How to Stop Snacking (at night) with Meredith Ries
Emotional eating is a complex and often misunderstood aspect of our relationship with food. In a recent podcast episode of Sleep Like a Boss, I had the pleasure to welcome Meredith Ries to have a candid conversation about the intricacies of emotional eating, stress, and the impact on our sleep and overall well-being.
Meredith is a therapist and emotional eating coach with 16 years of experience in emotional balance, food relationships, and holistic health. Through her 15 years of being a therapist and working in the health community, she continued to notice a theme: emotions and eating habits were connected deeply and blocked her clients from reaching their health goals. She is passionate about empowering professional women to overcome emotional eating, lose weight, and gain unshakable confidence.
Understanding Emotional Eating
Emotional eating often stems from a variety of factors, including stress, lack of control, and the need for immediate relief. In our conversation, Meredith emphasizes the importance of recognizing emotional triggers and being curious about the patterns that lead to certain food choices. By understanding the 'why' behind our eating habits, we can begin to address the root causes of emotional eating.
Meredith ties the origins of disordered eating to childhood experiences, emphasizing the influence of attachment figures. Parents, grandparents, and other influential individuals inadvertently shape a child's perception of food, creating lasting patterns that carry into adulthood. Unraveling these patterns becomes crucial for understanding the roots of emotional eating. On top of that, we can’t ignore the impact of cultural expectations and media influence on women's body image. From the fat-free era to social media's unrealistic standards, the pressure to conform to certain ideals infiltrates every aspect of life. These expectations, coupled with societal norms, contribute to the development of disordered eating habits.
Also, many of us turn to food as a coping mechanism because we were never taught healthy emotional regulation. The cycle begins in childhood, where our emotional discomfort is alleviated with food, leading to automatic and reactive responses in adulthood
Stress and Emotional Eating
Stress plays a significant role in emotional eating, creating a whirlwind of emotions and a sense of chaos. Stress can impact our ability to make mindful food choices so acknowledging stressors and finding alternative ways to manage them can significantly contribute to breaking the cycle of emotional eating.
As you can tell, stress plays a big part in emotional eating creating a complex interplay of emotions:
Loss of Control and Anxiety: Stress often manifests as a feeling of losing control, creating a sense of anxiety and urgency. This can be described as the whirlwind effect of standing in the middle of chaos, where we feel pressured to gain control over everything happening around us. This internal struggle with control sets the stage for seeking immediate relief, and for many of us, that relief comes in the form of food.
Immediate Relief and Emotional Response: In times of stress, the body and mind seek immediate solutions to alleviate the overwhelming emotions. Stress is not just a psychological state; it's a physical experience, often leading to an urgent need for relief. Food becomes a readily available source of comfort, offering a quick escape from the whirlwind of emotions.
Lack of Control and Emotional Eating: The concept of stress as a lack of control is crucial in understanding emotional eating patterns. Anxiety and stress create a tornado-like environment, pushing us to find solace in something we can control – our food choices. The need for control becomes intertwined with the act of eating, providing a temporary escape from the chaos.
“ Sleep deprivation affects the body’s stress response systems, leading to an increased release of stress hormones like cortisol. ”
Emotional Eating and Sleep
Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating emotions, managing stress, and maintaining overall well-being. When examining the relationship between emotional eating and sleep, several key aspects come into play:
Stress and Sleep Deprivation: Lack of sleep can contribute to heightened stress levels. Sleep deprivation affects the body's stress response systems, leading to an increased release of stress hormones like cortisol. Elevated stress levels, in turn, can trigger emotional eating as a coping mechanism, providing a temporary escape from the emotional strain.
Impact on Hormones: Sleep influences hormones that regulate hunger and satiety, such as ghrelin and leptin. Sleep deprivation can disrupt the balance of these hormones, leading to an increase in hunger and a decrease in feelings of fullness. This hormonal imbalance may contribute to overeating, especially of comfort foods, as the body seeks to compensate for the lack of energy caused by insufficient sleep.
Craving for Comfort Foods: Emotional eating is often associated with cravings for high-calorie, sugary, or processed comfort foods. Sleep deprivation can enhance the brain's response to these types of foods, making them more appealing. The desire for instant gratification and energy boost associated with such foods becomes a tempting solution during periods of tiredness and emotional stress.
Coping Mechanism: Both emotional eating and sleep deprivation can be linked to a desire for emotional regulation and stress relief. Some of us may turn to food as a coping mechanism when feeling fatigued or emotionally overwhelmed due to lack of sleep. The soothing effect of certain foods may temporarily alleviate negative emotions, creating a cycle of dependence on emotional eating.
Nighttime Eating Patterns: Sleep disruption can impact nighttime eating patterns. Those of us who are experiencing difficulty falling asleep or waking up during the night may be more prone to engage in late-night snacking. This behavior is often driven by a combination of physiological and emotional factors, further intertwining sleep quality and emotional eating habits.
Mood Regulation: Adequate sleep is crucial for maintaining emotional resilience and regulating mood. When sleep is compromised, we may experience increased irritability, anxiety, or feelings of depression. Emotional eating can emerge as an attempt to regulate these negative emotions and find a sense of comfort.
How to Break Free from Emotional Eating
To break the cycle of emotional eating, it's essential to develop coping skills and self-care practices. By identifying stressors and implementing healthier ways to navigate them, we can reduce the reliance on food as a coping mechanism.
Meredith offers practical tips for building healthier habits, starting with self-awareness. By staying curious about our patterns and emotions, we can gradually shift our focus from judgment to understanding. Incorporating self-care practices, such as proper sleep, hydration, and regular meals, can contribute to overall well-being and help manage stress.
Also, many of us lose touch with our natural hunger cues over time, often due to societal pressures and diet culture. Rebuilding trust with these cues involves tuning into the body's signals and practicing mindful eating. Reconnect with your hunger cues and eat enough to satisfy the body's needs
“Understanding the ‘why’ behind emotional eating is a crucial step in breaking free from its grip. ”
Meredith also brings up the concept of "revenge bedtime procrastination" highlighting the tendency to indulge in unhealthy habits, such as late-night snacking, as a form of reward or escape. Exploring the reasons behind these habits and finding alternative coping mechanisms, will help you develop balanced and intentional approach to food choice
Again, be curious about your emotional eating patterns and build awareness around the emotions that trigger unhealthy food choices. Understanding the 'why' behind emotional eating is a crucial step in breaking free from its grip. Mindful choices, rooted in self-awareness, can help disrupt the automatic response to stress and foster healthier coping mechanisms.
If you want to learn more about Meredith or connect with her, make sure you visit her website for more info and follow her on Instagram
