Food dependency is a real problem in our modern society. Many women have a lot of guilt and shame about their weight and cannot “control” their food. However, there are solutions for the nagging of food and emotional food that finally get to the underlying causes of food addiction and can help them heal.

The problem with the desire of food and emotional food

It is okay to sometimes enjoy eating. In fact, we are organically designed to find the joy of food. Eating is a necessity for survival (obviously!) And nature continues to ensure that we continue to reward ourselves with dopamine when we do this. In some cases, however, people can become too much dependent on food for a dopamine -“fixed” and the food addiction can occur.

Foods that are most commonly connected to food addiction are “very tasty” such as sugar -containing, salty and fat foods (especially the highly processed variety).

How to stop emotional food

Emotional food can be really difficult. Eating is an inevitable part of life (we have to eat to survive!) So there is no possibility. The food should also be pleasant! But for some people, food can become an addiction. Here are some of the best ways to get to the bottom of emotional nutritional problems and improve their health.

Deal with underlying physiological questions

While emotions often play a role in food addiction, physical problems can also contribute to this. It is a good idea to start with physical reasons, since dealing with defects is a good idea for general health anyway.

Eat a nutritious diet

If cravings are caused by a lack of nutrients or a poor diet, it is a great way to tackle possible defects and improve general health. If this is not the main cause for you, you still benefit from the healthier diet!

Medication

Some medications cause excessive food and weight gain that can begin the cycle of emotional food. It is often possible to switch to another drug or a lower dose to reduce or eliminate this side effect. Talk to your prescriber about it.

stress

Our body is organically wired to long for sugar -containing, salty and fat foods while we are under stress (after all, they are high -energy food). But with the amount of chronic stress that most of us have to do, this survival reaction can harm more than benefit. Reduce stress by making self -care a priority every day. Take your time for an exercise course, an hour alone in the house or something else that helps you to relax and bring you back into balance.

Balance hormones

Stress is related to hormones in the body (stress triggers the release of cortisol), but other hormonal imbalances can have similar effects. Bringing hormones back into balance is important for general health and can also help with food and emotional food. Here are some tips for compensating for hormones in a natural way:

• Eats many healthy fats and body is not produced to eat people caused and highly processed by humans. Hold with healthy fats such as (unheated) olive oil, coconut oil, olives, avocados and pastures and grass -fed animal products.
• Reduce caffeine and environmental toxins – these can cause endocrine problems.
• Get a lot of sleep! – As I sleep the body, I work hard to remove toxins, repair cells and generate hormones.
• Exercise from the right way – for those with hormone -wear weight, it is best to avoid intensive workouts first until the hormones are in balance again. Gentle movement like walking and swimming is good.
• Concentrate on Leptin equilibrium – Leptin is the master hormone. So if it is out of balance, it is everything else.

After you have followed these tips, you may also want to continue a hormone compensation diet.

Change the mentality by food

Many experts talk about food addiction and emotional food in terms of our relationship with food. If we have problems with above -average food or have emotional nutritional problems, we have a bad relationship to eat. But Robb Wolf has a different perspective. In a podcast episode, he explains that food dependency is not about eating a relationship. Wolf explains that it is not the answer to concentrate on the food aspect (and try to control it).

Instead, we should find the underlying emotional reasons for the use of food. In this way, people can stop to fix themselves on food and instead heal under the underlying emotional triggers.

Understand the body

Many people have profound guilt for emotional food, too much food or not able to lose weight. But Wolf explains that we have to redesign this. If we deal with the history and biology of mankind, we can understand that the body was intended to search for and eat food when it has been found (if there is no other chance).

This becomes problematic in our modern society because food is easily available (especially the very tasty sugary, fat and salty foods). But when we think about it, those who are overweight are more suitable for survival. You are able to keep some calories for famine on your body. If we know this, we can see that our body is actually great and do exactly what they should. The solution is more about working with the body instead of just focusing on restrictions or shame.

Healthy eating

Obviously, a healthy diet is important for general health, but also for dealing with food and emotional food. As already mentioned, a diet with a high nutrition is a good starting point. Choose real foods from healthy sources such as high -quality protein, lots of vegetables, some fruit and healthy fats. A variety of Whole Foods is the best way to get a good selection of nutrients. Keep away from highly processed, nutrient -poor foods.

After the start of a real nutritional diet, you may have to make adjustments based on our own organic individuality. For example, some people cannot tolerate dairy products, legumes or certain types of fruit, etc. Carbohydrates are part of the diet on which people vary greatly.

As Robb Wolf explained in the Podcast episode above, a low-carbohydrate diet or ketogenic diet can be amazing for some people and catastrophic for others. This is the place where we have to deal with research and do some work to find out how many carbohydrates and what kind of carbohydrates feel best.

Nutritionist Stephanie Dodier in another podcast episode explains that carbohydrates play a role in emotional meals, but it recommends various amounts of carbohydrates for different people. Dodier recommends getting to know her body intensively to see the amount of carbohydrates works well for you. Experts generally recommend a paleo diet with the number of carbohydrates and reduce them if necessary.

Make (healthy) pleasure part of everyday life

Experts agree that it is okay to occasionally use food as a pleasure as long as it is not your only feeling of pleasure. If you have the feeling of using foods exclusively to feel better, it may be time to look for other pleasant activities. Take a walk, meditate, spend time with friends, serve with your spouse, spend time alone and watch your favorite film what you can include in your day and week for “Me Time”.

Talk to a trustworthy consultant or therapist

As Robb Wolf explains in the Podcast episode above and focuses on the food aspect, if the underlying emotional reason for addiction is not treated, it is useless. He suggests talking to a therapist to get to the bottom of emotional connections to food.

Emotional freedom types

The expert of emotional freedom (EFT), Brittany Watkins, explains in a podcast episode that so much of what happens with emotional food happens in the subconscious. EFT can help to achieve the underlying emotional triggers and heal them. Watkins explains that EFT is rooted in science, although it could look a little strange.

We save our memories in the hippocampus (which looks a bit like a sponge). We use these memories to make quick decisions about new events in our lives. For example, if you fall as a child and scratched your knee when you ran your bike too quickly, you can later call up this memory and think that I should get slower. If you were bitten by a dog as a child, you can recall this memory when dogs are nearby and develop a fear of them.

EFT accesses these memories and helps to make them less intense. It helped me enormously and I really recommend trying it out!

Put together everything

It may feel a bit overwhelming to deal with emotional eating habits, but it doesn’t have to be. You can make small changes in your diet and lifestyle how you can and seek additional help from a therapist or other experts.

This article was medically by Dr. Michelle Sands, ND, medically checked. It is double certified in integrative medicine and naturopathic medicine and also a holistic nutritionist and competitive endurance athlete certified by the board. As always, this is not a personal medical advice and we recommend that you speak to your doctor.

Do you recognize patterns of emotional food in your life? How do you go with food?