Emotional eating is eating large quantities of food which are usually ‘comfort’ or ‘junk’ foods. Instead of responding to the appetites, people eat in response to their emotions.  Emotional eating is eating to make you feel good. There is guilt for overeating and weight gain after the emotional eating. Emotional eaters are unable to control their eating. 

How to identify eating triggers?

The triggers fall into these categories:

Emotional eating: Eating in response to emotions like happiness, sadness, boredom, depression, and anger.

Thoughts: Making excuses for eating 

Physiological: Eating in response to physical cues. 

Social: Eating when being with other people or during social occasions.

Situational: Eating because there is an opportunity. 

How to deal with emotional eating? 

 By the time you have figured out the pattern of emotional eating, it would have become a habit. 

These are some of the ways to deal with emotional eating: 

• Maintain a food dairy and write down what all you eat throughout the day. It will help you identify your eating patterns.

• Keep the junk away from your kitchen. In this way there is no binge eating. 

• Take a walk or talk to a friend when you have a craving to eat. 

• Do something productive like laundry, wash the car, cleaning the house. 

• Play games like cards, board games, badminton. 

• Choose healthier foods than the junk and unhealthy foods. 

You can control your eating habits if you can manage your emotions. If you are not able to manage your emotional eating, try to take help from a professional.