Tag Archives: emotional eating

Are you a victim of the Stew & Chew?

Posted in disordered eating, mindful eating by

When it comes to our needs as humans, food only solves one need.  Food solves our need for energy to get through the day; and satisfies our hunger just a few hours.

What food does not remedy is our feelings of loneliness, anger, hurt, pain, bitterness, boredom, hopelessness, or apathy.  No food cannot meet our needs emotionally, relationally, or spiritually.  Yet, at one time or another, many of us find ourselves victims of looking to food as a coping mechanism for the hardships of life.

Have you ever gotten into an argument with someone and then found yourself going to the pantry? Also known as the stew and chew! You know you’ve done it–we all have.

Have you ever gotten bored during work or a TV show and went to make a snack?

Have you ever felt alone and found yourself eating to fill your time?

If you answered yes, you have found yourself victim to emotional eating or eating for reasons other than hunger.  The problem is that food does not solve the reasons that we start eating in the first place.  In fact, I would venture to say that emotional eating adds to the pain and stress in our lives.

So what is our plan of attack against emotional eating?

1) Mindfullness: Before you begin eating, check in with your hunger and emotions.  Identify whether you are physically hungry or not.  If you are, then eat!  If you are not…

2) Find another way to cope apart from food: try journaling, talking to someone about what is wrong, taking a walk to let off steam, or doing something nice for yourself.  Remind yourself that eating for emotional reasons will not solve your problems and will only add to the unpleasant feelings.

Nuturing yourself mindfully is a marathon not a sprint.  Be compassionate toward yourself-nobody gets anywhere by being mean to themselves.  Learn your emotional reactions that lead you to “chewing” and find more healthful ways to cope. So, think about it…  What do you do with your emotions? Do you find ways to cope with them apart from food? Or are you a victim of the stew and chew?

Thanks to Janet Zimmerman, a University of Memphis Nutrition Student and Schilling Nutrition Therapy, LLC Intern, for another great post! You can follow Janet on Twitter as well at http://twitter.com/JanetZimmerman