NEED OR GREED??!! - Is your body asking for nourishment or emotional fulfillment??

Ever found yourself gorging into your favourite ice cream whenever you are sad/stressed?

Any uncertain/tense situation comes up and you are munching on your favorite sandwich??? This type of eating– where you crave specific foods, whenever you are stressed/bored/excited is called emotional eating.

Emotional eating AKA stressed eating is a situation where you find yourself eating something savoury/sweet in order to feel temporary relief. Usually it happens when people are experiencing negative emotions like sadness, stress, anxiety etc. but it also happens when people are happy, it basically becomes a situation where food becomes a response and not a requirement.

Why– It is now a quite well understood fact that food is more than just a source of nourishment, it also plays a vital role in our social life and cultural heritage. So apart from nourishment it also serves as a bonding factor in the society. So in many cases- happy/sad people bond over food. Whenever we undergo an emotionally challenging situation, our body automatically craves safety and comfort, so we end up overindulging sweet and savoury foods.

Aftermath– When emotions repeatedly drive food choices:
Stress → sweets
Sadness → comfort food
Happiness → reward eating
Boredome→ savoury/sweet/mindless munching

Over time, this becomes an automatic behavior, not a conscious choice. This leads to various metabolic health issues such as Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia etc.

Solution??

Recognise emotion–The most common behaviour of emotional eating is eating chocolate when stressed. Usually external situations like stress, boredom,loneliness or fatigue lead to seeking comfort/dopamine chasing and the most convenient way to fill this gap is via food.

Evaluate Food Response– whenever you end up engaging in mindless eating/binge eating- you get temporary relief from the emotion you have been feeling. This type of coping mechanism with your emotions messes up with your health in the form of obesity, pcos, diabetes and thyroid hormones along with your relationship with food. You stop associating food with nourishment less and more with escape and comfort

Act mindfully– recognise your emotion– feeling stressed? How about you take a warm shower instead of binge eating your favourite chocolate. Had a tiring day? Let's have 2 glasses of water and breathing exercise for 5 mins and then revisit the idea of indulging in our favourite ice cream instead of straightaway scooping it into a cup.

Heal your relationship with food in order to heal from within.

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