Emotional Eating vs Binge Eating

 

When does indulging in your favorite snack cross the line from comfort to concern?  

The difference between emotional eating and binge eating lies mainly in how much food you consume. But other key features may help you distinguish between the two and put an end to unhealthy snacking.  

 

Emotional Eating 

Stress manifests in different ways, but most of us can relate to the concept of emotional eating. Ever catch yourself wallowing in a container full of ice cream after a particularly stressful day? Emotional eating or stress eating is when you consume food not out of hunger but out of anxiety, frustration, or sadness. For some, emotional eating is triggered by a particularly traumatic event. But for others, it can just be a habitual reaction to financial or emotional turbulence. 

But don’t worry- emotional eating is somewhat normal and, in some cases, better for your mental health, depending on how you handle it. 

In fact, emotional eating can be great for relieving stress with THE RIGHT FOODS, provided it doesn’t get too out of hand. Eating puts our body into a state of relaxation by activating the parasympathetic nerves. Indulging in and savoring the flavors of food feels good and can lift our moods instantly.  

When emotional eating no longer feels good

But when emotional eating no longer relieves but rather contributes to stress, it can get out of hand. 

At a point, emotional eating gives way to self-loathing as we feel ashamed of our indulgence. We want to hide our “binging” episodes, but because of a lack of other emotional coping mechanisms, they spiral out of our control. 

To prevent emotional eating from advancing to the next stage, we need to tackle the problem at its roots: stress, frustration, and other emotional ruts.   

Take up meditation or yoga to simultaneously tackle stress and improve your self-discipline. Engage in a stress-free activity like painting or gardening.  Take plenty of time to distance yourself from whatever may be causing your stress – whether that is work, a stressful home environment, or relationship woes. 

To make sure your stress eating never borders on binge eating, keep a food journal. Records of your day-to-day eating choices will help prevent you from putting on unwanted pounds and improve your overall mindfulness when it comes to consumption. 

And finally, to manage your emotional eating in a far healthier way, look for healthy alternatives to your favorite go-to snacks, such as oven-baked sweet potato fries instead of the regular deep-fried kind or carrot sticks and hummus instead of chips.  

 

Binge Eating 

Binge eating, unlike stress eating, is considered by nutritionists as a potentially severe eating disorder. Characterized by constant overconsumption, BED (Binge Eating Disorder) involves consuming huge quantities of food in a relatively short span of time. It’s not just your average bloated belly after a heavy dinner, but a constant overeating that leaves the body uncomfortable and unhealthy. 

The transition from emotional eating to binge eating occurs when you lose your sense of control. You move from being conscious of your reason for eating and how much you eat to eating without any control over intake. It often leads to guilty eating, which is worse for your mental health and stress levels as well. This leads to a vicious cycle: your stress turns into binge eating, and your binge eating fuels your stress. \

Feeling shame

What’s worse is that the guilt of binge eating (which usually occurs when alone) traps us in a “shame cage”- we don’t want to reach out to friends or family for fear of revealing ourselves. 

But BED is too serious of a condition to keep under wraps. Instead, it is vital to talk to someone if you are experiencing any one of its symptoms. Your attitude toward your body image, your history with other mental health complications, and your eating habits, in general, could be contributing to BED.  

Total recovery from binge eating is absolutely possible. It doesn’t need to take over your life. To start your healing process, I encourage you to keep a food journal to track your habits to work out the emotional triggers that affect your binge eating and the thoughts and feelings you have while on a binge episode. This gives you amazing insights into the WHY of your situation so that you can easily manage the HOW of getting out of it.  

Remember to always embrace and celebrate your body as you embark on your personal journey. It’s important to prioritize self-love and body positivity every step of the way.  

To help you along the path, I’m offering a complimentary Food & Mood Journal. This journal can be a valuable tool in providing guidance and support as you navigate your relationship with food and emotions. It’s designed to help you cultivate a healthy mindset and develop a positive connection between what you eat and how it makes you feel. 

 Click HERE to download your free Food & Mood Journal.  

 

References used:  

https://www.medicinenet.com/binge_eating_disorder_pictures_slideshow/article.htm 

https://www.medainc.org/binge-eating-vs-emotional-eating-whats-the-difference/ 

https://www.medicinenet.com/emotional_eating/article.htm#what_is_the_prognosis_of_emotional_eating