4 Steps To Banish Emotional Eating

Turning to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when stressed, anxious, bored or upset is a long-standing habit that goes back to our beginnings.

Because what were we given when we cried as babies? A bottle of milk or breastfed milk. We know that food hits the pleasure centre of the brain, also known as the reward circuit, which includes all kinds of pleasure, from sex to laughter to certain types of drug use.

The problem with emotional eating is that it can seriously sabotage our weight loss efforts, causing us to gain weight or even stand still – so disheartening when we really had worked hard that week or month.

Not only that, it triggers intense feelings of guilt and defeat, which can lead us to want to throw in the towel when it comes to our weight loss goals.

An emotional eating slip usually involves a specific food craving, such as those from the sugar/processed carb category, the reality is, if we were truly hungry, a banana would do the trick.

Many people don’t realise that this is NOT ‘just automatic’. It is usually the result of a thought or a feeling. In other words, a subconscious thought or feeling precedes the binge. And this emotion gets suppressed or ‘numbed’ by the eating.

Here is a guide that can help you banish emotional eating.