Emotional Eating Without Binge Eating

JUST FOR TODAY:  Be aware of your emotions before and after you eat, and notice how food affects your mood.

You feel anxious, but after eating a large bowl of ice cream you feel calm.  You feel depressed, but after eating several handfuls of chocolate you feel uplifted.  You feel stressed, but after eating deep-dish pizza you feel lethargic.  The food you eat can affect your mood – due to physiological and psychological reactions in your body.  The specific details of what occurs isn't important – the essential factor is being aware of the general relationship between food and mood in your body.  Consider keeping a "Food-Mood" Journal, where you record your emotions before you eat, the type and approximate amount of food you had for your meal, and your emotions about a half an hour after you eat.  Look for patterns in how specific foods affect your mood, and notice how the amount of food affects your mood as well.  Maybe it only takes a few spoonfuls of ice cream to feel calm, a couple bites of chocolate to feel uplifted, or a small piece of pizza to reduce stress.  You can eat for emotional reasons without binge eating!      

©2010 by "Dr. Dorie" McCubbrey, M.S.Ed., Ph.D. – Eating Disorder & Obesity Treatment Specialist – Denver, Colorado