Seven signs that you are an emotional eater

Emotional eating is the enemy of weight loss.  It is very easy to identify emotional eating when it presents itself exactly how we see it in the movies:  woman gets dumped and she sobs into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.  But that’s not the only way emotional eating presents itself.

Here are seven signs that you are an emotional eater:

1. Hunger and urges come on strong and quickly

The act of digestion in the human body is a gradual process.  You consume food and (depending on how much you ate) over the next few hours the body goes to work digesting.  Hunger starts gradually as the stomach is mostly empty and gets more intense as it remains empty.  True biological hunger can even come and go as the call for food remains unanswered.  Emotional hunger is just the opposite.  It is strong and intense.  You may feel powerless against the call for the chocolate chip cookies after dinner or the bag of chips mid-afternoon.  Sudden and intense urges for certain foods are a sure sign of emotional eating.

2. You struggle with snacking at certain times of the day

If you have certain times of the day when you are drawn to eat, this is emotional eating.  Most often my clients report the 3-5pm or after dinner timeframe to be the most problematic for unwanted or emotional eating.  This is prime time for the stress of your day to have built up and leave you searching for some relief in the form of food.

Even if you are eating because it is a certain time of day, this is emotional eating.  Eating because it is 9am and “breakfast” time is emotional eating if at that time you aren’t experiencing true hunger.  Which bring us to the next sign:

3. You eat when you aren’t hungry

If you aren’t hungry and you choose to eat, you are emotionally eating.  Has anyone ever asked if you were ready to eat dinner and you answered “I could eat?”  Chances are you weren’t hungry but could fit some extra food into your stomach so yeah “I could eat.”  Eating at times when our body isn’t physically asking us for food means that we are eating to our emotions.  It could be boredom, stress, connectedness, relief, entertainment, happiness, etc.  Connectedness is a BIG one.  Many of us choose to eat so we feel connected to those around us.  We don’t want to sit at a meal, party, gathering and be the only person not eating.  That’s emotional eating.

4. You get excited about eating every time you eat

Food can be an exciting and pleasurable part of our lives.  However, if you are routinely excited and can’t wait to eat, you are eating emotionally.  Many of my clients are high achieving women who lean more into business than play.  They are constantly working hard and achieving big goals that food becomes one of the only constant joys in their life.  They use food as a reward because it is widely socially acceptable and necessary to live.  It’s an activity that they must do anyway while every other minute of their day is spent working and serving those around them.

Even if you are not a high achieving woman, take note of what felt good to you throughout your day.  If you can’t think of anything other than that delicious slice of cheesecake you had after dinner, chances are you are emotionally eating in the very same way.

5. You use eating to delay doing other things

There is no doubt that your to-do list is as long as the day is long.  Works tasks, household chores, scheduling meetings/appointments, car maintenance, calling the utility company…the list could literally go on forever.  Especially when COVID-19 hit the U.S., I found myself curiously wandering into the kitchen to find a snack throughout my work day.  At first, I was frustrated until I began to see a pattern.  Every time I received an email from my boss giving me another assignment or I was about to start a project that I was dreading or unsure of how to complete, the urge to check the fridge came over me.  The amazing thing is that as I became aware of my action and the reason behind it, I was able to make lasting changes to that behavior.  Now when I get that urge to hit the kitchen during the workday, I ask myself some important questions:

• What am I really hungry for?
• If I wasn’t going to grab a snack, what would I be doing?
• What can I do to mentally prepare for my next task?

6. You feel out of control around food

Once you start, you just can’t stop.  If that is your mantra around certain foods, this is your wake up call that you are emotionally eating.  Feeling compelled to eat something or to eat something until it’s completely gone is driven by your emotions.  Feeling compelled or driven are emotions.  Often times you are eating past the point of giving your body the amount of food that it needs and therefore the desire and urge to eat is not driven by your physical need but rather your emotional needs.

7.  You have trouble losing weight

For many of us, tracking calories and following a certain diet works until we quit following them.  We are able to play by the rules until the rules become too much of a burden on how we live our lives.  Frustration, resentment, boredom and plain ol’ don’t wanna creep in and overtake our resolve to lose the weight.  We are able to lose the weight until our emotions overtake us and we decide that we want to eat whatever we want more than losing our excess weight.

That’s why addressing your emotional state is the best way to navigate weight loss.  You can solve for what you are truly needing in that moment and leave the food for nourishing your body.  If you struggle with this, I can help.  Schedule a call and I will help you stop your emotional eating and lose your weight for good.  

Your Coach,

Andrea