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The Eight Signs of Emotional Eating

A lot of people ask, "How do I know if I am overeating for emotional reasons?"

Luckily, figuring this out is one of the easiest things to do. There are very specific symptoms and signs that you can look for. If any of the following statements sound like they could apply to you, then it's likely you are struggling with emotional eating.

1. My hunger comes on suddenly.
Physical hunger comes on slowly. Hunger from emotional eating often comes on quickly and suddenly.

2. I crave specific foods—generally not carrot sticks or steamed broccoli.
Cravings for specific, usually unhealthy foods is a sign of emotional eating. Often people like the rush they get from satisfying their cravings. That rush is fulfilling emotional hunger.

3. My hunger feels urgent—I need a particular food right away and I'm willing to walk out of my way, or get in your car late at night, or raid my kid's Halloween candy to get it.
Physical hunger, unless you haven't eaten for a very long time, is usually pretty patient. It will wait for food. Emotional hunger demands to be satisfied immediately.

4. My hunger is often paired with an upsetting emotion—if I backtrack a few hours or a few days I'll usually find an upsetting event and feeling that triggered the urge.
Hunger that's connected to an upsetting emotion or situation is definitely emotional hunger. Physical hunger is not typically triggered by emotions.

5. My eating habits involve unconscious eating—all of a sudden I'm eating ice-cream and I find the whole container is gone.
When you're eating for physical reasons, you are usually mindful of what you're doing. If you catch yourself eating "just because," then it's likely you're eating for emotional reasons.

6. I don't stop eating in response to being full—I keep wanting more of the taste of the food.
Physical hunger doesn't need to be stuffed in order to be satisfied. Emotional hunger on the other hand often demands more and more food to feel satisfied.

7. My hunger isn't located in belly—I crave the taste of a certain food in my mouth or I can't stop thinking of a certain food.
Feeling hungry in this way is usually a sign of emotional hunger or binging. Physical hunger is happy to get what it can, while emotional hunger usually focuses on specific tastes and textures.

8. After I satisfy my hunger, I am often filled with a sense of regret or guilt.
Feeding your body what it needs is not something to feel guilty about. If you feel guilty after you eat, it's likely because part of you knows you're not eating just to satisfy physical hunger.

If you don't experience any of the preceding statements, it's likely that you're struggling with simple biological hunger.

63 Comments In the order they were posted.

Laurella A Roers said...

Each one of the above statement applies to me. I am going to look for the Book "Shrink Yourself" within the next 3 days.

debbie said...

I am dating a man who loves my curves and then I dated a man who loved me personally but said he preferred thinner women.....this has gone on for a year now. Why can't I focus on dieting? I hate my body and crave to be thin again.

Debby said...

All of these statements ring true for me. Although I've lost close to 100 lbs. on my own through diet change and faithful exercise, I still have another 40 lbs. to go. Lowering my caloric intake anymore has been a real struggle. I've been in a 12 step program for years, the principles apply here as well it's all the same fear, self loathing, anger, etc. This is so much who I have been since early childhood the feelings of inadequacy, self hatred, etc. I can't do it all by myself without gaining more knowlege and tools. I know its emotional and I can't wait to read this book.

Cassandra said...

I gain and loose and am so despondent I really dont think anything can cure it. I eat for no particular reason and then hate myself.

patty said...

I eat when I am sad,happy,angry,or I think I deserve it for doing something good

patti said...

I am an emotional eater just as you described. I crave sweets and want them quickly. I feel the desire in my mouth. I don't know what brings it on though. I think frustration of some kind. I am frustrated and have alot of anxiety. Although I am an intelligent person it seems like life is a struggle for me alot.

Mary said...

This sounds like me. The urges are oral and extremely compelling. Is there hope?

annie said...

I stay on my diet for so long and lose the weight and am happy and then something triggers me like holidays and off I go gaining again.I am going to buy this book and pray it will help me.

karen said...

I think this idea about emotional eating has great merit. I know I eat soon after a meal when I'm not physically hungry yet, but have the impulse to eat. I often eat from stress, to postpone addressing the cause of the stress, and feel annoyed at myself after.

adrienne said...

I fit the emotional eater profile perfectly. I feel like an alcoholic but with sugar. I even hide the wrappers so that no one would even now I have had one. Bad huh!

Candy said...

This website gave me an insight to myself! I now now that I am an emotional eater and not just a pig. Where do I sign up?????

Bella said...

Oh my goodness....I can't believe I'm not the only one....I just decided to jump on google and search "binge eating" and found this. Mine is completely oral too! I read so often about people saying they eat out of sadness, stress, anger etc.. but I could never relate because I thought "that's not me - I eat just to EAT! " I want the TASTE...even when I'm so full I feel sick...I want MORE. I eat and eat and eat...and I hide the wrappers too! It only ever happens when I'm alone though....I NEVER binge around my husband, family or friends...only when I'm home alone....I feel so guilty and embarrassed after.... help!

Kate said...

I have only just come to realise that I have a full blown binge eating disorder. I always thought I just liked food and had trouble losing weight cos I was greedy. I'm only just realising that i actually have a disorder which I need to deal with - otherwise the diets are never going to work. For about the past 8 weeks I have been eating extremely well, trying to eat a lot more protein than i normally do and exercise regularly. Then for some reason - and I really do not know why - I have 'fallen off the wagon' over the past 3 days. I have been obsessively thinking about food during work time, hiding food from my flatmate, buying things like sugary treats, hot chocolate, popcorn, nachos and eating them alone. But when I've finished eating all that stuff, I'll then move on to other stuff like bread and cheese - whatever's left in the house. I can't stop. I am sick and I need to help myself. I am going to do lots more research into binge eating now I've recognised it.

Eram Bashir said...

I weigh 100 kg I am severely depressed do emtionally dependant eating to relieve the distress within . I think stuffing my stomach would be far better than raising a furore at home poisoning the atmosphere but the more I eat the more I strenghthen my candidacy for diabetes! Lets hope I find my salvation with you. I have multiple records of raised fasting sugar levels. Wish me luck.Thanks

Marinda said...

I am at my wits end, I have tried OA, I have even had gastric surgery to help with my eating issues and nothing helps. I had a gastric balloon fitted for 6 months and lost some weight and after having it removed I have gained all the weight I lost. Even with the balloon I could feel my compulsion taking over. I would be fill and still I wanted to eat and felt almost manic because I couldnt. What is wrong with me, how do I stop this. I am in control one minute and then the minute I start eating it all goes out the window. I am 34 and it feels like I have spent the better part of 25 years worried about my weight, hating food, loving food, obsessing about food. Entire holidays revolve around the next meal and I feel like there is no time in my life left for anything else. If the 12 steps and surgery cannot help what else is left. I some times feel like I need a part of my brain to be removed, the part that wants the food just so I can start living my life like a normal person. Does anyone else feel like this? Am I destined to be this way for the rest of my life????

marian said...

I sometimes feel that my stomache aches for more food and this can be not long after I've had a large meal. I feel really emotional about it too, and if anyone tried to stop me from eating when I feel like this I could get really angry with them. I can scream and shout at them when I'm like this! It's awful. I feel completely out of control in myself and then a complete failure for being like it. I'm always joining slimming clubs these days and giving up - when I was younger under 50 I never had this problem - if I wanted to loose weight I would either join a club or cut out eating rubbish or meals after 7 in the evening, and the weight disappeared but not now.

Olivia said...

I'm 5"2 and 107 lbs. I'm totally fit, but I binge like every weekend and it makes me feel horrible. I don't do it in front of people either, and I often hide wrappers too. I've been trying to stop but can't. I need some tips on how to stop doing this! I feel great when I'm eating right, but as soon as I eat something bad I get into this cycle of bad eating and I feel like crap!! I need some helpful pointers! Please!

Dana said...

I have found that when I have no man in my life I am slim, 4 yrs ago I was in a size 2. Now 4 years later with the turmoil my relationship is in and me getting ready to walk out I am now a size 10. I feel guilty when I eat, knowing I should not have had what I just ate, but it also feels like my boyfriend is sabotogging my efforts to loose weight by conning me into ice cream cake etc.. I am fed up I want to be skinny and feel good about myself again.

Amy said...

I realized three weeks ago that I was addicted to food like an alcoholic to booze. My husband and I decided to go on a diet and he is doing great. I fell off the wagon after the first week. Now I'm hiding food from him, eating more at work, on the way home,-i'm even angry because i've lost my "eating buddy"-he's lost 17 lbs in two weeks...i lost 6 lbs but im angry, sad, depressed, frustrated, etc. I hate feeling like I'm so addicted to food that I can't function. To me its harder than other addictions because you can't just stop eating like drinking/smoking/drugs/etc..those you can just stop doing...but food you have to keep doing...just not as much and not based around emotions...ugh..

Sarah said...

I too have huge issues with food and have for as long as I can remember. As a child everyone in my family was on a diet, always, and thus I would be also. My mother would tell me that I really didn't need to loose much weight, but I could join in. I learned early that food was an enemy. Then as I grew older I realized that the skinny girls received more attention so I tried harder to loose weight. Prior to marriage and then after marriage my husband made weight a huge issue, always making me feel that I didn't measure up. Even though I look back at my pictures then and realize that I looked great, I remember feeling so huge and ugly. After our divorce, I stuggeled with weight and exercise so that I would be thin enough, pretty enough, what ever enough to get a date. And still I never felt like I measure up, thin enough, pretty enough, etc. Eventually I mindfully gave up trying and decided that I was tired of trying and gave into all my food impulses. Over time I made the huge part a reality in my weight and now I am a compulsive eater with a BMI of 45. I eat all the time, good food, bad food, any food it seems. Then I feel badly, but don't seem to be able to stop. I want control for myself now, not for anyone else. I am praying that this program will work for me to fine that answer.

cyndydrew said...

I don't want to sound like the zealot new kid, but...a friend and I are reading all of these comments, and identifying with every one of them. My heart goes out to those of you who feel you are at your wits' end with the food obsession, and I don't know if things like wierd impromptu wishes and prayers really work, but I am sending my heart out to you. And for what it's worth, your honesty is giving me fire and determination, to hurl myself into this program and finally triumph over my own food obsession. So, rock on. Or Go Girl. Or whatever power slogan works for you.

Joseph Lutaaya said...

I eat to get nutrients from different diets and also satisfy my satiaty centres. Otherwise most of the above apply.

Kathy said...

I can relate so much to what each of you have said. I have gained and lost about 15 pounds in the last year a few times. The more I diet the more junk I want to eat. Sometimes I focus so much on one food that I feel like I just have to eat it and usually do. Sometimes I eat out of boredom, sometimes there is something tempting me and I decide if I just eat it all then it will be gone and I won't have to deal with in anymore but then there is always something else to tempt me. What a bad cycle. I know that dieting and exercise is hard work and I hate myself for not having the will power and strength to accomplish my goals. It is so frustrating and unhealthy.

Chris said...

I REALLY, REALLY NEED HELP. I WORK 3RD SHIFT AND COME HOME AND EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. I CAN'T STOP EATING EVEN WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT AND TRY TO STOP. I THINK ABOUT FOOD ALL THE TIME AND BINGE IN PRIVATE ONLY. I TOLD MY DOCTOR I HAVE A FOOD ADDICTION AND SHE DOESN'T SEEM TO WANT TO HELP OR BELIEVE ME. I AM 250LBS. AND I HATE MYSELF FOR LOVING FOOD SOOOOOOOO MUCH. I WANT TO EAT TO LIVE NOT LIVE TO EAT. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME????????????

Lisa Sabin said...

I really see all these things in me I need to get my therapist to understand I hate being fat I hate being me

eciralc said...

Wow, when I read this, it struck home. Almost all of this applies to me. I am fat. 5'9 at 270 pounds. And I am a woman. I always felt that I was fat because I was greedy, which I still do think that I am greedy. I never thought it was connected to emotions though. I guess I will try to be more cognisent of what is bothering me and find other solutions to the problems besides eating.

Anonymous said...

sHARON said...

I AM AN EMOTIONAL EATER. WHEN I GET UPSET OR FEEL LIKE A FAILURE OR GET TOO CLOSE TO SOMEONE, I CRAVE SWEETS. IT IS AT THAT POINT, I CANNOT STOP AND CRAVE MORE AND MORE. I THEN FEEL GUILTY OR WILL WALK 5 OR 6 MILES.

Annamaria said...

For the 1st time ever I have read about who and what I am. I am an emotional binge eater and it has nothing to do with diets that help you feel full..I eat even when I am at the point of popping and no where bar here have I being able to pin point why.

Anonymous said...

Rene said...

Emotional eating was a devastating thing for me to initially admit... I thought I had it all under control until I realized that I've been trying to lose the same 25 to 35 pounds for the last five years. My emotional eating really didn't come to a head and become extremely noticeable to me until I started to have problems at work and was eventually fired....While being fired from that job was the best thing that could have happened to me, it left me in an emotional tailspin for a year or so because all of the sudden I had to learn to redefine myself outside of that job. I am beginning to heal now that I have forced myself to face some of the wounds I suffered at that job--some were self-inflicted and the others came from negative and toxic people. It has taken me about 3 years to get to this place of healing. It is a slow and painful journey...but one worth taking. I especially want to do a better job of caring for myself so that I can help my family --especially my children--do the same. There is hope on this journey--hope that appears one minute, one hour, one day at a time.

Sonja M. Walker said...

I am also going to find this book "Shrink Yourself" You have helped, tremendously. It seems as thought my stomach "burn's" when I don't follow the impulse, and then goes away. Sonja W.

bubby said...

Folks, it's all about stress triggers and our childhood. The eating/binging is just the last manifestation in a chain of events. Dieting, etc. helps but it has nothing to do with the problem. The problem is an emotional one - it's about old stress, shame, anger, anxiety, frustration, sensitivity, etc. You are eating to block or supress those emotions/feelings.

Jayne said...

I wonder what emotions I am trying to block with my unhealthy eating habits? I know enough about good nutrition to write a book about it. Diets don't work for me. I don't exercise because at heart, I am lazy. I would rather sleep in than get up and work out. I know without a doubt that the extreme stress I faced some ten years ago probably triggered this unhealthy pattern in my life. I have dealt with it and thought I had it solved but I guess I haven't. I feel like I need to lock myself up in a closet until I lose the weight.

Anonymous said...

cheryl said...

How SAD! I can relate to ALL of you 'cause I do the same things. I finally stopped being bulemic off and on for 35 years and I eat when I'm not hungry, even ate a whole half gallon of ice-cream several times this summer. I'm a wreck!

Gina said...

I eat too much everyday. I do not feel loved and I feel neglected. I know I am beautiful if only I could loose weight.

donald frer said...

after reading your blog, I understaand that I am an emotional eater. I need to get this under control beffore it kills me. I'm just to pretty to die.

tim said...

IM A LOST PERSON I CANT STOP, ITS KILLING ME EMOTIONALLY THAT I CANT STOP EATING I JUST WANT IT TO END. ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DATING AND EVEN GETTING MARRIED AND I WILL ALWAYS BE ALONE BECAUSE I AM FAT. i GOT A MEMBERSHIP TO A GYM AND CANT EVEN GET MYSELF TO GO. I RUN TO THE FRIDGE BEFORE PEOPLE CATCH AND SHOVE FOOD IN MY MOUTH. NOTHIN CAN HELP ME. NOT EVEN THIS PROGRAM I NEED SOMEONE TO LITERALLY SLAP THE FOOD OUT OF MY HAND. AHHH

michelle said...

I hate myself .I have spent more then 90 of my life trying to diet and lose weight. I always find myself able to do right for a while ,but end up right where I started. I have my beautiful children and a man that i love alot. I just cant under stand why I can not follow through with this process. I should be happy but I am very lonley, miserable and mean. I want to be able to control my eating but I can not.

Jocie said...

I feel like I am always on a diet but it never work. I diet for a couple days then I binge on all the food I can find. I feel like the only way to make people love me is if i was thin. Im afraid to show off my body because its so ugly. I wish one day I could put on a bathing suit and feel confident. Hopefully this program will let me be able to do that one day :

Teresa said...

I do not know who I am when I look in the mirror. I try hard to control my cravings and to not eat as much. I wake up in the middle of the night so hungry I could eat everything in sight. I feel like I am teaching my children bad habits and I do not know what to do.

karen said...

I am sitting here desperate to understand my relationship with food, a lot of the comments above fit with me - I have just eaten a massive plate of sausage, egg, chips and beans oh and mayonaise to dip chips. I know in 5 mins I will want something sweet and that will set the tune for the evening, weekend, week. I will be raiding the fridge and cupboard to find something - but not been shopping so will go for cereal, I know I will get heartburn, feel sick and disappointed like you wont believe and will pass wind from both passages all night, I hate that my hubby has to hear it and is turned off by it but that is still not enough to prevent me eating I have just calculated that 19st = 266 pounds thats massive but as a serial dieter since I was 18 all I have achieved is getting bigger and bigger, I am unhealthy and just been diagnosed with asthma, I ache like made when I first get up and have pain in my chest on waking. Yet I am still not confident enough to enter into this programme as I might fail. I have had issues with food since I was 7 or 8 when my mum had a breakdown and went away for 6 weeks leaving my bully of a dad to cope with 4 kids under 6 and all he could cook was beans - I remember salavating at a friends house over his dads plate of toast - how liberating is this writing it not just reliving it in my head - gosh I dont know where to start - I know I need help but I cant bare the thought of yet another failure!

karen said...

yinette said...

this is totally me..I have an addiction with fast food..not so much candy or chocolate. and the thing is I also feed this crap to my kids even though I know is bad for them. My husband started noticing my addiction and he pointed it out and got mad at me for feeding the kids this crap, after that I started getting rid off the garbage before I get home. I did good for a while, now home with three kids all under the age of eight and a husband that is currently deployed I only find comfort in fast food and I'm losing my mind because of it. I don't want to eat this crap anymore I need help on how to eat healthy.

yinette said...

Darlene said...

I feel like I am an emotional eater because when I want food and I don't get the food I am craving, I feel like a drug addict. I want the food so bad that I have withdrawal symptoms. I want to eat like a person wants to get high. I hide food and I hide going to fast food places so no one will know. I feel like I am being judged by everyone and i feel guilty when I have to hide the food I eat. I'm so scared that I'm going to die because I can't stop eating. I am 5'4" and I weigh 350 lbs. I need help.

anna said...

im 14 years old and i been struggling with emotional eating since i was 12. i over eat whenever im sad or even when i dont feel pretty. i use to be anorexic but thankfully i pulled through that but now im not happy with my body at all i feel like im fat and i dont know what to do anymore. it is hard to stick to a diet because of the emotional eating. i feel depressed and sad almost all the time. this really is affecting me a lot but i feel hopeless.

kb said...

i understand all that everyone is going through. i have also struggled with my weight since 5th grade, a looong time, and can not seem to find a diet to work for me. i now realize that it's not the diets that are failing, it's me. i have not made peace with myself and i think that must come first. in my 20's i lost 60 pounds felt good about myself for the first time but i did not do it the healthy way got sick EBV. after recovering for this awful virus i was average by USA standards size 14 for alot of years but over the last 6mos i have gained quite a bit of weight 25 pounds and i admitted to myself that i am a compulsive overeater. my mom have been very ill of the last several months and i turned to food to deal with it. i have order the book i hope this will be a new turning point in my life. good luck to all of you! we can do it but it must be for the right reasons ~ for ourselves!!

em said...

I am a 37 year old mother of 5 and every box above applies to me...I am affraid I am killing myself and sit and cry at night while I watch my littlest one sleep.....I lay awake and swear to myself that I will do better the next day..yet I am gaining and gaining.....I don't want to die.....but I feel so out of control and helpless.....I am affraid........and ashamed......and don't know what to do........My father died from being over weight...I am following in his footsteps and don't know how to stop.......Dear God help me.

Anonymous said...

Pat said...

As I read all of the comments above, I just want to cry. So many of us have faced so many challenges in life that we have turned to food to sedate our feelings. I've eaten for years out of my emotions - anger, loneliness, being controlled by husband, stress, etc. As an only child growing up, my mom would give me food to comfort me if I hurt myself playing, or if I was hurt because of other situations, or even after being disciplined. I'm finding out that I still eat to cover my feelings. Then I feel bad and have low self esteem because of the weight gain. Other problems - can't wear my clothes, comments from others. I pray that I will be able to face my emotional challenges and lose the weight. Dieting doesn't work. I've done it for years. I most combat what's on the inside in order for the outside to compoly.

Anonymous said...

MGM said...

I'm trying to work on both depression and weight. My psychiatrist is going to try something called EMDR - it is aimed at getting the traumatic root of mental illness, even for those of us who seem to be functioning OK. Sounds like many posters here have childhood or other trauma to deal with. Check out EMDR.

Anonymous said...