• About Danielle
    • Speaking & Media
  • Store
    • Thriving Life Goal Planner
    • Life Coaching
    • Restoring the Lost Petal
    • Budget Coaching
    • The Veggie Book
    • Set Apart
  • Checkout

  • Sex
  • Money
    • Budget Coaching
  • Family
    • Encouragement
    • Parenting
    • Health & Nutrition
  • Resources
You are here: Home / Health & Nutrition / Recognizing and Conquering Your Emotional Eating

Recognizing and Conquering Your Emotional Eating

By Danielle

Eating is a part of life.  Regardless of your food philosophy, your body gets its nutrients from food.  Sometimes we can go overboard with our eating habits and it can result in gaining weight.  But overeatingduring the holidays or on summer vacation isn’t a serious issue. Emotional eating, on the other hand, is a sign of something deeper that must be resolved.

Emotional Eating

The problem of emotional eating may end with the scale but it begins in the mind.  When stress comes hard and fast without sign of stopping and food is your comfort you may be a victim of emotional eating.

Everyone has good days and bad days.  How we deal with the bad ones brings emotional eating into play.  We all deal with stress and emotions different ways.  People who turn to food for comfort find a coping mechanism that won’t judge them, hurt them or tell them “no.” To complicate the issue, eating pleasurable foods can stimulate the release of endorphins just like exercise.  So, after you eat, you feel better.

Emotional eaters use food to relieve stress.  They hide behind the food instead of seeking solutions to the problems.  This is not uncommon when the stressor is something horrible such as physical abuse or a death or it can be as normal as job or home management stress.

Recognizing Emotional Eating

How do you know you are using food in this way?  The first sign is obvious: You will gain weight if you eat too much. In light of the weight gain, examine other areas of your life:

* Have you been under stress lately at work or at home?

* Has anything traumatic happened in the last year?

* Are you dealing with a problem but haven’t found a solution?

*When you should be facing an issue do you instead turn to food?

*Are you eating foods your normally would not eat?

*Do you find you’re eating alone at odd hours of the day or night?

Answering “yes” to any of these questions could mean that you are an emotional eater.  You eat but you are not necessarily hungry at the time.  The foods that you choose are what we term “comfort foods”:

* High-fat foods like French fries, fried foods

* High carb foods like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes

* Sugary foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies, cake

Even if you follow a real or whole food diet you can still be overeating foods that aren’t optimum when you’re emotional eating. A donut is still a donut even if it's soaked flour with homemade icing.

Breaking Free in 1, 2, 3

Step 1: Admit the Problem

The first step is recognizing that you have a problem.  You’ll experience feelings of helplessness and guilt.  The guilt is over potentially ruining your health and the helplessness lies in the fact that you don’t see a way out. Do not allow condemnation to keep you stuck.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ~ Romans 8:1 NIV

Step 2: Recognize the Spiritual Aspect

Secondly, recognize the spiritual aspects of your stress and your current situation. Remind yourself that Jesus said,

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30, emphasis is mine)

Remind yourself that the true Comforter is with you if you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior. Food does not need to be your comfort. Jesus left and when He did, the Comforter was sent. Let’s look at the words of Christ:

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby), that He may remain with you forever.” ~ John 14:16 AMP

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto you. ~ John 16:7

Step 3: Seek Help

If necessary, seek ministry counseling.  A biblical Christian counselor can help you resolve spiritual issues that are holding you in bondage and manifesting in your emotional eating habits.  Emotional eating has nothing to do with dieting or changing your eating habits but gaining control over your emotions. 

Finding new ways to solve your problems and deal with stress will push food out of the equation.  You’ll feel good about finding solutions which will replace the dependence on food.

You may not need a professional counselor but you can find an accountability partner who would be willing to meet and pray with you. When you're going through stressful and difficult times, be sure to evaluate your food intake and keep your emotional eating under control.

Get more!

  • 5 Small Food Changes To Improve Your Diet5 Small Food Changes To Improve Your Diet
  • 3 Ways Mental and Emotional Clutter Are Holding You Back3 Ways Mental Clutter Affects Your Life
  • The BEST Natural Remedy for Restless Leg Syndrome!The BEST Natural Remedy for Restless Leg Syndrome!
  • 3 Areas Of Renewal You Need In Order To Keep Up With Life3 Areas Of Renewal You Need In Order To Keep Up With Life
  • keys to weight loss2 Obvious Keys to Weight Loss and 1 Secret You Never Thought Of
  • What is Proper Sexual Behavior?What is Proper Sexual Behavior?
  • Finding Time For Yourself In An Already Tight ScheduleFinding Time For Yourself In An Already Tight Schedule
  • 40 Things I've Learned in the Last 40 (or so) years.40 Things I've Learned in the Last 40 (or so) years.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Tweet
  • Print
  • More

 Next Steps:

  • Sign up for our newsletter and post notifications

  • Join our community (it's free!)

  •  Share this post with a friend

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Danielle

I'm Danielle, author of Restoring The Lost Petal. I'm a wife and mother and I'm passionate about seeing women break free from their past and living thriving lives. Read More…

Find Freedom

restoring the lost petal

Let’s Connect

  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram
  • google
...

Copyright Thrive Ministries 2017 © 2019

Terms     Privacy     Cookie Policy     Disclosure & Copyright    Affiliate Program   Speaking & Media

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
To help personalize content, measure adverts and provide a safer experience, we use cookies. By giving consent, you agree to allow us to collect information through cookies. Read more about our policy here: https://danielletate.org/cookiepolicy/ I ConsentI Do Not ConsentRead more