What emotions cause you to reach for foods you wouldn’t normally eat?
When we asked Embody readers this question, their answers ran the gamut from negative emotions (anxiety, boredom, sadness, fear, fatigue, stress) to positive ones (happiness, euphoria, joy, togetherness). The bottom line: Eating is emotional, and it’s natural to use food to both evoke and address feelings, even when doing so is clearly not productive or healthy.
How to better respond? Here is been-there-done-that advice from readers on how to curb comfort eating as an emotional response.
“I've engaged in a lot of education around nutrition and behavioral science, and I work hard to curb my tendency to binge eat or reach for less nutritionally dense foods when stressed. I'm exploring ways to understand impulses and find other ways to get the dopamine I’m seeking through exercise, balanced meals to limit sugar cravings, or mindfulness activities.” — Acadia, Virginia
“When I’m tired, overwhelmed, or stressed, I might take a bubble bath with candles or go for a walk. If there is a quart of ice cream in the freezer, I take a bite and tell myself it will still be there tomorrow. Istopped eating junk food because I kept telling myself it wasn't worth my health to eat something unless it were truly good. I lost 70 pounds and have kept it off for 25 years.” — Annette, California
“If I’m tempted to eat out of boredom, I’ll play an app game. If I’m tempted to eat because I’m craving something, I go with it. Usually that means it contains something I’m missing in my current diet.” — Mickey, Washington
“I am learning from my therapist how to cope, with methods like box breathing andprogressive muscle relaxation. I am also trying to journal more.” — Ayanna, California
“If someone makes me laugh, that helps. I have a homestead/farm and find that working outside helps a lot — shoveling, planting, weeding, caring for livestock — any normal farm work is very regulating.” — MT, Massachusetts
“Frustration, sadness, lack of self-confidence, and stress are all triggers for me. I try to keep my hands and brain busy. I also eat nuts, seeds, fruit, maybe even a small garlic clove or a bit of onion, or a slice of fresh ginger. These seem to satiate the deprived feeling in me.” — Dalila, Texas
“I am a comfort eater, so stress and anxiety play into constant snacking. I see exercise and activity as the best options for breaking this cycle.” — Patricia, Australia
“I need to be distracted with a purpose — otherwise, I resort to eating to fill the time between procrastinated tasks, or out of boredom. If I have a purpose, I can reduce my food intake and be satisfied. If that continues for long enough, it builds a habit and I lose weight and feel better.” — Sally, Australia
“Stress and sadness or a need to fill a craving cause me to overeat. I try to find ways to sympathize with myself so that I address the emotions directly rather than using food to self-soothe.” — Anonymous
“Exercise is the main regulator of my emotions, followed by music.” — E.G.
“Running is really the only thing that shuts up my mind. The physical exertion requires that my brain attend to moving my legs forward and nothing else. It is a totally in-the-now experience.” — Laura, Ohio
“I often have to ask myself what I really need: Am I tired? Do I need to talk to someone? Am I bored? Then I need to figure out a better solution for addressing those emotions, which it isn't easy to do.” — Suzanne, Washington
“I struggle in the evening to avoid bad foods. [So I try] to have fruits ready to eat when I feel that sense of deprivation.” — Courtney, North Carolina
“Doing something I really enjoy helps postpone eating out of boredom.” — Anonymous
“I tend to eat more chocolate when I'm feeling stressed. I sometimes drink tea if I can't focus very well or feel disinterested in my work.” — Tim, Canada
“My son and I are daily exercisers. He and my husband receive emotional benefits from pets. My husband meets his emotional needs by spending time in nature when the weather is nice.” — Anonymous, Connecticut
“I sometimes get lost in books and movies.” — Anonymous
“The trick to not spiraling is to just allow it to happen (once a week, say) and to not beat yourself up about it. Just learn about metabolism and try to stay on track most of the time.” — Indigo, U.K.
