritionist can help you to develop a balanced diet plan and possibly channel new ways of overcoming your problems.

Develop a routine

You need to have structure in your life, allowing your meals to become routine. This can help to retrain your body’s expectations of food and to break through emotional boundaries.

Have a nutritional strategy

With the help of a nutritionist, put in place strategies such as intermittent fasting or calorie cycling to improve appetite control, thus reducing the physical need to overeat.

Relearn what hunger feels like

Severe diets and binge eating can play havoc on the perception of hunger as it becomes more difficult to recognise the cues. Before eating question if your cues are emotional or physical, is your stomach grumbling? Are you having reduced energy and even headaches?

Become attuned with your eating

Think through your decisions with regards to eating, until you can begin to naturally trust your body’s hunger instinct. Consider if you’re making healthy food choices as part of a balanced lifestyle or bingeing for comfort or boredom.

Be flexible, patient and compassionate with yourself

Take time to overcome the factors that trigger your emotional eating without placing pressure on yourself, as this can escalate the problem.

Practise mindful eating

Similar to attuned eating, try to consider your emotions before eating and focus deeper on the experience of each meal.

Develop a healthier relationship with food 

Try to regain a balance through making healthier food choices and sticking to a routine meals schedule, this can help to reshape your mental food choices as well as aid recognising hunger cues.