Emotional Eating – 4 Tips To Overcome It

Eating food without feeling hungry is more of a problem than you might think. This process is known as emotional eating and is caused by the over-palatability of many foods on the market.

The addition of sugar, trans fats and additives causes many people to continue eating even though they have already satisfied their appetite and hunger.

Obviously, the situation results in being overweight, because ultimately such people consume more calories than their body consumes on a daily basis. Due to this, overall health deteriorates, favoring the development of chronic pathologies. However, emotional eating is a condition that can be overcome.

What is emotional eating and why is it harmful to you?

As we mentioned, emotional eating is the act of eating without feeling hungry, just because the food is tasty and well presented. The main problem is that nutritional needs are being exceeded and substances that are not beneficial to health are being abused.

This has to be taken into account, as has been shown in many studies. Namely, that both simple sugars and trans fats have a negative effect on the body, changing the functioning of internal systems and metabolism.

Emotional eating involves the consumption of ultra-processed industrial products, which is dangerous to your health. There is evidence that this type of food may increase the risk of disease.

In fact, it is recommended that the diet be based on fresh and natural foods, leaving industrial products only for certain times. However, these have one unbeatable advantage: unfortunately, they are often tastier.

How To Overcome Emotional Eating?

We will now explain a number of tips that you can put into practice to overcome emotional hunger and thus improve your health.

1. Go shopping at the supermarket on a full stomach

When we go hungry at the supermarket, there is a greater risk of buying sweet products with poor nutritional quality. The very fact of buying them is harmful, because the moment we start to feel an appetite at home, we jump at them and quickly absorb them.

Due to the good taste, it will be difficult to stop eating them, even if you feel full.

2. Try to increase your dietary fiber intake

Another of the key tips concerns the contribution of fiber to the diet. According to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutritio n, this indigestible substance has the ability to increase satiety.

This reduces the risk of snacking between meals and starting to eat sweet or tasty products with little nutritional value.

3. Avoid getting distracted during meals

It is important not to eat while watching TV or using electronic devices. Otherwise, we lose our understanding of the amounts consumed and over-eat.

This can lead to eating more of a particular food than necessary just because the taste suits us. But we don’t eat it because there is a real physiological hunger that indicates a need for food.

When eating, it is important to put all your senses into it, being aware of what foods you are eating. In addition, we should try to eat slowly and chew each bite thoroughly.

4. Do not consume refreshing drinks

Regular consumption of sugar can lead to severe addiction. This process, in turn, is strongly related to emotional eating. On the other hand, refreshing drinks are characterized by a large amount of simple carbohydrates served in the form of a liquid.

Their regular consumption will have a greater negative impact on the body, which can easily become addicted to them. In the future, our body will demand their constant consumption. And always above what he really needs.

Emotional eating can be beaten

Although it is quite difficult at times, emotional eating can be overcome. The first thing is to be aware of the problem, otherwise you won’t be able to look for a solution.

If you’ve identified emotional eating in yourself, don’t give up. Make a decision to apply the above-mentioned tips in practice now, because you will see their effects only in the medium term.

Also, remember that we’re talking about an act that has a lot to do with psychological behavior, so sometimes it’s worth having a coaching or nutritional therapy session. It is important that these types of behavior do not become a permanent habit in your eating pattern.

Always remember that hunger is a feeling that acts as a sign of a physiological need. When this symptom disappears, it is the best time to stop food intake because the body has realized that the basic requirements have been met.