Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food, usually “comfort” or junk foods, in response to feelings instead of hunger. Real hunger is biological, and emotional eating is based on psychological urges. Many people suffer from emotional eating. Unfortunately, for many people, an automatic response to stress is the consumption of food. Cookies, and most carbohydrate-laden foods, actually can alter your mood. As stated previously, carbohydrates set off chemical reactions in your body that can only temporarily make you feel calm or powerful. However, emotional eating is generally followed by painful self-judgment and guilt.

Frequently, people find themselves doing “mindless” eating.  Have you ever noticed yourself or a family member/friend talking over the dinner table or watching a sporting event on television, and a constant, repetitive reaching for food occurs?  Usually, this will involve some type of small-piece/high caloric food source such as potato chips or Fritos®.  Even without thinking, the person will continue to reach into the bag and eat chip after chip after chip.  As the person gets more and more caught up in the conversation or the sporting event, the repetitive food-popping becomes more and more mindless.

The key is to understand why emotional eating is occurring; then you will be better equipped to deal with how to stop it.Try o determine if it is sadness, anger, stress, frustration, boredom, or happiness is making you eat. Keep a log and write down your emotions and what it is that you eat. In a few days or a week you should see a pattern. Then you can begin to change your behavior.