In our diet-obsessed and "thin-spo" food culture, it's no surprise that ANY form of pleasure around food or eating is demonized. We have been brainwashed to believe that we have to be extremely rigid around how we nourish our bodies; that somehow our bodies and metabolism aren't already extremely intelligent beyond our control. Then when we restrict our eating, it's no wonder our physiological hunger takes hold, continuing the diet/binge cycle.
Emotional eating is defined as "The propensity to eat in response to positive and/or negative emotions." So by this definition, any form of eating could be considered emotional, because we as humans are never absent of said feelings. However, if a client comes to me and claims they have a "problem" with emotional eating, it's usually because they feel out of control around food, they use it to self-soothe, distract, numb out, or for a number of other emotions or triggers (as you can see emotional eating can be VERY connected to overeating, grazing, or binge eating).
But let's reel it back in for one second: our bodies rarely, if ever, just DO things or function without a purpose. Physiologically speaking, reactive overeating, bingeing or emotional eating usually occur after a period of restriction. Our ancestors thousands and millions of years ago did not have access to the plentiful abundance of foods we do today. Their bodies needed to adapt to periods of both starvation AND availability. When food was hunted and gathered, YOU GOT TO EAT (and probably lots of it...or at least as much as you could) - because who knew when the next source of energy would come.
Now fast forward 7 million years - cultural body norms and beauty standards have come into play, the dieting industry is making $72 billion word-wide...and we blame our own bodies for "failing" when we can't maintain weight loss or diets for longer than 1-5 years. When in all actuality, our bodies are just doing their job - keeping us alive! I often tell my clients that we as a species have made drastic evolutionary steps forward - but our basic wiring is relatively unchanged. The truth of the matter is when our body believes it is in a starvation or famine state (usually by physical restriction), it will attempt to compensate to avoid death.
Now, I would be doing a disservice to this post if I didn't point out a crucial aspect of the argument: Can emotional eating or bingeing be present WITHOUT restriction? The short answer is yes (but it is NOT the entire story...please keep reading). Emotional eating can be triggered by a number of things, including (but not limited to) stress, anxiety, anger, sadness, happiness, or boredom. Eating is just one of the many coping skills humans can use when experiencing any strong feeling - and it can be totally normal! In movies you see girlfriends eating ice cream out of the container after breaking up with a boyfriend; at birthday or slumber parties friends may eat large amounts of desserts to celebrate the occasion; or maybe over the holiday season eating a large meal with your family may be tradition. Eating based on emotions is NOT a personality defect, but rather an ordinary part of living. Food can hold different meanings to different people: pleasure, connection, happiness, joy, satisfaction, etc. But what can happen, (and can ultimately be detrimental), is when emotional eating becomes a person's ONLY coping skill. If food is the only thing a person reaches to when they are distressed, this is just as unhelpful and unhealthy as compared to a person ONLY reaching to food restriction, or alcohol, drugs; sex, or gambling (etc.) for some type of relief from the pressures of life.
I think it's safe to say that when talking about emotional eating, food isn't the "issue;" it's what that eating episode represents to you. If you identify as struggling with emotional eating, do you notice it occurs at certain times of the day? Are there specific foods you tend to reach for? What emotions are coming up for you? All of this "data" can be very insightful on how to best approach treatment. Anita Johnston, clinical psychologist & the author of Eating in the Light of the Moon, has awesome resources on her website Light of the Moon Cafe. One of my favorite handouts of hers is "Food as a Metaphor for Feelings;" where you explore specific cravings and questions to ask yourself around that. For example, she prompts that if you typically crave salty or crunchy foods, you may want to ask yourself "At whom or at what am I angry or frustrated?" Or when craving warm foods, "Where in my life am I longing for emotional warmth?" When I discuss this topic with clients, I always prefice that some of these specific questions may not resonate with you personally, but they are for sure a good starting point to start self-reflecting.
It's also important to point out how Binge Eating Disorder, (or BED) plays a role in this topic of emotional eating. It is defined as:
"...A severe, life-threatening, and treatable eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort); a feeling of a loss of control during the binge; experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards; and not regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating. It is the most common eating disorder in the United States."
*National Eating Disorder Awareness (NEDA) website
Reading this definition, people may come to the assumption "Well, some people just have NO control over their food or intake!" Unfortunately because of this (and weight stigma), health professionals have continued to prescribe weight loss diets based on this narrow lens. But the truth is (and in my experience): I have NEVER worked with a client who has BED, who isn't ALSO restricting in some way. Take this metaphor for instance: "[If we look into the ocean] diet culture isn't just the sharks, it's the water - and EVERYONE is swimming in it." Whether a person has a diagnosed eating disorder or not, we have all been susceptible to disordered eating messages or negative body image. And while BED's diagnosis may seem completely opposite of anorexia, these clients are still receiving the same diet culture messages as everyone else. It is true - many clients with BED also physically restrict their intake (usually by dieting because they are unfortunately made to believe this will "cure" their weight or food "issue"). And because many are not adequately meeting their nutrition needs, coupled with other layers of internal & external stressors, reactive/binge eating (sometimes described as "Last Supper Eating") will occur due to the body responding out of fear of food scarcity.
Of course there are people diagnosed with BED who don't physically restrict their intake; they may binge or emotionally eat at any given time of day. But this does not mean they are completely absent from diet culture. We as a society also have to be cognizant of what emotional restriction is, and its role in disordered eating. Think for a moment: are you MENTALLY berating yourself and your food choices? Are you constantly planning when and what to eat based on the notion of "good" or "bad" foods? Because even if physical restriction is not present, just thinking "how terrible something is for me" or believing "I shouldn't be eating this" will ALSO send signals to your body that you're deprived. Emotional restriction is a real thing, and can be just as detrimental to your health as physical restriction. In either type of restriction, your body will respond in a way believing it is underfed - ultimately continuing the cycle of restriction/dieting -->food preoccupation --> emotional eating --> shame (repeat).
I encourage everyone reading to take a deep look at their own relationship to food without judgement. With all of this information I've listed above, I hope you have come to believe with me that in fact emotional eating is not the enemy - but rather DIET CULTURE is to blame for all our weirdness around food and bodies. Whether you struggle with frequent episodes of emotional eating or any other disordered eating behavior, the thing to remember is this: issues with food may appear and be present in eating habits, but that is not what they are about at all. That is just the tip of the iceberg - it's the stuff underneath that iceberg (what's really going on with your emotions and mental health) that need to be the main focus of health improvements. If a healthcare provider is ever shaming your eating habits or makes you believe you are out of control with food - first run for the hills! - and then make sure you find a better practitioner. Because you deserve not only compassionate & weight inclusive care, but ETHICAL care based on science. It's a fact that 95% of diets fail, and it is never caused by lack of willpower. Like I've stated before, our bodies are more intelligent than what we give them credit for - we just have to learn to listen and understand what internal messages they are giving us (and practicing not listening to external diet culture rules). If you are using food or any coping mechanism more often than you'd like, ask yourself what's really going on...? "Our bodies are full of innate wisdom, we just have to pay attention!"
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