Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is scary. For me, this looks like straying away from being so rigid with my meal plan… It means allowing myself to eat more than what my meal plan requires… eating what I want to eat and eating what sounds good even if I’m not necessarily hungry. Emotional eating can be eating comfort foods when you’re sad or excited. Emotional eating can mean turning to food for comfort, not because you’re hungry.

Y’all!!! This is TOTALLY normal. Emotional eating does not necessarily mean your relationship with food is unhealthy or toxic. We are human. We have emotions. And eating can play a big part in our emotions. Eating does not just have to be for nourishment… it can be for JOY. It’s all about having a choice. If you’re an intuitive eater, choosing to eat when you’re feeling a certain way can make you feel better. But emotional eating based on impulsivity and reaction to an emotion can leave you feeling worse.

Emotional eating becomes unhealthy when it’s your only coping mechanism. If you feel guilt and shame after, and decide to punish yourself and your body for making the decision to emotionally eat, this is when your relationship with food becomes unhealthy.

Allow yourself to emotionally eat. Let yourself eat ice cream while out with friends (if it sounds appealing), even if it’s after a big dinner that left you feeling really full. Allow yourself to eat a comfort food when you’re feeling sad or upset. It’s normal. It’s okay. But, if you’re on a meal plan like me, it can be scary and I can totally relate to the feelings of guilt and shame after eating more than my meal plan requires. I struggle with rigidity. I am working on allowing myself to have flexibility. I am working on allowing myself to feel joy while eating.

Remember… Eating does not have to be purely for nourishment… It can be for joy too!!