Understanding emotional eating

Many of us are stress or emotional eaters. This means we consume foods in response to feelings instead of hunger. While surgery will assist with weight loss, it will not change our response and behaviors to these emotions or feelings.

“Food is something that has emotional ties in everything that we do,” said Southwestern Medical Clinic counselor, Meredith Sheldon, MA, LLPC. “If you can learn how to be aware of why you’re eating what you’re eating, you can help manage that behavior.”

It is important to identify stress eating when it occurs. Use the following as a guide:

Physical hunger

  • Builds gradually
  • Strikes below the neck
  • Occurs several hours after a meal
  • Goes away when full
  • Eating leads to feeling of satisfaction
  • Resolved by eating

Emotional hunger

  • Develops suddenly
  • Strikes above the neck
  • Unrelated to time - could occur even if you just ate
  • Persists despite fullness
  • Eating leads to guilt
  • Not resolved by eating

Take back control with “mindful eating,” or re-teaching your body hunger and fullness cues. Here are some ways to get started:

  • Taste the food (tart, sweet, spicy, etc.)
  • Plan an eating schedule (7 a.m., 9:30 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m.)
  • Put your fork down between bites and chew your food 20 times per bite.
  • Eat in one place: the kitchen table instead of the couch in front of the T.V.
  • Slow down and focus on eating—do nothing else!

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