Overcoming Emotional Eating: 5 Mindful Eating Techniques

Food cravings are often a sign of emotional stress.

It’s pretty common to feel an irrational need to eat when you’re under stress. I actually have some friends that every time a they’re approaching a deadline at work; they feel like this crazy emotional hunger that ends with an empty cookie jar.

They’ve come to me asking me why this happens. I remembered telling them that I used to be like that. My coping mechanism was to open my fridge and get myself something to eat, it was usually something sweet.

Do you know what happened when I tried to satiate my emotional hunger with food? I felt worse! That’s when I thought I needed to find new coping tools to control myself.

Mindful eating has been underestimated for a long time. People don’t believe in the power of the mind and how mindfulness can help them beat cravings.

First things first, what’s mindful eating?

Mindful eating is about paying at tent ion to the experience of eating and drinking. It’s important to work your 5 senses to enjoy properly the full experience. That means, you need to take time to smell your food, look at the colors and textures, how it feels to the touch, feel the temperature, flavor and sounds when you chew.

Mindful eating is about changing your relationship with food and enjoying the full experience!

We tend to be unconscious when we eat and become numb and barely aware of what we’re doing. Begin to naturally learn when your body wants and needs to begin and to stop eating!

Mindful eating will help you distinguish which type of hunger you are experiencing.

Most people use to think that they feel physical hunger (need of calories) when they feel the need to eat so that they can cope with a stressful situation.

The key of mindful eating is to learn how to use your senses to identify the difference between those types of hunger.

Some benefits of mindful eating

> It improves your ability to cope with emotions!

Mindfulness in general increases emotional regulation.

Become aware of the fact that there is a choice between feeling an emotion and doing something (like eating).

> The way you eat your food is as important as the food itself.

People usually ignore the fact that practicing mindful eating is one of the keys to achieving your health goal, along with a balanced diet and workout routine.

> Manage your weight!

Mindful eating slows weight gain and may promote weight loss. 

> Helps you understand and experience your hunger and satiated feelings!

Learn to use internal cues to determine what, how much, and when to eat.

> Better mood and more energy!

Being overly full makes you feel fatigued and in a bad mood. When eating mindfully you are in control and your wellbeing improves.

5 mindful eating techniques

Now I want you to take action. You’ll see that with a little patience you’re going to be able to notice a difference with your cravings. Learning to eat mindful is just the first step to overcome emotional eating.

Jot these down and let’s get to work!

1. Sit still after eating.

2. Unplug from electronics when you eat.

3. Try eating with your non-dominant hand to slow you down.

4. Give your full at tent ion to the first few sips of coffee or tea in the morning.

5. Try eating at least 1 meal a week mindfully. Eat in silence at family meals for the first 5 minutes and create a beautiful environment (flowers, candles).