The holiday season is here! 🎉 But with it often comes a lot of unwanted eating behavior. 😐

With all of the extra food and holiday treats around for the next few weeks, it’s very easy to find yourself eating more than you usually do. And with all of the holiday gatherings and time spent with family, many of us turn to food to self-soothe.

There is nothing wrong with eating to help yourself feel better. But when you’re someone who feels out of control with emotional eating, it can feel like you’re at war with food, hunger, and yourself.

I don’t know anyone who wants to be at war with food. But finding peace with food and eating isn’t straight-forward or simple.

So, how do you stop emotional eating in its tracks? How do you finally create peace with food?

Firstly, it’s important to recognize that emotional eating is not an issue with food. Emotional eating is a sign of something else – usually a desire to escape from challenging emotions.

So, let’s all agree that emotional eating isn’t the problem. It’s the solution. Because emotional eating is a way to distract from challenging emotions.

Secondly, let’s agree that emotional eating is only a temporary solution, and that it comes with a slew of unwanted side effects – which is why we can feel like we’re at war with food. This is because our human bodies require food to live.

But if we’re using food to anesthetize and escape, we can feel sick, bloated, riddled with guilt, and like there’s something seriously wrong with us. We can gain unwanted weight and feel powerless.

Thirdly, let’s remember that when we use food (or any substance) to numb out and self-soothe, we disconnect from whatever we are feeling. But staying present to what is happening inside of us is how we stay in touch with our power.

When we turn our backs on that information, we lose touch with something that greatly serves and supports us in making the best decisions for us.

So how do you stop? Here are 4 steps to emotional eating in its tracks:

1. Slow down & get present – If we can slow down, even when we’re in the middle of emotionally eating, and get more present with what we’re feeling and doing, it lessens emotional eating’s grip on us. As you slow down, look around the room and name 3 objects around you. Let yourself land in the present moment. Breathe.
2. Name the Emotion – Once you slow down and get more present with yourself, see if you can name the emotion that you are feeling – angry, sad, disappointed, jealous, anxious, scared… just to name a few. Tell yourself, “I’m feeling ____.” Simply naming a feeling helps to calm the nervous system, which then reduces the need to self-soothe.
3. Breathe – Take 3 nice deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out your mouth. Let the exhales be slightly longer than the inhales. Feel the cool air come into your nose, and the warm air leave your mouth. Keep breathing like this until you feel more present, more in your body, and more in the room.
4. Regulate – Just allowing yourself to get present in the moment with your breath is a huge win. Now it’s time to help your nervous system come into a more regulated state. You can stand up and shake your arms and hands, like you’re shaking water off of them. Then you can shake your foot and leg in the same way, alternating sides. Think of this as shaking the emotion out and through, like you’re giving it somewhere to go instead of staying stuck. If shaking isn’t appropriate, take your index and middle finger together and rub just behind your ear and down the side of your neck. Do this again and again on either/both sides. This will help your nervous system relax.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of emotional eating, or if you’re about to engage in it – these 4 steps will help you come into the present moment, calm your nervous system down, and reduce (or even eliminate) your desire to use food to self-soothe.

Emotional eating is one of those things that can take time to dismantle. These 4 steps can help in the moment, but they don’t replace the work that can really help you break the patterns that might be so ingrained inside of you.

This is because for all of us, even as infants, food and eating were powerful ways to feel better. For some of us, it’s still our go-to way to unwind, de-stress, and self-soothe.

If you are someone who feels like she’s still at war with food and eating and you long to be free, please reach out. I’ve walked this path myself, and I can help.