3 Steps to Take the Emotion Out of Eating

Have you ever been studying for a huge test or had a tough day at the hospital and all of a sudden, the urge to grab that half gallon of ice cream out of the freezer becomes more intense than usual? When you’re experiencing an emotion like sadness, anger, stress, etc., you have a strong desire to get “feel-good” chemicals activated in your brain to bring on that happy, calm feeling. There are many ways to activate these chemicals, but the most popular way is to consume foods that contain simple sugars so these chemicals go into full-swing immediately. Cookies, candy, and pizza always seem to do the trick!

The good news is that there are ways to fight emotional eating. The three tips below are my favorite ways to understand and combat emotional eating.

1) The Hunger Scale

Using the Hunger Scale can help you identify if you are truly hungry or you’re experiencing what could turn into an emotional eating episode. The Hunger Scale is a scale that is ranked from 1 to 10 with “1” being completely starved to “10” for the uncomfortable, unzip-your-pants, I-need-to-lie-down full. If you’re ever questioning how hungry you are, ask yourself where you are on this scale. If you’re a 4 or lower, you may actually need to grab a snack or meal. If you’re a 5 or above, you need to evaluate your situation and acknowledge that you’re letting your emotions run the show eating-wise, and you may need to figure out the best way to deal with these emotions.

2) Keep a Food Journal

You may have heard that writing down everything you consume can be helpful in tracking your nutrition intake. However, keeping a food journal can also be a great tool for understanding what emotions get the best of you eating-wise. Writing down your food choices and emotions you’re feeling that day can aid you in understanding patterns you often fall into as far as feelings and what types of food you’re reaching for. For example, you didn’t make the most healthful choices while preparing for a huge presentation? Identifying this and having a plan in place for the future can help you avoid this again (see step 3).

3) Know your Triggers and Have a Plan Ready

So you have an understanding of what hunger feels like and you know what emotions trigger you to eat? The next thing is having a plan ready. One thing you can do is ask yourself, “What would I do if food weren’t available?” You have to find things that elevate your mood without food involved. Here are some examples:

  • Call a friend

  • Go for a walk/exercise

  • Watch a favorite television show

  • Read a book

  • Play a game

  • Listen to music

Writing these tried methods in your food journal can also help you get an idea of what works for you so you know how to handle situations in the future.

In summary, by understanding when you’re really hungry (step 1) and knowing your weaknesses (step 2), you can have a plan in place (step 3) so emotional eating won’t get the best of you!

References

  • The Hunger Scale – DCHS. Available at http://www.dchs.nhs.uk/assets/public/dchs/llb/tools/tools_1-11/4_DCHS_A5_4pp_The_Hunger_Scale.pdf.

  • Mayo Clinic. Weight-loss help: how to stop emotional eating. Available at: www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MH00025.

  • MedicineNet. Weight loss: emotional eating. Available at: http://www.medicinenet.com/emotional_eating/article.htm.

Pass It On

If you know of a nursing student or faculty member who could benefit from these self-care and resiliency building tips, please forward this on to them so they can sign up here for the free Mindful and Resilient Nurse monthly tip.

Want to Learn More?

If you found this tip valuable and are looking for further options to build your resilience, or that of your nursing students, please consider our Mindful and Resilient Nurse Program. Feel free to contact us to discuss how this program can be seamlessly weaved into your curriculum or simply be another resource you provide to your stressed-out students.

Jesse Ruschnurses