Emotional Eating: 5 Practical Ways to Overcome It

Elena Philippou
Aug 3
3 min read

Stress, anxiety, sadness, disappointment, guilt, loneliness — even boredom — can send us straight to the fridge or the kitchen cupboard, where those tempting chocolates or crisps are waiting, even though we know it's not the right moment for them.

So how can we stop this? Here are 5 simple, practical ways to avoid emotional eating and stop “drowning” your feelings in food.

1. Keep a food diary

Write down what you eat, when you eat it, where you are, who you're with and how you feel. Then analyse it — on your own, or ideally with a professional. Some patterns will certainly emerge: you may find that you don't eat at regular times, that you go without food for too long, or that you've linked certain situations — such as watching TV on the sofa in the evening — with snacking or overeating.

Solutions:

• Set a reminder so that you eat regularly and at consistent times — and don't skip breakfast!

• Change your habits, your mealtimes and the place where you eat.

• Identify your “vulnerable” hours — usually the afternoon and evening — and plan other activities or a healthy snack for those times.

• Switch off the TV at mealtimes and focus on the flavours. Be truly “present” while you eat.

2. Make a list of things you could do instead of eating

What could the list include?

• Go for a walk around the block.

• Exercise or do some yoga.

• Take a relaxing shower.

• Call someone you love.

• Draw or paint.

• Read your favourite book.

• Take deep breaths for 2 minutes.

• Water the flowers in the garden.

• Put on some music and dance.

• Sew or knit.

• Write down your thoughts.

A few tips for your list:

• The list is entirely personal — include whatever genuinely relaxes you.

• Choose activities that take place outside the kitchen.

• When you feel the urge to turn to food for emotional reasons, give yourself 10 seconds to read the list. Pick something and do it.

• The urge to eat comes in waves: if we give it a little time, it usually passes on its own.

3. Ask yourself: am I really hungry, or just thirsty?

• Thirst appears once we are already dehydrated, and it's easy to “mistake” it for hunger. So start with a glass of water or a herbal tea.

• If you really are hungry, prepare a healthy meal rich in fibre, good-quality protein and vegetables — for example bulgur wheat with chicken and broccoli, salmon with wholegrain rice and carrots, or pulses with fish — or a snack such as yogurt with fruit and walnuts. And enjoy it without doing anything else at the same time.

4. Focus on quality, not quantity

• Emotional eating is often the result of constant restriction and deprivation — and deprivation leads to overeating.

• If you genuinely crave your favourite sweet or savoury treat, have a small amount of it — and truly enjoy it.

• Put a small portion on a little plate, close the rest of the packet and put it away. Savour every bite, without doing or thinking about anything else at the same time.

5. Plan ahead!

• Always keep ready-to-use ingredients in your fridge or cupboard, so you can quickly and easily put together a healthy meal combining protein, carbohydrates and vegetables or fruit.

• Protein ideas: yogurt, grilled chicken fillet cut into strips, boiled eggs, cottage cheese, fish, hummus, peanut butter.

• Carbohydrate ideas: multigrain bread, barley rusks, bulgur wheat, wholewheat pasta, oats.

• Vegetable/fruit ideas: cut carrots, celery, cabbage, steamed broccoli, boiled green beans, frozen berries, banana, apple, melon.

One last thing — and it matters

The best approach is simply to start somewhere. If you feel you can only put one of the ideas above into practice right now, do that one thing — don't wait for the “magical” day when everything will be perfect so you can do them all at once.

And say WELL DONE to yourself when things go well! And if some days don't go so well, don't give up — try again. It's not the end of the world: the next attempt will be better, and the one after that even better!

You can also watch my videos on this topic on YouTube: