Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating

Find out how emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts, and get tips to get control of your eating habits.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Sometimes the strongest cravings for food happen when you're at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when you're facing a difficult problem, stress or just looking to keep yourself occupied.

But emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods. But the good news is that if you're prone to emotional eating, you can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals.

The connection between mood, food and weight loss

Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Both major life events and the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts. These triggers may include:

  • Unemployment
  • Financial pressure
  • Health problems
  • Relationship conflicts
  • Work stress
  • Fatigue

Although some people actually eat less in the face of strong emotions, if you're in emotional distress you may turn to impulsive or binge eating — you may rapidly eat whatever's convenient, without even enjoying it.

In fact, your emotions may become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a treat whenever you're angry or stressed without stopping to think about what you're doing.

Food also serves as a distraction. If you're worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The emotions return, and you may also now bear the additional burden of guilt about setting back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle — your emotions trigger you to overeat, you beat yourself up for getting off your weight-loss track, you feel bad, and you overeat again.

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References
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  3. Habhab S, et al. The relationship between stress, dietary restraint, and food preferences in women. Appetite. 2009;52:437.
  4. Hill AJ. The psychology of food craving. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2007;66:277.
  5. Laitinen J, et al. Stress-related eating and drinking behavior and body mass index and predictors of this behavior. Preventive Medicine. 2002;34:29.
  6. Zeratsky KA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 3, 2012.
  7. Hensrud DD, et al. The Mayo Clinic Diet. Intercourse, Penn.: Good Books; 2010:154.
MH00025 Dec. 1, 2012

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