WEEK 11

NAVIGATING EMOTIONAL
EATING FRAMEWORK
 Do you ever experience yourself eating out of
your emotions?

Are you feeling particularly anxious during this

time, or maybe some extra stress? Sometimes it
can even be out of happiness or joy!

I know, the world is weird right now, routines are

out of whack, our thoughts are racing and that
leaves us with a struggling relationship with food.

Let me preface this by saying, you are human, it is

ok to eat if you are feeling stressed and
emotional, but I want you to feel in control. That
is my goal for you.

So how do we navigate this?

 LET'S DIVE DEEPER...

When do you find yourself eating out of

emotion or stress? What is the trigger? For ex.
is work the biggest trigger, relationships? Get
to the root here.

Whatever emotion you are feeling I want you

to recognize it this morning and take note of
how it effects your eating and appetite
throughout the day.

 AM I PHYSICALLY
HUNGRY?

NO
YES

IDENTIFY EMOTION

LIST 5 THINGS TO DO TO
EAT
COPE + DO ONE OF THEM

STILL WANT FOOD?

 SCENARIO

"I find myself overeating and binging at

night. I think it’s from
boredom. I think it’s
also I see someone else eating something
and I think I need to have that and overeat
and feel guilty. Sometimes it even feels like
I am sitting there and eating say a bag of
chips and before I know it the whole bags
gone. Then the guilt and disgust sets in.
This occasionally happens during the day
too if I’m having a slow day at work or have
extra time where I’m not doing something. I
recently tried intermittent-fasting and it
helped me to not binge after a certain point
bc I wasn’t “allowed” to eat after a certain
time but then in my head I kept thinking -
this is restricting."
 THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF
EMOTIONS ON CRAVINGS

"I don’t understand why I can’t control myself

when I feel upset or stressed out, all I want to do is
eat”
I remember saying this to myself ALL the time. I felt
like I always wanted to eat when I had any type of
negative emotion (it might even be positive
emotions for you).
Well guess what…if you just continue to tell
yourself that you are ‘just an emotional eater’ you
are going to continue to feel the guilt and the
shame that is associated with emotional eating.
Nothing is going to change if you don’t take the
action to change it.
Today you are going to learn that it is not as
complicated as we make it out to be.
You are going to learn that all the tools you need to
feel confident in your relationship with food so
that you are not reaching for that temporary fix
(food) every time you feel an emotion.
 PRACTICE

We eat for all sorts of reasons, it might be physical

hunger, to satisfy cravings or it could be to fill an
emotion (happiness, sadness, depression, anxiety,
stress, boredom) Today I want you to evaluate
this, every time you have an inkling to eat, take a
pause and ask yourself what are you trying to
fulfill? Is it hunger, emotions, cravings, etc.?
 Cravings vs. Biological Hunger

Heart hunger: In my heart, this seems like it's

going to be so good! Cinnamon rolls, pizza,
pasta etc.

Certain foods will trigger this "I want this soo

bad" feeling

VS.

Head hunger: True hunger. "I actually need

this."

Biologically those heart hunger foods- granola,

chicken tenders, cookies, etc are textured foods
that our body naturally craves and wants.

Emotionally we are trying to fill a void.

Step back from that emotion and go through
the framework and be aware.
 Ask yourself...

"What is it about today, that I'm feeling lonely

and sad and how can I address that without it
being from food?"

Certain points, you may just allow yourself to

enjoy it, but if it'll leave you feeling worse off or
you can't feel like you can't be in control about
it, then we want to look at our other options.

BIOLOGICAL HUNGER-

When your nervous system is a little bit up in

the air and not feeling safe due to whatever
emotion comes up for you during these times,
your nervous system recognizes that and at one
point having the food CAN provide that safety!

 Do you ever think..

"I'm hungry I just don't know what I want?"

When you're not even really hungry?

A lot of times that's that "heart hunger." That

you're just wanting to eat because you want
that fixation.

It's important to note, that biologically, mental

disabilities/illnesses can lead to difficulty with
your relationship with food and food habits.

For example: those with ADHD

 Let me ask you...

Why do you want to find food freedom?

Why do you want to end the anxiety you have

about food?

To free up that headspace and put it towards

things that could be life changing for you, am I
right?

You want to finally have that confidence that

radiates through you and maybe even gets you
that promotion, or creates stronger
relationships.

Next, we will be talking about HOW to

determine the difference between true physical
hunger and emotional hunger.
EMOTIONAL
HUNGER VS.
PHYSICAL
HUNGER

Emotional Hunger: Very normal, just be aware.

Typically, this looks like having a specific
craving like ice cream, cookies, pasta, at any
given time and this is when you want to go
back to our framework.

Physical Hunger: Extended period of time has

gone by, typically 3-5 hours (don't get hung up
on these numbers), so you eat. Then you have
that feeling of satisfaction. It's not a very
specific craving, you're open to anything at that
time cause YOU ARE HUNGRY. Eating for
physical satisfaction, not to satisfy a craving.
 Be mindful of your eating today. I
want you to take note of your ‘heart
hunger’, which we just learned is a
response to emotions. You begin to
crave things that you believe will
‘fill’ that emotional void. Feeling
lonely, sad, anxious, bored? These
emotions can make you feel like
something is missing and therefore
you can crave comfort foods with
the intention of filling that missing
piece.
 COUNT YOUR WINS!

-Not necessarily food related

Examples:
I did really well at work today
I stay focused and was
productive
I took time to rest

Let me know if you have any

questions!

FIORELLA ANDA, RDN