Checklists can be a helpful tool: they can organize your day and make you feel motivated. But when it feels like you’ve got a never ending to do list, you can feel defeated and constantly drained.

You might even find yourself unable to relax or feel like you haven’t ‘earned’ rest because of all the lingering things you need to get done. With this mentality it is easy to fall into emotional eating patterns to avoid your to do list.

Food becomes the only ‘acceptable’ way to take a break, so you go grab an afternoon pastry to get away from your desk or find yourself in the pantry looking for a snack to focus on something other than your tasks. This pattern of eating also packs a one-two punch of helping you disassociate from your to do list and all the feelings around it: stress, overwhelm, anxiety, fear. 

It is unavoidable that life will get busy, but that doesn’t mean you have to live in a constant state of stress eating. Here are four key strategies to bring you some peace of mind, ...

Today we’re answering the most Googled questions about emotional eating. The Centre for Emotional Eating has more than a decade of experience helping clients get to the root cause of their emotional eating. The factual and helpful answers below are a great place for you to begin your own journey!

1.  What is the definition of an emotional eater?

Emotional eating is when a person uses food to cope with emotions. Think of it this way: food becomes a reliable shield you can put between you and stress, anxiety, loneliness, etc. It can numb you out or distract you from what is really going on in your mind, heart, and body. 

You might feel like your eating is out of control because of the cravings you have for specific foods, but it is really the feelings behind your behaviour that is driving you to eat. This means that emotional eating is a symptom/response to emotions, which leads up to the next question…

2.  How to stop emotional eating?

Now that you know emotional eating isn...

The following blog posts talks about calorie counting in some detail. If this is something that might bring up negative feelings for you, please skip this post to protect your mental and physical health. 💛

After eating emotionally you might be thinking you need to do a complete 180 and get really strict about what and how you’re going to eat next. A common way to feel in control of your eating is to count your calories. It’s become so easy these days as the diet industry has created apps that are always in the palm of our hands and can even scan labels!

Often clients will be able to white knuckle their way through a few days of eating low calorie only to find themselves binge eating at the first sign of stress, alone time, or even faced with a dinner they can’t ‘log’. And it can feel like being right back where you started after the initial overeating episode.

Very often it feels scary to let go of counting calories, but doing so can bring you back in-tune with your body in a way yo...

Binge eating feels all encompassing. You feel helpless to stop what and how much you are going to eat, and chances are you are doing it in the moments where you are alone. Here are three signs you may have missed during a binge and how to feel better prepared the next time this urge comes up for you:

1. That moment when you decide to give into a binge, even when you know it won’t make you feel good in the long run, is actually a good sign. Even if you continue with the binge, you’ve made a mental note that there is an ‘after’ to the binge. We are absolutely not applauding the guilt and shame that comes post-binge but knowing that you are going to get through the binge is the beginning to being able to think beyond it—showing you’re not so afraid of what life might send your way next!
   • What do to next: tell yourself, out loud even, that “I am going to get through this.” Speaking to yourself in this way creates a kind of pep talk that can allow some positivity (and even empowerment) co
   ...

As an emotional eater, chances are there is a part (maybe a big part) of you that dreads eating with others. From family dinners to nights out with friends, to team building events at work, there is just too much opportunity to have our weight and eating habits criticized.

Food shaming is a common minefield when at a gathering that revolves around food. It can start on the inside; our thoughts swirl and we chastise ourselves over what we eat and drink in front of others. As a way to protect ourselves, our mind starts churning out warning thoughts and plans:

“Someone is going to look at me, look at my plate, and tell me that’s why I’m fat.”

“I’m so uncomfortable in my body, everyone is looking at me.”

“I am going to be perfect and only order a salad.”

“Will I fit in the chair at the restaurant?”

Sound familiar? Its likely that whatever thoughts come up from you, they stem from the idea that you will be judged by others at the event. The anticipation building in your mind might bec...

It is common to suffer from low self-esteem here and there. But often when someone is in an emotional spiral, or their depression is strong, out inner critic seems to be blasting negative thoughts on repeat. And it can be extremely powerful as it uses the first person:

• “I’m so fat. No wonder no one loves me.”
• “Look at how I jiggle. I’m so disgusting.”

Sometimes the voice might instruct you to pinch, suck in, or smooth certain parts of your body. These thoughts can feel true to us if we don’t challenge them. But how do you even begin to do that? Let’s look at the same comments above and see how we might push back against them:

• “I’m so fat. No wonder no one loves me. Wait. This can’t be true, my partner/friends/family tell me they love me.”
• “Look at how I jiggle. I’m so disgusting. STOP! That thought isn’t helping me.”

In both examples, you can see there is a need to break the negative thought off with “wait” or “stop.” These short words shock that negative thought! Sometim...

As an emotional eater, it may be difficult to separate the answer to this question. It is a classics chicken-egg conundrum.

When you feel strong emotions—grief, anger, anxiety—it is likely that you turn to food to sooth them away. Likely the foods you choose are ones that bring you a sense of comfort (you have happy memories associated with it) and give you a dose of the feel-good serotonin followed by a sugar crash that might made you feel dull or tired enough to sleep (and block out all feelings). These foods are likely high in fat, sugar, and taste amazing! But they are the kinds of foods that can lead to weight gain if eaten quickly and without mindfulness. In this scenario, weight gain comes from the food used to calm emotions like depression.

On the other hand, it is natural to gain weight as life circumstances change like becoming a new mom, after a breakup, or during a global pandemic. In these scenarios, you might find that you’ve gained weight and begin to feel sad and incr...

Going in to see your doctor might be something that fills you with dread. While you may be all-too familiar with this feeling, there is a name for what you might be experiencing when you step into a clinic: weight bias.

This is defined as negative views, usually based on serotypes or misconceptions, towards people who are overweight or obese.

Everyday people who are overweight face discrimination, from the size of seats on a plane to critical looks and comments from others. There are prominent beliefs that plus size or obese individuals are somehow lesser than, aren’t considered beautiful, and should be blamed (and shamed) for the size of their waistline. This bias also exists in healthcare. 

While there have been strides made in providing training to nurses and doctors that provide primary care, it can still be daunting to go to the doctor for something that *seems* simple like an annual checkup. Here are five things to keep in mind that might help you feel empowered when gathering...

Some foods we reach for when we’re tired ☕ Some foods we reach for when we’re upset 🍩 Some foods we reach for because we have labelled them “good” 🍏

But have you ever stopped to think about what foods you enjoy? Having food satisfaction at every meal—you read that right!—can lead to fewer cravings and the desire to overeat. 

Food satisfaction means two things: that you physically respond positively to the food (it makes you feel full, gives you energy) and you also have a psychological enjoyment of what you ate (it’s tasty, “hits the spot”).

You may be wondering: how do I find out what I really like to eat? Believe it or not, this is a very common question. We are constantly told what foods we should and shouldn’t eat. If you’ve been around the diet block, chances are you’ve cut out whole food groups like carbs or fat or sugar at one point or another. Getting rid of this diet conditioning may seem impossible, but it can be a fun experience! Here’s where to start:

Step One: Write...

We recently did a post about what emotional eating gives you. In this second part, we’ll take a look at what else you can do to give yourself the feelings you crave when reaching for your favourite foods.

But first, we want to remind you that there is no such thing as perfect. Of course, supporting your mental health is an important way to lessen the desire to eat emotionally, but we will also be the first to tell you that food will always provide comfort. Experiences will come up in your life that make you feel upset, and that is normal and ok! We wouldn’t know how happy we could be without knowing how sad or frustrated or angry we can also be. As humans we are built to experience the full range of emotions.

Of course, there are tools and strategies to help you feel more comfortable around food and strong emotions, but expecting perfection—that you’ll NEVER eat emotionally again—just isn’t true (that totally goes for us too!). Showing yourself some compassion when feelings bubble up...