Hello love,
A lot of the times when we are emotional eaters we think food is the enemy.
We have to control food, we have to figure out a way to manage food and not be at the whim of food.
It can feel this way because it is a coping mechanism that when triggered is automatic.
You might notice there are some seasons of your life that you can be ok with food and other seasons where you are completely out of control.
And you might not be connecting the dots on why this is happening.
Food becomes an issue when when you are constantly in this Emotional Eating pattern which means it happening more than you would like it to.
So why is this happening? Emotional eating is a coping mechanism – it’s how you deal with distress, discomfort, uncomfortable times in our life. It’s a pattern we would have developed in childhood because we didn’t learn how to navigate life and move through this discomfort and distress. It wasn’t modelled to us by our parents of caregivers and they couldn’t help us so we had to cope.
So food became the way you coped by numbing or distracting from the discomfort. This happens automatically when triggered.
Food is a great bandaid because it gives you a dopamine kick and is tied to love (think about being fed as a baby).
But it’s not going to really ease the discomfort. It’s a temporary bandaid.
Let’s dive in and see how food plays a role in this pattern:
- 2:10 Why you jump to food when these situations in life happen
- 2:50 When it’s not obvious why you’re emotionally eating (maybe life seems calm?)
- 3:50 How food plays a role in triggering Emotional Eating
- 4:55 Emotional Eating didn’t start with food
- 6:00 Connecting back to food to resolve Emotional Eating
- 10:54 The shift in the nervous system from nourishing yourself to feel peace around food
- 11:08 Eating in a nourishing way creates more capacity in your nervous system
- 11:55 The importance of an embodied connection to food
- 12:45 Free resources and next steps
Next Steps
1. If you are ready to start your journey to resolving your Emotional Eating you can download my free guide “What Are You Truly Hungry For?” to start discerning true from emotional hunger and catching your triggers HERE.
2. If you are ready to transform your emotional eating so that you can get to ease, peace and confidence around food and in your body with a step by step process and guidance then find out more about The Emotional Eating Evolution Program HERE.
To ease and peace with food,
~Michelle
Certified Holistic Nutritionist Specializing in Emotional Eating