As humans we have two hungers – physical and emotional. These exist in every person, although every person will manage them differently. Physical hunger is determined by our body’s physiological needs. Our body seeks sufficient nutrients to fuel the activity it is conducting. Any time we eat a food which is not required for nutritional purposes or we eat more than is required to fuel our body we are feeding our emotional hunger.
Emotional eating is not always a bad thing. We are after all emotional beings. Often however, emotional eating can blow out of control and lead to health problems such as obesity or to eating disorders such as bulimia. Indulging in emotional eating unchecked can also allow us to ignore problems that might be better cast out into the light.
I would argue that almost everyone is an emotional eater at some point in their life. Most people I know will indulge in treats like chocolate or coffee which provide no nutritional value, whether they do it consciously to reward a tough day or subconsciously because their mind is telling them how “nice” it would be.
The key is to be aware of your eating and to understand when it is driven by emotional needs rather than true hunger. For the next few days watch what you eat and classify foods as being eaten for their nutritional value or their pure enjoyment (not neglecting that some foods satisfy both needs). If you find that your eating is particularly driven by your emotional hunger it is important to spend some time thinking about what creates this hunger in you.
Consider some of these common problems for frequent emotional eaters and see if you fit the profile –
1) Reaction to a specific event.
Do you walk out of a stressful meeting and head straight for the coffee room? As you are sipping that latte, teamed perfectly with a chocolate biscuit, do you feel the stress just flow out of you? That is reactive emotional eating. Often is accompanied by a sense of reward. “I deserved this treat for sitting through that meeting.”
2) Self esteem issues.
Nobody loves you except the potato chips? As stupid as it sounds when spelled out so simply, we’ve all had those moments.
3) Boredom.
Does waiting for a train require a trip to the vending machine? Nothing on TV so you head for the refrigerator? Are you hungry or just looking for something to do?
4) Change of season.
Winter is a great catalyst for “comfort” eating – nothing like hot chocolate to warm you up, especially if its accompanied by a ncie warm muffin. Hear those Fall winds starting? Better grab some carbs!
Basically, if you weren’t driven by hunger pangs, there is a good chance you are feeding your emotional hunger.