Why Can’t I Stop Eating When I’m Stressed or Emotional?
Learn why stress and emotions can trigger overeating—and get actionable tips to stop emotional eating and build healthier habits.
The post Why Can’t I Stop Eating When I’m Stressed or Emotional? appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.
It’s been one of those days. Work was a nightmare, you got in an argument with your partner, your chores were piling up at home. Next thing you know, you’re standing in the kitchen, looking for a little relief in a bag of chips.
Emotional eating is a common response to stress, frustration, boredom, burnout, or even happiness and excitement (1, 2). And while food can offer short-term comfort, it’s not always the most helpful tool in your emotional coping toolkit (1).
Let’s take a closer look at why emotional eating happens, how to spot the difference between physical and emotional hunger, and what you can do to build more supportive habits. I’ll also explain how food tracking tools—like MyFitnessPal—can help you become more aware of your eating patterns, so you can respond to your emotions in ways that feel more supportive (3).
What Is Emotional Eating?
Emotional eating is when you turn to food to soothe or distract yourself from emotions, rather than to satisfy physical hunger (1, 2). It’s a way of coping, not fueling (1, 2).
Physical hunger builds gradually, comes on after a few hours without food, and is felt in your body—like a growling stomach, headache, irritability, or low energy (1). It can be satisfied with a variety of foods and usually ends when you’re full (1).
Emotional hunger is different. It can come on suddenly, and it’s often tied to a craving for specific comfort foods—like chips, cookies, or ice cream (1). It’s often not satisfied with, for example, an apple—or another food that would satisfy your appetite if you were physically hungry (1).
Emotional eating is also associated with eating past fullness, so it can leave you feeling overly stuffed and uncomfortable afterwards (1). You may also feel guilt or shame after an emotional eating episode, which could increase stress (1).
Some of the most common emotional eating triggers include (1, 2):
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Boredom
- Loneliness
- Anger or frustration
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
- Celebration or using food as a reward
Food can offer a quick distraction or temporary sense of relief, comfort, or excitement, but a sleeve of cookies or a bagful of pretzels won’t truly solve underlying problems (1). So, while it’s natural and common to eat for reasons other than physical hunger at times, it’s helpful to learn other coping strategies, so you can address what’s bothering you (1).
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Why We Eat When We’re Stressed
Stress can affect your body—and your appetite—in ways that may increase the likelihood of emotional eating (4). Here’s how.
Cortisol cranks up cravings
“When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol, a hormone that may increase appetite, particularly for comfort foods that are high in sugar, starch, and fat, which some people find soothing,” says Katherine Basbaum, a registered dietitian at MyFitnessPal (4).
She explains that while there are strategies you can use to help control this stress response, it’s important to remember that it’s not your fault or a result of low self-control or willpower (4).
Poor sleep hijacks hunger cues
If stress is interfering with your sleep, it may also disrupt the hormones that help regulate appetite (5). Even a night or two of bad sleep (anything less than seven hours) may make it harder to manage your appetite, which can contribute to stress eating and overeating (6).
Emotional eating can be learned
Think back to being a kid: Did you get a treat after a flu shot or a cookie when you were upset? Over time, experiences like these may have shaped how you use food to find comfort (2). Over time, your brain may start to associate eating with stress relief, reinforcing the pattern (2). This can create a loop: Feel stress (or another emotion), eat something, feel temporarily better (7).
The relief can feel real—but it’s usually short-lived
Comfort foods may offer a brief distraction from emotional discomfort or give you a temporary dopamine boost. But they don’t address the underlying issue—and may leave you feeling worse afterward (4).
Is Emotional Eating Really a Problem?
Food is tied to emotion in all kinds of ways. Think: birthday cake, holiday meals, or your favorite comfort dish when you’re feeling under the weather. Eating for emotional reasons now and then is common, so it’s not something to feel bad or overly worried about.
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