NUTRITION SECRETS: A GUIDE FOR WOMEN WHO STRUGGLE WITH THEIR NUTRITION

Day 2: Emotional Eating

In today’s lesson, you discovered the difference between hunger and appetite.
You learned that:

o Hunger signals the physiological need for food.

o Appetite is a psychological want for food.

We spent a lot of the lesson talking about hunger, but appetite plays a big role
in our lives too. Appetite can be stimulated by:

o A delicious smell wafting out of a restaurant as you walk by.

o Ooey-gooey delicious-looking food on social media or TV.

o Your friend simply describing something tasty they had on their recent
trip abroad.

You may be feeling your appetite when you:

o Are procrastinating on something and decide to eat lunch instead.

o Serve up seconds simply because the food is so darn yummy.

o Decide to grab a piece of cake to celebrate something good.

Appetite can also be triggered by strong feelings. When we eat to cope with
those feelings, that’s what most of us call emotional eating.

And that’s specifically what we’re going to talk about here.

What Drives Emotional Eating

Now, let’s be clear: Emotional eating isn’t inherently bad.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

Sometimes, a glass of wine or a cheesy pizza after a stressful day is truly the
self-care we need.

Food — sweet and salty energy-dense food in particular — can provide an im-
mediate hit of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in reward and
reinforcement and provides us with an immediate sense of relief and comfort.

But conscious choices are everything when it comes to having a better rela-
tionship with food. It’s important to be able to recognize when emotions are
driving your appetite and when you’re relying on that hit of dopamine instead
of dealing with problems head-on.

Emotional eating becomes a problem when it:

o Leaves you feeling worse, whether it’s in the short or the long term.

o Causes health problems, which can range from digestive issues to more
serious health concerns, like disordered eating and eating disorders.
o Results in feelings of guilt or shame.

o Is your primary coping mechanism.

The key question to ask yourself is whether, in general, emotional eating is

making you feel better or worse.

If emotional eating is something you’re struggling with, you might be reacting

to one or both of the following triggers:

11. Suppressed emotions (e.g., anxiety, sadness, boredom, trauma)

22. Unmanaged stress

In some ways, these are also linked.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

As women, we’re taught to keep our emotions under control. (Does “Don’t
get so emotional” sound familiar?) Sometimes, this prevents us from learning
healthy ways to express, validate, and dissipate what we’re feeling. And to cope
with those uncomfortable, suppressed emotions, some folks turn to eating.

Trying to keep a lid on all these emotions is exhausting and stressful in and of
itself. But women are already juggling a ton of competing priorities, and when
suppressed emotions are added to the mix — it’s a recipe for stress.

And, unfortunately, when we’ve asked women in our community what they do
for stress management, more often than not the answer is, “I don’t do anything.”

Some women emotionally eat to cope, and then end up feeling more stressed
and guilty afterwards. It’s a vicious cycle!

So what can you do if you struggle with emotional eating?

You can learn some techniques for better managing stress and releasing those
pent-up emotions.

Stress Management
Having multiple ways to manage and dissolve your stress is a crucial part of
balanced mental health and self-care.

In our one-on-one GGS Coaching program for women, we do a lot of work

around emotional eating and teach our clients several strategies for stress
management. For example, our coaches encourage a self-care plan that brings
relief and comfort through health-promoting and relaxing activities like medi-
tation, spending time outdoors, and exercising.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

We also provide language and education around emotional eating that helps
women build awareness around their appetite and their appetite triggers,
which can make a profound difference. You’re already learning some of that
in this free course!

But one of the most powerful techniques that can help you reduce stress, tune
into how you’re feeling, and work through difficult emotions is journaling.

JOURNALING
Journaling is a fantastic way to tap into and release your emotions. You can do
it anywhere, anytime. And if you aren’t comfortable talking about your emo-
tions with others or don’t have anyone to do that with, it’s a totally private way
to work through how you’re feeling.

When you can tune in to what you’re feeling and get to the root of what you
really need and want at that moment in time — you can make a conscious
choice. You can consider what you need right then, and what Future You
needs to feel better in the coming hours and days.

The following prompts will help open that internal conversation around how
to change your relationship with managing emotions and stress (or anxiety, or
complacency, etc.) and, therefore, with emotional eating.

And remember: Journaling is for your eyes only, so don’t hold back. If you’re
concerned that someone will see what you’ve written, then tear it up and
throw it away after you’re done. It’s not important that you keep the paper;
it’s important that you just get your emotions out.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

Tuning in to Emotions and Stress

Let’s start with an assessment of your stress.

STRESS
What is your general stress level, on a scale of 1–10? (1 = totally calm;
10 = completely stressed)

What are the top 3 stressors in your life right now? (e.g., work, new baby,
recent health diagnosis, injury or illness, uncertainty about the future)

1.
2.
3.

Is there anything else causing you stress that you want to get out of your
head and onto this paper? Consider this to be a controlled form of venting!
Once it’s down on paper, you can take a breath, take a step back from the
stressors, and try to let go of some of the pieces that are out of your control.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

What current coping strategies do you have in place to reduce these

stressors? Do they feel effective? This could include seeing a therapist,
coffee dates with a friend, going for walks, meditation, lifting weights, prayer
or spiritual practice, etc.

What are 3 simple actions you could take this week to reduce (or at least
help manage) your stress? For example, if you’re stressed about a work
project, could you create a simple, actionable to-do list to help you get more
organized? If you feel like you don’t have enough time in the day, could you
hire a meal delivery service to save some effort?

1.
2.
3.

Now, set an intention to do at least one of those actions this week. (Even bet-
ter, schedule in time on your calendar!) Ideally, you’ll pick something that can
help manage your big stressors — but anything works! Take a single action
that will help Future You feel better.

Keep in mind: Stress management is most impactful when done consistently

and proactively, rather than reactively. By engaging in stress management
techniques before stress gets high, you’ll feel more resilient and better
equipped to navigate the more difficult times.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

EMOTIONS
Next, let’s talk emotions.

Are there situations in your life right now where you feel the need to
suppress your emotions? For example, do you feel the need to bite your
tongue at work? Are you resisting the urge to share how you really feel in your
relationships, or feeling pressured to “go with the flow” in friendships?

In what situations do you feel like you can speak (or write, or otherwise
communicate) freely and openly? (e.g., during therapy, while talking to
friends or family)

What are 1 or 2 actions you could take this week that would help you
express your emotions, or be more comfortable expressing your
emotions? Small things count! (e.g., finish this journaling exercise, set up an
appointment with a counselor, make a lunch date with a trusted friend)

1.
2.

Like you did with stress reduction activities, set an intention to try expressing
your emotions (at least, a little more than usual) one more time this week.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

Tuning in to Emotional Eating

Now that you’ve taken stock of how you’re feeling and thought of a few things
that might help you manage those emotions, it’s time to think about emotional
eating more specifically.

How often do you feel like you’re emotionally eating? (e.g., daily, weekly)

Are there situations that you know trigger your emotional eating? What
are they? (e.g., stressful day at work, caregiving for family members, fight
with your partner)

What is the benefit of emotional eating right now? How is it helping

you? (e.g., it soothes you when you feel overwhelmed, it provides a sense of
comfort, it is something you can control in the midst of a hectic world, it’s a
distraction)

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

Is emotional eating something that is making you generally feel better,

worse, or the same? Why?

While emotional eating isn’t inherently bad — and emotional eating every
once in a while is totally normal — if you’re doing it regularly, it can move
you further away from your goals. And for some people, it can lead to some
of those negative side effects we mentioned earlier.

So while most people emotionally eat for a reason, if it’s making you feel
generally worse, then proactively planning other ways to cope can be super
beneficial.

Consider: What are 3–5 actions you could take instead of emotional
eating that might help you fulfill that same purpose (and move closer to
your goals)?

For example, if you wrote down that you emotionally eat because it helps
you de-stress after a busy day, could you take a bubble bath instead? Go for a
20-minute walk outside? These can overlap with your stress reduction actions,
if you want!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

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 Day 2: Emotional Eating

Over the coming weeks, you’ll already be working on tuning into your hunger
and appetite in general. If you want to take it one step further, work on identi-
fying when you’re emotionally eating.

Think about what you’re feeling and what need you’re trying to fill with
eating. Then, consider if any of the techniques you listed here could help you
cope with that stress just as (if not more) efficiently.

You can ask yourself: “What action will help me feel better not only right now,
but also in the future?”

There’s no wrong answer. Whatever you choose to do, simply do it

consciously. You already took huge steps simply by being here today and
working toward building your awareness! This can be difficult stuff to sort
through, so fantastic work. You should be really proud of yourself.

If you want to continue writing down your thoughts and feelings about
eating, stress, or anything else, we’ve included some additional space below.
Remember: Getting it down on paper can be tremendously cathartic! And it’s a
great form of self-care.

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