It’s common to use food to soothe emotions such as sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or boredom. But this habit can lead to unwanted weight gain and related health issues. Here’s how to break the cycle.
It’s common to use food to soothe emotions such as sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or boredom. But this habit can lead to unwanted weight gain and related health issues. Here’s how to break the cycle.
Emotional eating is exactly what it sounds like: eating when you’re emotional, not when you’re necessarily hungry. Beyond overeating, you might reach for foods higher in sugar, fats, or carbohydrates. This can lead to weight gain and obesity — and a cycle that’s tricky to break.
It can be broken, though. By identifying your triggers, finding new coping mechanisms, tweaking what you eat, and incorporating new practices like mindfulness, you can build a better relationship with food.
Read on to learn how to stop emotional eating.
Emotional eating is when you use food to soothe an emotion. There are many potential causes of emotional eating. For example, you might crave an unhealthy snack, order a not-so-nutritious meal, or overeat when you’re:
Sad
Lonely
Bored
Stressed
Angry
Anxious
Depressed
You get the idea. You might even want to eat certain types of food when you’re experiencing positive emotions, like happiness, as a way of celebrating.
You may have heard this described as “eating my feelings” — essentially using food as a source of comfort, reward, or even distraction.
Emotional eating isn’t always in reaction to a huge event, like reaching for a bag of chips or a pint of ice cream when you lose your job. The emotional rollercoaster of daily life — think deadlines, traffic, and crying toddlers — can leave you turning to food to cope on a regular basis. This is when emotional eating can start to take a toll on your health.
Don’t be hard on yourself, though. It’s not a lack of willpower or discipline — your body’s kinda working against you.
Take stress as an example. Research shows that stress hormones like cortisol can:
Increase your appetite
Make you crave foods high in fat and sugar
Lower your ability to self-regulate
Encourage your body to store belly fat
One final question to clear up: Is emotional eating an eating disorder, or is stress eating a disorder? Not exactly.
Emotional eating disorder can feel real, but it’s not classified as an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa or binge eating disorder. It is a form of disordered eating, though, and emotional eating may contribute to an eating disorder.
Before we dive into how to stop emotional eating, we need to first talk about the causes.
As mentioned above, emotional eating can happen in response to a long list of emotions.
So, take some time to identify what can trigger emotional eating for you. You might overeat when stressed, for example, but find that sadness doesn’t impact your food choices all that much.
Jessica Yu, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Senior Director of Patient Experience at Hims & Hers, suggests self-monitoring with a food diary to figure out your triggers. “Self-monitoring means noting when eating occurred, what was eaten, where it was eaten, and any emotions or events related to the eating,” she says.
Dr. Yu adds that it’s important to keep this diary in real time whenever possible — meaning updating it when emotional eating happens. This can help you remember what your trigger was and may even reduce emotional eating in the moment as you’re more aware of what you’re doing.
Over time, you might notice a pattern, and you may also find you have more than one trigger — which is normal, BTW.
Once you have an idea of the kinds of emotions that trigger your emotional eating behaviors, you can work on breaking those habits and taking charge of your health.
Here’s how.
Mindfulness involves being more aware of the present moment. Try taking a moment to check in with yourself before you eat to see whether you’re feeling physical hunger or emotional hunger.
It’s not always easy to tell them apart. Here are the key differences.
Physical hunger | Emotional hunger |
Comes on gradually | Comes on suddenly |
Felt in the stomach (e.g., rumbling noises or slight discomfort) | Felt in the mouth or mind (e.g., salivating for a certain kind of food) |
Doesn’t discriminate — any food will satisfy it | Has specific needs — like craving something in particular |
Not associated with negative emotions — body needs fuel to survive and thrive | Associated with negative emotions — may feel shame or guilt afterward |
Eating when hungry and stopping when full | Eating mindlessly or automatically and not stopping when full |
If you’re physically hungry, go ahead and grab a snack. If not, figure out which emotion you’re feeling and look for other ways to manage it or comfort yourself.
Mindful eating can also come in handy if you find yourself grazing out of boredom without even really realizing it. You can stop before you start or change which food you’re reaching for.
You can also practice mindfulness while eating by taking your time and really savoring your food. This can help you enjoy mealtimes more, notice when you’re starting to feel full, and stop before you overeat.
When you’re in your feels, you don’t have to turn to comfort eating to get through it. The best course of action will depend on what you’re feeling, of course, but some healthy coping mechanisms include:
Meditating or deep breathing
Journaling
Practicing yoga
Doing some physical activity
Calling a friend
Taking a walk in nature
Doing a relaxing hobby
Starting a craft project or puzzle
Taking a bath
Reading a good book
If it helps, consider keeping a list on your phone of go-to activities to try when an emotional trigger hits.
Learning how to overcome emotional eating isn’t about restricting yourself. In fact, if you don’t give your body enough fuel, you’ll get overly hungry and be more likely to overeat or choose not-so-nutritious foods.
On the flip side, when you’re living a healthy lifestyle and well-fueled with balanced meals, unhealthy snacks and overeating may be less appealing.
Make sure you’re eating a variety of:
Fruits and vegetables
Whole grains
Lean proteins
Healthy fats
Try planning your meals ahead of time when you’re feeling good emotionally or meal prepping a few days ahead so you always have healthy meals ready to go.
Minimize how many comfort foods you have in the house and instead keep healthy snacks on hand for when you do want to munch on something. Greek yogurt, edamame, air-popped popcorn, dried fruit, and nuts are all great options.
Consider the root cause of your emotional eating and whether you might benefit from expert mental health support.
“Emotional eating may be a symptom of chronic anxiety, depression, stress, or some other mental health concern,” says Dr. Yu. “It’s never a bad idea to check in with a mental health professional to gain insight into emotional eating, learn skills to manage emotional eating, and tackle possible underlying issues.”
A therapist can help you learn how to stop stress eating and develop non-food-related strategies to cope. They can also help you manage the symptoms of mental health disorders, like anxiety and depression, or eating disorders, like binge eating disorder or bulimia.
Specifically, research shows that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance-based interventions can improve emotional eating, with CBT showing the most promise.
Medication for mental health disorders can also be useful for some, such as beta-blockers or antidepressants.
Besides a mental health professional, you might reach out to loved ones, join a support group, or consult a registered dietitian nutritionist for help forming healthier eating habits.
Above are the first steps you can take to break the emotional eating cycle. Next up are some tips and hacks to help make healthier eating patterns easier.
Here’s what to do:
Try mindfulness meditation. A 2024 study found that mindfulness meditation can reduce emotional-eating tendencies and food cravings. Start by setting a timer, sitting comfortably, and focusing on your breath. Mindfulness techniques like a body scan can even help reduce how many thoughts you have about food.
Eat more protein and fiber. Protein and fiber are key nutrients that can keep your appetite in check and help you feel fuller for longer. High-protein meals may even minimize food cravings. Try to include a protein and fiber source in each meal.
Wait 10 minutes before eating. If an emotion-driven food craving hits, try waiting 10 minutes before acting on it. In that time, address the emotion — e.g., do a relaxing activity if you’re stressed or reach out to friends if you’re lonely. Once the 10 minutes is up, you might find the craving has passed. If not, you may be in a better place to savor a smaller portion or a more nutritious option.
Get enough sleep. Sleep loss can spike your appetite, trigger cravings, and contribute to weight gain. But, unfortunately, many emotions — like stress, anxiety, and anger — can disrupt your sleep, leading to a double whammy on your well-being. To help, take steps to protect your sleep by winding down before bed, avoiding screens late at night, and keeping regular sleep-wake times.
Consider weight loss drugs. Weight loss medications can be useful for some people with excess weight or obesity. They can suppress your appetite, reduce food cravings, make you feel fuller, and potentially reduce food noise (obsessive thoughts about food). They’re not a cure-all, of course, and you’ll still want to address your emotional needs and build healthy eating habits, but weight loss drugs can help along the way.
On the whole, working on reducing emotional eating is a great thing to do for your mental and physical health. But there are a few health and safety considerations to keep in mind.
First up — we know you know this — try not to swap eating for another unhealthy coping mechanism, like drinking or smoking. Aim to find out what your emotional triggers are, take steps to reduce them if possible, and lean into coping mechanisms that support your overall health and wellness.
Next, don’t restrict yourself.
“People who deprive themselves tend to engage in emotional eating more often,” says Dr. Yu. “So it’s important to make sure your body has sufficient fuel.”
Make sure you’re eating enough food overall. And remember, you can experience strong emotions and legitimate hunger at the same time.
Finally, go easy on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re an emotional eater — many people are in the same boat. And eating when sad or stressed every now and again is nothing to be ashamed of. You just want to avoid it becoming a habit or the only way you deal with emotions. You’ve got this.
Breaking the emotional eating cycle can feel overwhelming, but it’s doable. Think about reaching out for professional help, whether in the form of a therapist, a registered dietitian, or another healthcare provider.
If you’re considering weight loss medications, start with our free online assessment. A healthcare provider will go over your answers and let you know the best treatment options for you.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. Learn more about our editorial standards here.
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