Food & Emotions

I’ve been putting off writing this post for a long time now… I think maybe my resistance is because this is certainly a sensitive topic for me, as I’m still trying to understand the connection between my own emotional body and how it relates to food. I’ll do my best to share the knowledge I have around this topic while remaining in an authentic heart space.

I think we can all agree there is clear connection between how we feel and what/ how much we eat. Have you ever had a huge deadline to meet or exam to take and you can barely eat from nerves, but once it’s over there is a never ending binge? Okay, that is certainly my experience… Or maybe when you first started a new romance and you’re so excited about the person, you forgot you haven't eaten anything in 12 hours? … Or maybe you feel so intensely lonely, a pint of ice cream is the only way it seems to soothe the pains of the soul… I’ve certainly experienced all of this and more.

So as you can see there is a clear connection between stress hormones and appetite, which correlates directly with emotions. The main hormone at play is cortisol. Cortisol is released when your body is put under some sort of inevitable stress, and consequently causes fluid retention as well as an increase in body fat. Thus, stress management is huge when it comes to maintaining a health weight and body.

A lot of times, we eat as a need to feel comfort. In order to fill a void inside of ourselves that is too painful to touch, we often times turn to food for numbing. The only way to heal pain is to allow yourself to feel it. Like many other compensations and methods of avoiding pain, it’s hard to quit. I recommend exploring this in therapy or finding alternative ways to cope if emotional eating is something you struggle with a lot. Something that has helped me incredibly in this area, is infusing mindfulness when I sit down for a meal. Almost every time I eat, I always try to take at least 15 seconds to express gratitude for the food in front of me. Additionally, I try not to eat with distractions, like TV, computer, or phone. Lastly, sharing meals with others I’ve found really helps me slow down and not over eat.

In conclusion, I just want to remind you that I am speaking from my own personal experience around this topic. I know disordered eating can come in so many different forms, and some people really struggle with restriction and binge cycles. If any of this is triggering to you and not helpful, my sincere apologies. I have so much compassion for you and want you to know that you are so valuable and stronger than you think.

I love you.