EMOTIONAL EATING AND OUR HEALTH
Our eating habits guide our health. And, our emotional experience, life stressors, and nervous system regulation can interfere with our intended eating habits. Eating food is a basic need that ensures our survival—we can’t get rid of it. Food also serves as our nourishment and dietary practices play an important role in disease prevention and overall well being. However, many of us can struggle sustaining healthful nutrition behaviours. If this is you, I promise you are not alone! Herein we will explore the concept of emotional eating, with promising ideas for how we can reorient our relationship to food.
EMOTIONAL EATING
First things first, let’s distinguish between emotional eating and binge eating. Emotional eating looks like ice-cream after a breakup, chocolate while watching telly after a stressful day, and chips whilst studying for an exam. It is essentially additional food intake in response to negative emotion (sadness, worry, etc) rather than that of hunger. Researchers do differentiate between emotional and stress eating, but I will lump these together, as I see them as interchangeable and have noticed both behaviours happen concurrently within any one individual I’ve worked with one-on-one.
Binge eating, on the other hand, is eating an inordinate amount of food in a short period of time with a sense of loss of control (DSM-5). In this way, overeating (which can be emotional) and binge eating are different. This write-up explores emotional eating. Developing binge eating is, however, a risk factor of emotional eating.
Also—it’s good to note that overeating can occur without an emotional stimulus. I always use the example of eating in a social situation and going a little overboard (tapas with girlfriends, Sunday sunset platters). Sometimes we overeat because food is immensely palatable and we just can’t get enough of it. This does not necessarily mean we are emotional eating.
It goes without saying that those that regularly overeat, especially in response to emotional stimuli, are more likely to experience negative psychological as well as physiological health outcomes. And that is why I am here. Because healing health issues at the root is where it’s at.
THEORIES
Emotional eating theories explore interoception, cognition, learning, and biochemical components.
Interoception is an inner awareness of internal sensations (i.e hunger/satiety, emotions). Interestingly, alexithymia, which is difficulty identifying, experiencing, and expressing emotion, correlates highly with emotional eating. Confusing internal emotional arousal with hunger can mean we will respond with eating instead of an emotional regulation tool. Developing interoception is significant in supporting healthful eating behaviours.
Cognition leans into the ways we develop rules and rigid structures in an attempt to diet for body aesthetics, weight loss, or because we have certain health ideals. Any violation of a rule can then move us toward cognitive abandonment, where the all-or-nothing phenomenon takes hold and overeating ensues (named ‘what the heck’ effect). Emotional arousal can interfere with the cognitive control to uphold our rules and structures. Like a pendulum swinging, we can move between complete adherence to rules, then complete abandonment of them. We feel lousy about this, however, it is not about our willpower here—emotional regulation tools are important.
Learning is based on reward, and food may have been used to counter negative emotions thus rendering it rewarding (in the moment), reinforcing the behaviour. Repeated pairing of negative emotions and eating increases our motivation to carry out the same behaviour (classic conditioning). Breaking the loop requires curiosity and care, inner awareness, and reflective practices that teach us there is another way.
Biochemical considerations include that of cortisol levels and insulin/blood glucose control. Additionally, there are nutritional underpinnings for adequate neurotransmitter production, which have mood and stress modulating effects. The issue here is this requires optimal nutritional intake and food practices, which isn’t always happening. However, this is not to be discredited or ignored.
CREATING A ROBUST RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD
There is no one way here—it is multifaceted, and individual measures are necessary. In my experience, and in the research, the following areas are important to work on and develop in individuals who are looking to change this behaviour. Please note, eating as a coping mechanism is not always a bad thing—it is a great coping tool that we use in times of distress and intense emotion. Though, it’s in recognising this and knowing (even choosing) that we are using this tool that denotes the difference between uncontrolled eating patterns of behaviour, and conscious, intentional ones. Put simply: We can use food as a tool to soothe if we choose to and want to, however, most of us become extremely judgemental of ourselves after the fact because it wasn’t actually what we wanted to do.
I wrote a detailed list for what I believe needs to be in place to create a good relationship to food here. These can all be categorised into these three main focus points:
Increased interoception. Understanding our hunger and satiety cues. Being able to notice and name emotions. Essentially, developing self awareness of our inner experience.
Breaking behavioural loops by being able to notice the results of our actions and reflect. Being curious and dropping judgement in the initial phases of making a change (acceptance needs to be woven in here).
Regulating our nervous system and having other coping tools that we can use in the moment of heightened emotional arousal, as well as everyday tools we can practise.
IN SUMMARY
Thankyou for reading my write-up, an area I have been passionate about, and worked within for almost 10 years. I have never written such an evidence-based summary of this work before, and more so because each individual is so unique, despite eliciting similar behaviours and similar mechanisms working time and time again to alter behaviour.
Research in this area is difficult to attain. Though, through my work with thousands of women I have gained such profound insight and understanding into what’s driving dysfunctional eating habits and how to adjust. Throwing more restrictions, structure, and nutrition knowledge at someone does not get to the bottom of their emotional eating. In fact, it can worsen it, perpetuating negative feelings. We need a different approach. As you might have noticed, our relationship to food has very little to do with food itself. Yet, it’s where most of our world focuses its attention.
Researchers comment on how there are hardly any innovative, accessible, non-face-to-face interventions for emotional eating. This could be because emotional processing, nervous system regulation, and understanding your mind and behaviour requires deeper support. This being said, Jud Brewer has an excellent app-based program you can move through on your own called Eat Right Now for those wanting to start somewhere.
Personally, I have created SHIFT Unleashed to fill this gap—a program that works to support women in their journey back to themselves, improving interoception, and understanding of inner signalling/cues (specifically with hunger and emotions). It is a safe space to engage in activities that underpin nervous system regulation and emotional processing, acquiring tools that will be kept for a lifetime. It is my hope that nutrition coaches and nutritionists understand the complexity of eating behaviour and that no one diet will ever support someone to come home to themselves. Self connection and emotional awareness are imperative pieces that needs to be considered.
SHIFT Unleashed is made to be accessible and affordable, with both self-paced (weekly downloads) and regular face-to-face (group coaching) components. It is in-depth and reorients food behaviours in the most loving and supported way.
Please note that though I have studied psychology, I am not a registered psychologist and for some people clinical psychological intervention is required, especially in the case of complex binge eating (i.e. CBT has been shown to be superbly effective in emotional eating and binge eating). My experience is grounded in my time working with women as a nutrition and mindset coach, my spiritual training in yoga, studies in naturopathic philosophy, clinical practice, and nutritional medicine. I trust that anyone embarking on a relationship with food journey with me has full understanding of this.
And so, if SHIFT Unleashed is singing to you, the waitlist is here. Next round will be released very soon. It would be a pleasure to have you inside.
Lots of love,