What’s Eating You? The Emotional Side of Overeating

Ask most people why they eat, and odds are you'll be answered with a quizzical look and something along the lines of an abrupt "Because I get hungry - why else?"

Though the relationship between food and hunger seems to be among the most fundamental exchanges, the truth is that many individuals are inspired to eat - and often impelled to overeat - for complex reasons that have little to do with the status of their stomachs.

If your daily diet is unduly affected by external events and your response to these occurrences, you may be suffering from what experts have termed "emotional eating."

UNDERSTAND YOUR URGES

Everyone experiences stress in life, and we all have ways to cope with pressure and disappointment. For example, some of us seek solace through therapy, meditation, or exercise, while others abuse alcohol or other drugs in misguided attempts to numb the pain.

If you respond to stress or sadness by reaching for the refrigerator door, your emotional eating may be undermining your efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle. Educating yourself about this condition is the first step toward overcoming your impulses, improving your coping skills, and, ultimately, regaining control of this important part your life.

IDENTIFY YOUR TRIGGERS

Emotional eaters turn to food in response to negative stimuli such as a bad day at the office or an argument with a friend. Some people knowingly attempt to eat their angst away, while others are unaware of the connection between what they're feeling and what they're eating.

Regardless of how conscious they are of the impetus for their actions, emotional eaters use food in a misdirected attempt to deal with stressful situations. No two emotional eaters are the same, and no list of reasons people overeat could ever be comprehensive, but the following are some common "triggers," or impulses and emotions that often lead to bingeing or overeating:

• Anxiety - Waiting for test results. Prepping for an important presentation. Sitting in a crowded plane just before takeoff. Life is filled with moments that can evoke intense anxiety. For some of us, the opportunity to replace this "dreadful anticipation" with the soothing sensation we associate with eating is the ultimate no-brainer. The problem, though, is that once we've polished off our distracting snack, the event that prompted our anxiety is still there - only now it's accompanied by the guilt of unhealthy overeating.

• Boredom - It's another evening alone in front of the TV. Three hours of reruns and fifteen fast-food commercials after you first settled into your favorite chair, your mind is as empty as the chip bags and soda bottles on the table beside you. There's a reason certain snacks have come to be known as "comfort food" - they're tasty and consistently pleasurable ways to pass a few boring hours and perhaps evoke memories of better times. Unfortunately, they're often not the healthiest options available, and the nature of comfort eating implies both avoidance and overindulgence.

• Disgust - You've just discovered that you've outgrown another favorite pair of pants - and though it seems counterintuitive, your disgust with your appearance sends you straight to your snack drawer. Although chomping on a chocolate bar can help release chemicals in your brain that may temporarily ease your mind, dealing with feelings of disgust by overeating is a "double whammy" - not only have you dodged an opportunity to actually deal with your problem, but you've also made the situation worse with another round of unhealthy eating.

• Euphoria - Though most emotional eating episodes are triggered by negative events or emotions, they can also result from experiences at the other end of the psychological spectrum. A birthday, a big raise, or the start of a new relationship can all be cause for celebration - and can also "inspire" emotional eaters to overdo it at the dinner table. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a slice of birthday cake or celebrating an accomplishment by taking a friend to dinner - just remember that your focus should be on savoring the event or achievement, not the means of celebration.

• Habit - Even after they've kicked their physical addiction to nicotine, former smokers sometimes find themselves reaching for a smoke after a meal or when talking on the phone. Their bodies may not be craving the drug any longer, but based upon their previous habits, their minds are telling them "this is the time to smoke." Unhealthy eating - such as hitting the drive-thru for a burger every day after work or downing two jelly donuts with your coffee every morning - can be similarly habitual. Just like ruts in the road can damage your vehicle and impede your progress, so, too, can habitual eating derail even the healthiest of intentions.

• Imitation - Unfortunately, peer pressure seems to be one part of middle school that stays with us long after our state history and pre-algebra lessons have faded into the mists of memory. Just as alcoholics and other drug abusers are advised to avoid situations where the object of their addiction is easily accessible, emotional eaters need to be aware of how the behavior of others can influence their tendency to overindulge. Thanksgiving dinners (the stress of a large family gathering coupled with an abundance of enticing entrees), wedding receptions (lots of happy people eating lots of delicious cake), and Super Bowl parties (did someone say "free buffet"?) are all situations in which the spirit of the crowd can sweep us away from our healthy eating goals.

TAKE BACK CONTROL

Once you've educated yourself on the basics of emotional eating and the influences that can prompt unhealthy episodes, it's time to incorporate this information into a plan that's tailored to your individual needs and objectives.

• Know your triggers - "Know your enemy and know yourself." Soldiers have been following this guidance from Sun Tzu's The Art of War for more than 2,500 years - but his advice is also applicable to the battles waged by today's emotional eaters. Awareness of what motivates your unhealthy actions is an essential precursor to changing your behavior for the better. Even if you didn't recognize yourself in one of the descriptions in the previous section of this article, you still may identify with the mindsets outlined there. Knowing in advance what situations, emotions, or events are likely to "push your buttons" will allow you to develop strategies to avoid or overcome these negative influences on your health.

• Develop alternative ways of dealing with stress - Because most triggers are stress-related, and because no amount of strategizing will eliminate pressure from your life, the next step is to develop healthier coping mechanisms. Exercise, meditation, and therapy are three of the many methods people use to alleviate stress and better prepare their minds and bodies for the challenges of daily life. Your health care provider should be able to suggest additional options based upon your specific needs, strengths. and limitations.

• Document your diet - This might seem like the easiest step in the process, but it can also be the most challenging and motivating. Commit yourself to keeping a list of everything you eat and when you eat it for at least the next seven days. The act of stopping to write every time you eat (even when you're sneaking a quick snack) can help draw attention to both the quality and quantity of your daily diet. Reviewing what you've written down can help you see patterns in your behavior, and can be a valuable part of your effort to identify and eliminate unhealthy behaviors.

• Rid your environment of unhealthy foods - Eating healthier is much easier when you're not sitting a few feet away from a pantry that's stocked with cookies, chips, and candy bars. And filling your refrigerator with fresh vegetables and healthy fruit juices will make it much more difficult for you to descend into an impulse binge. But removing temptation from your house is only one part of this process. If you have a secret snack cache hidden away in your office, that's got to go, too. And if eating on the go is a problem, you may want to re-route your morning and evening commute to avoid the donut shops and burger barns that lure you in.

• Forgive yourself when you slip up - Failure (and the guilt, shame, and frustration that can follow) can be among life's most stressful experiences - and can be difficult triggers for some emotional eaters to overcome. Strange as it may sound, you've got to plan for failure just as strongly as you prepare for success, because no matter how resolved you are to improve, you'll probably experience a slip-up or two along the way. But just as you don't expect to correct a lifetime of poor habits with one day of healthy eating, don't feel like a few weak moments are going to doom your efforts. In fact, these times can be excellent opportunities for you to review just how much progress you've made, as well as to improve your plan by evaluating what went wrong and why.

BUILD A BETTER LIFE

Attempting to understand anyone's urges and motivations - especially your own - can be a lengthy, complex undertaking. But for emotional eaters, improving self-awareness is an essential component of planning for a healthier life. The good news is that information and experts are available to help you along the way. The even better news is that every day you spend focused on your efforts will bring you one step closer to achieving your objectives and reclaiming control over your life.