Imagine this: you are eating a bowl of popcorn when you suddenly recognize that you are not even physically hungry.
Good news – you are not alone! Mindless snacking is something that all of us have likely experienced. Before you allow those feelings of guilt and shame to creep in, know that there is nothing morally wrong with you if you eat when you aren’t hungry.
Contrary to popular belief, you are allowed to eat food when you’re not hungry. Why? Because food is so much more than a source of energy. Food provides comfort. As babies, our mother’s breast was one of the first forms of comfort we were ever taught as human beings. This attachment continues into childhood, where we may have developed emotional ties to certain foods during stressful events happening in the home.
All in all, food has always provided us with some level of comfort throughout our lives. If you recognize that you currently are or have used food to cope with a specific emotion in the past, you are not a morally bad human being. This is a normal human experience! Instead of viewing emotional eating as a lack of willpower and letting shame swallow you whole, you can move on with your life and pinpoint other coping mechanisms to satisfy your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
My therapist introduced me to the “Pause, Process, Postpone” method, which consists of three simple steps to help guide you through emotional eating.
1). Pause
When you first recognize that you are eating even though you aren’t hungry, take a second to pause and become attuned to your mind and body.
2). Process
Take this as an opportunity to become fully present with your mind and body, observe your emotions, reflect on your feelings, and ask yourself some questions.
- Are you enjoying this eating experience?
- How does the food taste?
- Is this making me feel better?
- Is this helping me cope with my emotions?
3). Postpone
If you answered no to most of those above questions, I encourage you to postpone your eating experience. This is not because you are not allowed to eat out of boredom but because you have recognized that this eating experience is no longer serving you.
Food is always there as a coping mechanism if you need it, but it does not have to be your only coping mechanism. If you made it to the “postpone” step and determined that eating was no longer feeling physically, emotionally, or mentally pleasant, here are some alternatives that may take your mind off food and help you work through your emotions.
- Take a bubble bath
- Sit outside and listen to nature
- Light a candle
- Sudoku puzzles
- Read a book
- Call a friend
- Journal
- Meditate and/or stretch
- Distract yourself with your favorite “comfort” show
There is nothing to be guilty about pertaining to your past, present, or future eating experience. It takes time to regain trust with our bodies and truly learn how to listen to our hunger cues after being immersed in diet culture for so long. Whenever an emotional eating situation arises, remember to treat yourself with compassion and embrace your favorite self-care techniques to take care of your mind, body, and soul.
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