Eating Disorders

Chronic stress, a silent predator, is a key instigator of a range of physical and mental ailments. Unfortunately, it also slyly fuels emotional eating. What happens is that we often turn to food beyond our physical hunger because we’re trying to fill a deep-seated void. God actually created that void in us to fill with Himself. Therefore, we know that food is not the answer. God has gifted us with a sophisticated system that signals when we need to nourish ourselves and when we should refrain from eating. This system helps us to effectively curb emotional eating by recognizing and responding to internal cues. Defining True Hunger The internal cues we possess to indicate hunger are natural and intuitive. Your body releases two hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin stimulates the appetite, making your stomach feel empty and often causing it to growl. The growl or empty sensation may subside but return in 10-30 minutes as your body requires fuel. The other hormone, leptin, controls satiety. You experience the sensation of being full when fat cells release leptin, which leads you to stop eating. This hormone is released when it receives the signal from the stomach approaching fullness. Unfortunately, many individuals continue to eat even when they are already full or not hungry, making it difficult to gauge their satiety or control their eating. This can lead to physical discomfort, obesity, digestive problems, and even illness if it becomes a consistent habit. Understanding these potential health risks can be a powerful motivator to change our eating habits. Why We Eat Our Emotions If the empty feeling or stomach growl indicates hunger, why do we eat when not physically hungry? Thoughts and emotions fuel our actions. For example, you have had a stressful day at work. You arrive home, and everyone [...]

Emotional eating is an issue for many people as stress is a major factor. We turn to sweet and salty snacks to get through stressful events or for comfort after a long day. Have you ever found yourself eating when you are not hungry? Instead, a dreaded phone call, toxic relationship, work burnout, or deadline causes us to seek the serotonin rush of comfort food. There are tasks and lifestyle changes you can implement to stop emotional eating. Tips to stop emotional eating If you find yourself in a pattern of emotional eating at least twice a week for six months or more, you may need professional guidance to help you overcome the urges and behavioral pattern. Counseling can help you learn how to manage your stress more effectively. For example, if your emotional eating is rooted in anger, your counselor may suggest anger management and conflict resolution methods. Emotional eating typically follows a trigger, not just a habit. The trigger may be a negative thought or emotion. When you can identify those thoughts and emotions that send you into a tailspin, you are more likely to overcome emotional eating by reframing those into positive beliefs and feelings and changing your behavior. Hit pause. When you feel the overwhelming urge to turn to food, ask yourself why. Take a moment to pause and reflect on what is driving your behavior. What thoughts are going through your mind? Is it a limiting belief? For example, if you have a deadline looming, are you telling yourself that you can never meet it, so why try? Do you say negative things about yourself? Negative thoughts and limiting beliefs can leave you anxious and depressed, and these emotions are triggers for emotional eating. Journal. Changing your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions may take work [...]