Emotional Eating

Eating from boredom, stress, trauma or emotional distress are all example of “emotional eating.” However, I take a somewhat alternative view of emotional eating. A surprising amount of people are self describing themselves emotional eaters, but once I start working with them, its evident that were simply under eating protein and fiber and assuming they were emotional eaters. Instead they were just hungry at a deep level! The main intervention at this point is make sure they are eating adequate protein first. (To self check, track all the food you eat in a day in MyFitnessPal or MyNetDiary or similar tracking apps. Make sure to weigh all food before eating to ensure accuracy. If you are eating less 100g protein per day, you are not emotionally eating you are just un-satiated.)

It’s far more rare that I come across someone who truly fits the description of an emotional eater. They exist, but I would say 95% of people are simply under eating, or not eating adequate protein. For the 5% who truly are emotional eaters, it requires not just a dietitian, but also a knowledgable therapist to tackle the psychological aspect and how to distinguish hunger/eating queues from a stress response. You can address the foundations of proper eating with a Dietitian, but just know that this may also require a therapist to work on tools to manage your stess/ptsd/emotions.

Furthermore, if you are part of the 5% of true emotional eaters, and have been working with a dietitian and therapist, this may also be appropriate to introduce a GLP-1. Make sure to work with a Dietitian first! Most people are over dosed on GLP-1s and are using them prior to working on diet. As long as a proper diet is in place, most people only need a micro-dose to gain the desired outcome from GLP-1 therapy.

If you would like an individualized assessment of proper diet, and assess your level of emotional eating, click here. For insurance-based appts click here.