Do you eat for reasons other than hunger? Do feelings of stress, boredom, anger or sadness make you eat more? Eating to satisfy emotional needs rather than hunger can be make you gain weight. Remember that emotional eating is not about food at all. Wholesome food provides nutrition for our health and satisfies feelings of hunger.

Emotional eating is turning to comfort foods to make yourself feel better even when you are not hungry. Hunger should be initiated by physical symptoms not by emotions.

How to know the difference?

• Physical hunger builds up gradually and can wait for food, whereas emotional hunger is sudden and needs immediate gratification. Physical hunger makes you feel satisfied with the food and yourself, but most people who overeat (due to emotional reasons) have feelings of guilt.
• When you are actually hungry you are open to options and you eat to be satisfied. Emotional eating centres on specific food cravings, either sweet or salty, like chips, ice-cream, sweets or fried and fatty foods.
• Overeating is common with emotional eating because you are eating to satisfy your feelings. Physical hunger is satisfied when you are comfortably full.
Ways to stop emotional eating:
• Have regular meals and eat breakfast every day. This can make you less likely to feel hungry even after stressful or emotional upsets.
• Plan for meals and make healthy choices. Nutritious food satisfies hunger and makes you feel good. This can reduce the urge of unhealthy cravings.
• Keep unhealthy snacks out of sight. As the saying goes- Out of sight, out of mind! Replace those unhealthy options with fruit, vegetable sticks, roasted grams, mixed nuts, skimmed curd etc.
• Listen to calming or even energizing music which boosts your mood.
• Take a short walk or engage in some light exercise.
• Reading a book or magazine.
• Take a nap.
• Talk to a friend.
• Play with your pet.
• Do deep breathing exercises.
• Clean and do household chores.
• Have a warm relaxing bath.

Make these changes gradually and you will find yourself better at coping with stress and curbing emotional eating. Have a positive mindset and know that you can do it!