Emotional Eating: Understanding Its Role and Impact with Middleish
Eating is a response to how we're feeling, or maybe even how we want to feel in a certain situation. It's also a message that we get from advertising, from the food industry, from diet culture, from influencers, from your mom, from your dad, from you know we've been brought up to sort of believe that certain foods should impart certain emotions or certain eating behavior should impart certain emotions.
Ever wondered why you reach for that tub of ice cream after a rough day? In this episode of 'Middleish', Erin Green and Michael Gray tackle the often misunderstood topic of emotional eating. They argue that emotional eating isn't something to be shunned but understood. Rather than just 'stopping' it, they suggest that recognizing emotional eating as a natural response to our feelings can be a healthier approach.
Erin and Michael explore how food can influence our emotions and vice versa. They dive into the principles of intuitive eating, encouraging listeners to become more aware of their emotional ties to food. They also discuss the negative feelings, like guilt and shame, that often accompany emotional eating, and how identifying and naming these emotions can be a powerful tool in managing them.
The hosts highlight the importance of paying attention to our needs—whether it's rest, pleasure, or comfort—and how these needs can sometimes be mistakenly addressed through food. They emphasize that while it's common to seek immediate comfort in food, understanding the underlying emotions can lead to a healthier relationship with both food and our feelings.
If you've ever found yourself eating in response to stress, sadness, or even happiness, this episode offers valuable insights into why we do it and how we can manage it better. Tune in for a thoughtful discussion that might just change how you view your next snack.