What is emotional eating? A Mumbai-based lifestyle coach explains all you need to know

The photo is for representational purpose only

As Mumbai embarks on another season of working from home amid fresh restrictions, the risks of greater anxiety and stress - and with it, emotional bingeing - have returned.

Last year, in anticipation of the lockdown, people across the world had begun panic-buying and hoarding sugar-laden treats or deep-fried nibbles. An article in the The New York Times cited a global survey from the journal Obesity, which found "people around the world cutting back on physical activity and eating more junk foods" during the pandemic.

On the occasion of World Health Day, well-known lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho talks to mid-day.com on emotional eating and responsible ways to get around it. However, this article is not meant as a replacement for a medical practitioner's advice, and people must always consult their doctor first before initiating any changes to their diet or lifestyle. Excerpts from the interview:

Luke Coutinho

1) In simple terms, what is emotional eating?

Emotional eating means eating to feed emotions or as a result of emotions. The emotions driving this could be both positive or negative, like stress, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, boredom, happiness. Emotional hunger is very different from physical hunger but most people confuse the two.

2) Why do people turn to food in emotional moments?

Happiness is our natural state, which means our bodies will do anything it can to attain that state because all it cares for is survival. When we are under stress, we create a surge in cortisol and start to deplete the feel-good neurotransmitters in our body, like endorphin, serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin. Foods laden with sugar, salt, fat - when eaten during stress make our body release the same chemicals making us feel good.

People misinterpret this as ‘comfort food'. The fact, however, is that exercise, lovemaking, sleep, a hug, the meditation release the same chemicals too, but we often fail to adopt these healthier ways and choose negative behaviours instead.

Secondly, stress amplifies the reward centre of our brain - which is why we feel extremely good when we eat an ice-cream on days, we feel low. Our brain, then saves this feeling like a memory and reminds us to reach out for something sugary every time we feel this way.

Finally, stress cuts off the oxygen supply to our brain, lessening our ability to make wise decisions and choices towards food. With stress comes lack of sleep, fatigue, grogginess making it easier for us to reach out for quick fixes like sugar, salt, caffeine, alcohol. Chronic stress is also known to cause gut dysbiosis, meaning an imbalance in the good and bad microbes in our gut. More the bad microbes, more our body craves for sugar - as these bad bacteria need sugar as fuel to survive. So unexplained cravings could sometimes just mean bad bacteria overgrowth in your gut that are screaming for fuel.

3) How does one know that they are bingeing because of their emotions? Are there signs?

There are some peculiar signs of emotional eating that one could look out for:

1. The tendency to eat foods that are laden with sugar, salt and fat. Food choices are generally unhealthy, junk and processed

2. Eating is mostly followed with guilt, which throws one in a vicious cycle of binge - guilt - binge

3. A loss of control over portions, sensation of satiety which leads to overeating

4. Done mostly when alone and seldom in front of other people

4) Give us some tips to stop emotional eating.

It starts with healing our relationship with food. Know and understand the kind of relationship you have with it. What does food mean to you? Is it for nourishment or to feed your emotions? Food is nourishment. Eat it to power the trillion cells your body is made up of with real nutrition and energy. Respect food and its role to heal and nourish you.

Secondly, feel every emotion - good or bad. It is okay to have a bad day, just accept it, feel it, learn from it, reflect upon it and move into action mode. We often don't accept that we are having a bad day. Human beings run from the feeling of ‘suffering'. Hence, we reach out for foods to numb these emotions. To stop this, it's important to feel every emotion.

In extreme cases, it would be necessary to also seek the help of an emotional counsellor or food psychologist.

5) What is the difference between overeating and emotional eating?

Emotional eating often leads to overeating, however, not all cases of overeating are due to emotional health. Overeating can also happen due to true physical hunger, but in cases where the person is eating too fast, multitasking and not being mindful about it. It can also happen when someone has skipped meals or starved for a long time (for whatever reason). Even traits like greed and gluttony can lead to overeating.

6) Can you recommend some snacks or foods that one can nibble on without feeling guilty?

No amount of healthier replacements for food or snacks can help address emotional eating. Yes, it's always a good idea to choose healthier options over junk and processed, but it isn't addressing the issue at its core. Food cannot heal emotions, especially if you are looking at healing from the roots. Only emotions can heal emotions.
When we are anxious, we aren't in a state to digest and break down food, be it a salad or a pizza. Stress puts us in a state of sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), which causes a complete shutdown on all digestive processes, because our body gets too busy trying to cope with the stressor. Hence, it's a bad idea to eat when anxious.

Instead, do things that can calm you down and put you in a state of the parasympathetic nervous system, aka rest and digest. The simplest way to do that is taking 3-4 deep ab-dominal breaths. It quickly shifts puts us in a state of equilibrium.