Emotional Eating and
Disordered Eating

If you know what you are "supposed to eat"…if you've tried diet after diet after diet…and you still find yourself living above a healthy weight, you may have an energy imbalance, plus an "Emotional Eating" or "Disordered Eating" problem.

If you are an "Emotional Eater" you have probably developed a habit of using food to self-soothe. You have "FOOD THOUGHTS" to escape intensity of feeling. Here are some examples of what emotional eating might look like….

• Feeling bored? You think of the ice cream in the freezer instead.

• Feeling angry with your boss? Suddenly you find you're thinking about the cookies in the break room. Thinking about the cookies feels much better to you than staying focused on how angry you are at that JERK!

• Kids driving you crazy? Flash on the image of a McDonald's chocolate shake and before you even realize it you're in the drive-through lane.

• You just found out you're getting the promotion you've wanted for over a year. You're really excited! It's great news! But how are you going to handle all that extra responsibility? FOOD THOUGHT!!!
  

A food thought is used in reaction to… and as a defense against a stressful life situation. Focusing on food helps you manage your mood. If you're filling your head with a food thought then there is no longer any room in your consciousness for whatever the feeling was that you wanted to escape. Food thoughts help you successfully "disconnect" from your feelings. This becomes a habit. You develop this habit because it works! But it is a frustrating habit to have because of the negative consequences. This habit often leaves us feeling like we are "bad" and "out-of-control".

If you are at this point on the Eating Continuum, your emotional or disordered eating is frustrating to you, but it is not significantly affecting your ability to function…or to live your life the way you want to live it. If you are at this point, emotional eating may be an issue for you, but other aspects of your life may be going relatively well. (Remember, emotional eating happens on a continuum and people may be at different places on the continuum at different points in their life, even at different points in their day depending on what's going on.)
Awareness, education and, in some cases a support or educational group might be the best ways to learn more about this self-defeating coping strategy… and to learn about healthier ways to manage stressful situations in your life.



Why Do Some Of Us Use Food
To Regulate Our Moods?
There are many reasons we know about. There are many, many more reasons still to be researched and understood. The medical and scientific communities have finally taken a serous interest in this subject (obesity costs society a fortune). So, maybe there will be more answers coming sometime in the foreseeable future. Very simply put, here's some of what we know today…

Typically, the very first nurturing relationship we have in our life is connected to food. When an infant is hungry, the infant cries. Mom or Dad soothes, comforts and connects with the baby through feeding and food.

Then, maybe as we grew, we had caregivers who gave us cookies whenever we scraped a knee. Maybe Grandma showed us how much she loved us by baking us our favorite cupcakes.

Consciously or unconsciously, some if us start to connect feelings with food.
Now add this popular theory to the picture…

It's believed that Food, Mood and Brain Chemistry are connected. According to this theory some of us appear to have a particular "sensitivity" to the very foods we tend to binge on, namely carbohydrates. These are sweet and starchy foods like breads, pastas, chips, candy, etc. (It seems it is no accident that we rarely binge on foods like brussel sprouts.)

Continuing with the theory…Carbohydrates work for some of us as "a mood regulator". When eaten, carbs lead to the production of an amino acid called Tryptophan. Tryptophan helps the brain boost a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called Serotonin. Serotonin is the calming chemical in the brain. Our Serotonin level also plays a role in appetite, appetite suppression and depression. WE EAT CARBS BECAUSE CARBS WORK! Many people who binge on carbs report a calm and satisfied feeling after a binge (short-lived though it may be).

Hence the theory…We get hooked on food because it works. Overeating on potato chips or pasta or cake is a self-reinforcing behavior. You eat. Then you feel better. If you had a chronic headache you'd keep turning to aspirin for relief because you'd know that aspirin would do the trick. On some level, we know food will do the trick, too. (At least for a little while.)

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