Emotional eating: practical ways to take back control

Physical hunger versus emotional hunger

• Physical hunger builds gradually, can be satisfied by most foods, comes with physical signs such as a rumbling stomach or low energy, and stops when you are full.
• Emotional hunger often comes on suddenly, craves specific foods (usually sweet, salty or fatty), feels urgent and may carry on past fullness. It is often followed by guilt.

Neither is bad. But knowing which one you are feeling gives you a choice, and a choice is exactly what emotional eating tends to take away.

Find your patterns

For one or two weeks, jot down whenever you eat outside meals or eat more than you intended: the time, where you were, what you were doing, how you felt and what you ate. You do not need to change anything yet. Just notice.

Patterns usually appear quickly. Common ones include the 4pm slump at work, eating in the car after a stressful day, evening snacking in front of the TV, late-night eating when you cannot sleep and weekend eating out of boredom. A useful check is HALT: are you hungry, angry (or anxious), lonely or tired?

Look for the chain rather than the single moment. The biscuits at 9pm might trace back to a skipped lunch, a stressful call at 5pm and a poor night's sleep. Break any link in that chain and the evening gets easier.

Practical strategies

• Build a pause. When an urge hits, wait ten minutes. Drink a glass of water, step outside or do something with your hands. The urge often fades or shrinks.
• Name the feeling. Simply saying I am stressed or I am bored loosens its grip.
• Have a list of alternatives for each common trigger: a walk, a call to a friend, a shower, a few minutes of slow breathing, music or a hobby.
• Change your surroundings. Keep trigger foods out of easy reach and have satisfying, lower-calorie options ready.
• If you do eat, eat mindfully. Put it in a bowl, sit down and enjoy it without a screen. You will often eat less and feel less guilty. Our guide to mindful eating explains how.
• Plan for predictable triggers. If Sunday evenings are hard, plan something for Sunday evenings.

You will not use all of these, and some will suit you better than others. Pick two, practise them for a few weeks and add more once they feel natural.

Why strict dieting makes it worse

Very restrictive diets increase hunger, make food more of a preoccupation and build the sense of deprivation that fuels emotional eating. Many people find that the stricter they are during the day, the harder the evening becomes.

Labelling foods as good or bad adds to the problem. Once a food is forbidden, eating it can trigger a feeling of having blown it, and that is often when one biscuit turns into the whole packet.

A moderate deficit, regular meals with enough protein and fibre, and room for foods you enjoy all reduce the pressure. Our guides on snacking and fat loss and stress and fat loss cover related strategies.

Exercise as a coping tool

Regular exercise is one of the best alternative ways to handle stress and low mood. It is not about burning off what you ate, which can become an unhealthy pattern in itself. It is about having something that makes you feel better and more in control. Even ten minutes of movement when an urge hits, such as a walk round the block, can take the edge off. Our guide to exercise and mental health explains the benefits.

A regular class, a training partner and people you see each week can make a real difference. Having somewhere to be, a coach who knows your name and people to train with often makes evenings and weekends easier to manage.

When to get support

Speak to your GP if you regularly eat large amounts in a short time and feel unable to stop, if you feel distressed or ashamed about eating, if you make yourself sick, use laxatives or exercise excessively to make up for eating, or if food and weight are taking over your thoughts. These can be signs of an eating disorder such as binge eating disorder or bulimia, which are treatable with the right support.

The UK eating disorder charity Beat offers information and a helpline. If low mood or anxiety is behind your eating, NHS Talking Therapies accepts self-referrals in England. If you ever feel unable to keep yourself safe, call 999 or Samaritans free on 116 123.

If you would like a coach alongside your training, Lycan Strength offers nutrition and accountability coaching, and the 7-day free trial is a low-pressure way to see how the community feels.