Why We Eat Our Feelings: Understanding and Overcoming Emotional Eating (Podcast Episode 332)

Ever found yourself knee-deep in a pint of ice cream after a stressful day, convincing yourself that this is “self-care”? (Or is that just me?). Emotional eating is a common (yet sneaky) coping mechanism that many people struggle with. Why do we turn to food when we’re stressed, sad, or even bored? More importantly, how can we break free from the cycle? Today we’re diving into the psychology behind emotional eating, why it’s so hard to stop, and my top six research-backed ways to regain control over what’s on your plate and what’s really weighing on your mind.

Click here to read the full blog and show notes!

For the One Love Collective Community:

Tier I:

• Journaling Prompts for Emotional Eating
• Rewriting My Food Story Exercise

Tier II:

• 7-Day Emotional Eating Accountability Challenge
• 25 Affirmations & Encouragements for Emotional Eating
• Emergency Plan for Emotional Eating

Tier III:

• Emotional Eating Awareness Worksheet
• Am I Hungry or Am I Emotional? Checklist
• Guided Mindful Eating Exercise

Resources for Why We Eat Our Feelings: Understanding and Overcoming Emotional Eating

Join Abby’s One Love Collective on Patreon!

Buy the bundle for this episode for only $8!

Mindfulness Starter Kit

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Text Revision Dsm-5-tr

National Eating Disorders – Binge Eating Disorder

Elfhag, K., & Morey, L. C. (2008). Personality traits and eating behavior in the obese: Poor self-control in emotional and external eating but personality assets in restrained eating. Eating Behaviors, 9(3), 285-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.10.003

Adam, T. C., & Epel, E. S. (2007). Stress, eating and the reward system. Physiology & Behavior, 91(4), 449-458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.04.011

Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A.-M., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62(3), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220

Exterkate, C. C., Vriesendorp, P. F., & De Jong, C. A. (2009). Body attitudes in patients with eating disorders at presentation and completion of intensive outpatient day treatment. Eating Behaviors, 10(1), 16-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2008.10.002

Sobal J, Nelson MK. Commensal eating patterns: a community study. Appetite. 2003 Oct;41(2):181-90. doi: 10.1016/s0195-6663(03)00078-3. PMID: 14550316.

Armstrong LE, Ganio MS, Casa DJ, Lee EC, McDermott BP, Klau JF, Jimenez L, Le Bellego L, Chevillotte E, Lieberman HR. Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. J Nutr. 2012 Feb;142(2):382-8. doi: 10.3945/jn.111.142000. Epub 2011 Dec 21. PMID: 22190027.

Ganio MS, Armstrong LE, Casa DJ, McDermott BP, Lee EC, Yamamoto LM, Marzano S, Lopez RM, Jimenez L, Le Bellego L, Chevillotte E, Lieberman HR. Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men. Br J Nutr. 2011 Nov;106(10):1535-43. doi: 10.1017/S0007114511002005. Epub 2011 Jun 7. PMID: 21736786.

Markus CR, Verschoor E, Firk C, Kloek J, Gerhardt CC. Effect of tryptophan-rich egg protein hydrolysate on brain tryptophan availability, stress and performance. Clin Nutr. 2010 Oct;29(5):610-6. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2010.01.003. Epub 2010 Feb 18. PMID: 20167402.

Fernstrom JD. Branched-chain amino acids and brain function. J Nutr. 2005 Jun;135(6 Suppl):1539S-46S. doi: 10.1093/jn/135.6.1539S. PMID: 15930466.

National Institutes of Health: Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think

Kristeller JL, Wolever RQ. Mindfulness-based eating awareness training for treating binge eating disorder: the conceptual foundation. Eat Disord. 2011 Jan-Feb;19(1):49-61. doi: 10.1080/10640266.2011.533605. PMID: 21181579.

Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eating Disorders by Christopher G. Fairburn

Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts