• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Living Well Kitchen
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizer & Snacks
      • Snacks
    • Main Dish
      • Vegetarian
      • Seafood
      • Meat
      • Poultry
      • Pork
    • Specific Recipes
      • Vegetarian
        • Vegan
      • Kid Friendly
      • Gluten Free
      • Dairy Free
      • Nut Free
      • Egg Free
      • Soy Free
    • Sides
      • Vegetables
      • Beans
      • Grains
      • Potatoes
      • Bread
      • Sauce
    • Salad
    • Soup
    • Drinks
    • Dessert
    • Slow Cooker
    • Instant Pot
    • Season
      • Winter
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Fall
  • About
    • Meet Meme
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Videos
  • Easy Meals
  • Quiz
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Easy Meals
  • Main Dish
  • Quiz
  • Videos
  • Health
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Easy Meals
    • Main Dish
    • Quiz
    • Videos
    • Health
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ร—

    Home ยป Intuitive Eating

    Why Emotional Eating Isn't Bad

    Published: May 25, 2022 ยท Updated: May 26, 2022 ยท Post may contain affiliate links

    red basket of candy and chips

    There's no need to feel guilty for emotional eating, and here are a few reasons why. Plus how you can effectively cope with your emotions with or without food.

    red shopping basket filled with fritos, sour punch straws, hot tamales, heath bars, sour patch kids, reese's, and white chocolate covered pretzels
    • About Emotional Eating
      • Why Emotional Eating Isn't Bad
    • How to Stop Emotional and Stress Eating
      • Emotional Eating is Normal
      • What's a better option to emotional eating?
        • Coping ideas
        • What if I feel guilty for eating emotionally?

    About Emotional Eating

    Emotional eating is eating when you feel a strong emotion, as opposed to eating when you are physically hungry.

    When you feel emotional hunger, you are reaching for food in reaction to your feelings.

    With physical hunger, you have bodily sensations of hunger like a growling stomach, headache, or lack of energy.

    Oftentimes, it happens when you are trying to soothe a perceived negative emotion like boredom or sadness. It can also happen in positive times, like celebrations.

    Emotional hunger when you are feeling negative emotions is typically your body warning you that you have an unmet need.

    Having strong cravings or eating in the absence of hunger does not mean you are doing something wrong. It is simply a cue that you have emotions to tend to.

    brunette female holding a heart shaped pizza in a Parisian cafe

    Why Emotional Eating Isn't Bad

    Despite what diet culture would have you believe, emotional eating is not a villain.

    Yet, many people find emotional hunger distressing because they fear that they are eating in excess of what their body wants and that this could cause weight gain.

    However, emotional eating is normal, and it’s ok to eat when you feel emotional, stressed, etc. Demonizing eating when emotional will only make you feel worse.

    Why? Because if you emotionally eat while simultaneously feeling guilty, you will likely not benefit from the comfort of the food. Plus, you could feel shame after the experience. Not ideal!

    Instead of beating yourself up for emotional or stress eating, try something more productive like coping with your emotions with kindness.

    IMPORTANT: I’m not saying eating should be the only way you deal with emotions or that you should eat in the absence of hunger all day long. Not at all.

    ✨The point is that eating can be an effective tool for coping and one option in your toolbox full of coping mechanisms.✨

    Emotional eating can simply be one way to help you cope. And we can allow ourselves to enjoy the comfort of food as well as explore other coping mechanisms.

    You want to have coping mechanisms, in addition to food, to use when you are feeling strong emotions. Having options will help you effectively cope because you can select the most helpful tool depending on what you are feeling.

    ice cream pie in a springform pan topped with oreo halves, homemade toffee and chocolate sauce. With a bowl of chocolate sauce, Happy Birthday napkins, and crushed cookies around pie

    Eating can be an effective tool for coping and one option in your toolbox full of coping mechanisms.

    How to Stop Emotional and Stress Eating

    Honestly, I don't think we can ever stop eating emotionally. Eating is inherently emotional.

    Food is not just fuel. It nourishes our bodies, but it also brings us joy, feeds our souls, connects us with loved ones and with our culture, and more.

    But if you feel distraught because of your emotional eating, you can reframe your thoughts around emotional eating: Remember that emotional eating is normal and it isn't bad. Plus, you can cope with emotions using kindness.

    Emotional Eating is Normal

    Normalizing emotional eating can help you feel less guilt and shame when you do turn to food to relieve unpleasant emotions.

    Because sometimes, the best way to meet your need is through food. For example, you miss your grandmother. Making a favorite recipe of hers could bring you together even if you cannot be together in real life.

    Maybe when you were little, a parent gave you soup & crackers to help you feel better. Having it now can help you feel soothed just like when you were a child.

    What's a better option to emotional eating?

    Give yourself permission to enjoy food as comfort but know that it is not your ONLY comfort.

    Things to consider:

    • What are some things you can do to help cope with your emotions?
    • What needs do you have that aren’t being met?
    • How can you meet those needs in a way that serves you best?

    List multiple ideas to turn to when you need them — because when you’re in the middle of feeling a strong emotion, it can be hard to think of ways to help feel relief at the moment.

    Remember that there are no right or wrong answers. If you choose one and it doesn't help, try another and remember that you can learn from each experience.

    brunette female stretching leg on a park sign near a hiking trail map

    Coping ideas

    • take 3 deep breaths
    • journal
    • stretch
    • talk to a therapist
    • text a friend
    • search Pinterest or cookbooks for recipes you want to try
    • go outside
    • dance
    • play cards
    • color
    • pray
    • meditate
    • walk
    • read
    • listen to music
    • paint
    • bake

    Emotional eating is ok and normal.

    What if I feel guilty for eating emotionally?

    Don't forget that these feelings & emotions will not last forever.

    Of course, things feel challenging right now which is why you are working to figure out the most helpful coping mechanism you have available (and right now, that might be eating for you).

    However, you will not feel this way forever. It will pass. The desire to eat emotionally will come and go.

    Most importantly, continue to feed yourself. Listen out for hunger cues. Notice how your body feels when you eat emotionally.

    Is there a different coping mechanism (that you have available) that could also ease your emotions effectively? Can you remember these things for the future?


    In the end, remember that it is ok if you eat emotionally. Having ideas for coping skills can help you cope with your emotions with kindness, whether that is with or without food.

    For more on emotional eating and healing your relationship to food & your body, check out my book: The Intuitive Eating Guide to Recovery: Let Go of Toxic Diet Culture, Reconnect with Food, and Build Self-Love!

    And get on the waitlist for my signature course to help you heal your relationship with food and your body.

    MORE INTUITIVE EATING POSTS:

    • Self-Compassion in Eating
    • What to Do When Your Body Changes
    • How Solo Travel Can Help You Be a More Mindful and Intuitive Eater
    • Feeling Fat is Contagious
    • Food Only Has Power if You Let It

    Meme

    (Post was originally posted on November 5, 2020)

    Save this post for later and share it with others on social media:

    More Intuitive Eating

    • Should I Eat Conventional or Organic Produce?
    • Intuitive Eating and Weight Loss
    • What is Intuitive Eating
    • What to Do When Your Body Changes
    • Yummly
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome!

    Meme (a brunette female) is holding umbrella and spinning around in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing a denim jacket, skirt, and blue shoesHi, I'm Meme, a thirty-something registered dietitian nutritionist from Alabama living in San Diego. Here to help you enjoy food, feel better in your body at any size, and live free of diets & shame.
    Read More

    Let's Connect

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Most Popular

    pork tenderloin with gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans on white plate with yellow and white striped napkin

    Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin

    jar of chocolate sauce with a spoon in it. empty small glass ice cream cups with a bowl of cherries on a wicker table

    Easy Chocolate Sauce

    Protein Pancakes from Living Well Kitchen

    protein pancakes

    white plate with a slice of zucchini lasagna

    Zucchini Lasagna

    spatula holding a microwave cookie

    Microwave Oatmeal Cookie

    stack of almond butter banana cookies with one cookie facing the front on wooden cutting board with a glass of milk, banana, oats, vanilla extract, and almond butter container

    Almond Butter Banana Cookies

    Gluten free Crab Cakes from Living Well Kitchen @memeinge

    Gluten free Crab Cakes

    chicken salad and a ritz cracker in a glass bowl on white table with green napkin

    No Mayo Chicken Salad

    Intuitive Eating

    hand holding an apple in front of apple trees

    Should I Eat Conventional or Organic Produce?

    havanese dog standing on arm of cream chair with a quilt in chair

    Intuitive Eating and Weight Loss

    brunette female sitting in a blanket in Versaille garden smiling and holding a container of container of food she is about to be eating

    What is Intuitive Eating

    dog laying on top of yoga pants on a bed

    What to Do When Your Body Changes

    Easy Meals

    Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies from Living Well Kitchen

    Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies

    Ranch Burgers from Living Well Kitchen

    Ranch Burgers

    blue and white napkins under two bowls of pumpkin soup topped with bacon next to a small bowl of bacon

    Pumpkin Soup with Bacon

    bowls of roasted carrot soup topped with parsley and cheese croutons

    Roasted Carrot Soup

    Soup

    two bowl of beef soup on blue and white napkins with silver spoons and garlic bread

    Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

    steak potato soup in a bowl with green onions and grated cheese with a silver spoon next to potatoes, pot of soup and block of cheese

    Steak and Potato Soup

    bowl of ginger beef soup on a gold and white napkin with garlic, limes, and ginger

    Ginger Beef Soup

    two bowls of good luck soup on gold and white napkins with bottle of champagne and owl-shaped salt and pepper shakers

    Good Luck Soup

    As Seen On:

    As Seen On

    In Season

    stemless wine glass with strawberry gin fizzes next to fresh strawberries, bottle of gin, and an orange

    Valentine's Day Gin Fizz

    black spatula pushing Brussels sprouts around on a baking sheet with pecans, honey, and sriracha sauce

    Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprouts

    four twice baked potatoes on a plate

    Twice-Baked Potatoes

    blue pot with sausage hash, cup of tea, bowl of berries, white plate with hash

    Mushroom Sausage Hash

    Footer

    Living Well Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

    • Recipes
    • About

    Copyright © 2023

    We use cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT