You might think of emotional eating as something that comes up for you when you have strong feelings like anger, stress, or sadness. These are emotions that are usually easy to identify by your inner dialogue or your outward reactions like tears or yelling. But emotional eating can sneak in with all kinds of feelings.

Ones you may not have thought about is eating when you’re bored or lonely. These reasons for overeating can be challenging to identify because we often do them without any sense of awareness. You’re not feeling overly emotional and yet you find yourself walking the same route to the fridge or pantry thinking it is simply routine.

When you’re bored or lonely, food as a solution to missing a connection makes sense. Your favorite treats feel comforting, plus they are easily available—it never lets you down or doesn’t show up (like you might be feeling about people).

The first thing to do is to find out what kind of connection you’re looking for: is it a social connection ...

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...

Now that you’ve settle a little into the fall routine—kids are back in school, summer getaways have ended—you may find yourself refreshed and feeling ready to tackle whatever it is that’s coming up at work. That is a sign of a summer well spent!

Feeling so good might have you taking on more projects at work or overscheduling your time. In order to try and keep a balance (at least most of the time), it is important to notice any signs of burnout early on. While that term can feel scary and so serious that you think “nah, I’d notice if anything was off”, burnout can creep in in ways that you might think are normal. Unfortunately, many workplaces have made these symptoms acceptable and even encourage competition around the water cooler.

Here are five signs to watch out for:

1. Poor performance. Usually, you find you can start and finish projects to your own set of standards, but lately you feel like you can’t keep up or give the level you want at work.
2. Reduced creativity. This is a sne
...

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...

You have often heard us say that emotional eating is never about the food, it is about the feeling behind how and what you eat.

You may want to eat six doughnuts because the sugar “coma” helps you feel numb to emotions.

Or one of your binge foods of choice might be birthday cake because you have positive memories of feeling good attached to that food.

Managing your wellbeing—mental, physical, emotional—and how your feelings react to triggers, can seem overwhelming since there are so many things to consider! This is why today we’re breaking down the 7 pillars of wellness and providing realistic ways to support each one in your life.

There is no need to overhaul your day-to-day life or try and focus on perfecting your approach to each one (because there is no such thing as perfect). After reading the explanations below, think about which one or two pillars you are called to and see if you can bring more awareness and action to that area of your life.

• Emotional: This is, of course,
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As emotional eaters we often think about (and fear) weight gain being noticed by those around us. Even worse: we stress over if they will say anything about it! But emotional eating can also mean a loss of appetite too: stress, anxiety, and depression can feel so all-encompassing that our natural hunger signals are lost in the chaos.

Often, losing a pant size or two can lead to positive comments from family, friends, and even your doctor. But these comments can be just as problematic as ones on weight gain. As a society we uphold thin bodies as the ideal standard for beauty and health, but what is often missing from the discussion is the emotion or illness that can be behind the weight loss. We become torn between the positive comments and the negative feelings that have led to our body’s changes.

While we’ve got some tips for when someone says something about your weight, the added layer of social conditioning—of acceptance of thinness—can create a very different impact. You might f...

Seeing old friends or getting together with extended family can be a cause for celebration—especially after two years of social distancing and lockdown measures. But these situations can also bring feelings of anxiety and failure, you may start thinking “What if they notice I’ve gained weight?”, or even worse “What if they say something about my weight gain?”

It often feels like one’s waistline is open for comment no matter if it has been a weight gain or loss. The problem is that we’re celebrated when we shrink and blamed when we put on weight. Here are a few tips to support your mental health when your faced with unwanted commentary on your body.

Come up with a game plan. Knowing body comments might come up is one thing but being mentally prepared to face them can give you a feeling of confidence. Try tucking affirmations in your wallet, go to the bathroom and text a friend who will support you, schedule a therapy session or alone time after the meeting with family to decompress. T...

It can be a difficult time of year for many people. While holiday movies portray happy families and festive get-togethers, it can leave many of us feeling left out if we don’t have the ‘perfect’ holiday experience.

Abuse, loss of a loved one, comments about your weight, divorce, missing loved ones due to Covid-19 restrictions, eating disorders, pressure to drink alcohol, are all situations that can make people uncomfortable and dread the upcoming holiday season.

To make the holiday season a bit more bearable, start with what you can control. You don’t have to say yes to every gathering (even if it is with family). In fact, saying “no” is a great example of setting clear boundaries with others and is a great way to protect your mental health. It can be freeing to not put yourself in a situation you know will be triggering.

And on that note: do some thinking around what might be triggering you. You can talk to someone you trust—or reach out to a professional—or grab your journal and l...

This blog post is the one of a series where we’re giving advice on tools you can try and see if they are worth adding to your ‘toolkit’ when you’re faced with emotional eating. Some tools will work for you and others you won’t find as helpful—check out our previous posts here and give some of them a try!

Here at the Centre for Emotional Eating we are big fans of therapy! While that may be obvious, we are also big believers that support for your mental health doesn’t always have to be a formal in-person session. Below are a few myth-busting ideas around seeking support for your emotional eating:

Support doesn’t have to mean sitting on a therapist’s couch.

Over the past year we have seen more and more options available for different ways to access therapy. There are more virtual options than ever before! Video sessions and online courses have become more popular and can be done in the comfort of your own living room. Our online course, the First Step Course, can help you understan...

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

• You’re out to dinner with a group of friends and you all decide to ‘splurge’, only to spend time talking to each other about how you’ll make up for it tomorrow.
• Other parents are talking about how much wine they drink once their kids have gone to bed, and you feel the pressure to do the same to relate.
• You and your spouse are both complaining about how you both have no willpower to work out; thinking that if you plan to work out together, you’ll both get it done.
• You make a pact with a friend to both start a new diet in the countdown to a big event, swearing you’ll keep each other on track.

It has become a big part of our social interactions to commiserate with others about dieting, indulging, and what we should be doing in the name of ‘health’. Doesn’t it sometimes feel like sharing stories about failing on our strict diets is the only way we’re relating to one another? We’re focussing on the negative.

Let’s take back the conversatio...