For the last eight years, I’ve seen several personal training clients struggle with emotional eating and losing weight. Emotional eating is not something out of the ordinary. Research has shown that thousands of Americans struggle each day with disorder and often have trouble with losing weight loss. As a matter of fact, 38% of adults say they have overeaten or eaten unhealthy foods in the past month because of stress (3).
Emotional eating is defined as overeating that is induced by negative affect and/or distress, and eating to satisfy any emotional needs rather than physical needs (1, 2). Emotional hunger is so strong people can easily mistake it for physical hunger. Compared to physical hunger, emotional hunger comes on suddenly and intensely (8). It is an overwhelming feeling that demands instant satisfaction. Food emotional hunger demands are high calorie comfort food such as foods high in sugar and fat (9, 11).
infographic by: lucasjamespersonaltraining.com
