Holiday Stress and Emotional Eating: How to Enjoy the Season Without Overindulging

Now that Halloween has passed, the countdown is on to the holiday season! While these last few weeks of the year are filled with so many joyful moments and wonderful family gatherings, this is also a time when many of us experience the most stress. 

The toll of hosting family, gift shopping, school events, parties, travel all while surrounded by a never ending stream of cookies, desserts, drinks and other temptations can lead to something we all struggle with: emotional eating and overeating.  

And while food will always be part of our most treasured celebrations, there are ways to balance the enjoyment of your favorite treats without derailing your health.


What is Emotional Eating & Why Do We Do It?

Emotional eating is defined by increased food consumption in response to emotions, specifically when that consumption is used to regulate the emotion or emotions. 

Triggers to emotional eating vary from person to person, but those most often cited are stress, sadness, shame and boredom. Additionally, it’s not only negative emotions that can lead to overeating. Positive emotions and celebrations can also lead to emotional eating and especially overeating. In fact, a systematic review of several research studies shows that participants eat more in response to general positive emotions than general negative ones. Part of this may be due to the disassociation of the eating experience in these situations - meaning we are less mindful of how much we are eating when we’re in the presence of others – hello Thanksgiving dessert spread!

Why do we overeat as a response to our emotions? 

First, it’s important to recognize that from a biological perspective, this all makes a lot of sense. Life can be incredibly stressful at times, and eating is a parasympathetic activity, or part of the “rest and digest” branch of the nervous system. So reaching for food as a way to self-soothe and cope with stress is something we are inherently wired to do. 

Additionally, in today’s environment when food - and often unhealthy choices - are always in abundance, it’s incredibly easy to use it as a distraction from the original source of stress. We naturally want to embrace pleasure and reduce pain, so rather than withstand the discomfort of a stressful situation, we often turn to food as a convenient distraction. 

Lastly, food can also increase positive emotions. Either because we enjoy the taste or because we enjoy the feeling of having something that’s extra indulgent, or typically “off limits”. 

However, while emotional eating is a normal reaction to challenging emotions, this doesn’t mean the behavior can’t be changed. Below are five strategies to help you manage stress and other emotions (the good and the bad) without negatively impacting your health. 

Five Emotional Eating Strategies

1. Allow For Stillness & Discomfort

Find moments in your day, however brief, to embrace stillness. This can look like a 10 minute walk outside, 3 deep breaths, meditation, calling a friend, or whatever feels good to you in the moment. 

Give yourself the space to feel what needs to be felt in order to process your emotions. When we keep our stress and feelings bottled up, that internal pressure will eventually need to be released. Allowing for these moments of stillness and discomfort can help release some of that internal pressure in a more positive way without relying on food. This will in turn help you not only manage stress, but increase your resilience to it. 

2. Utilize the STOPP Method

When you feel the desire to eat in response to an emotion, utilize the STOPP method to bring awareness to the source of the stress and identify positive coping mechanisms. It can be helpful to keep a running list of “What Do I Really Need?” items - ideas you can turn to in moments of stress, sadness, boredom, excitement that don’t involve food. 

• Stop - Pause For a Moment

• Take 3 Intentional Breaths

• Observe - Ask yourself what thoughts are going on? Where is the focus of your attention? What are you reacting to? What sensations do you notice in your body?

• Perspective - What’s the bigger picture? What’s another way of looking at this situation? Is this thought a fact or an opinion? How important is this? How important will this be in 6 months?

• Proceed - What’s the best thing for me to do right now? For others? What can I do that aligns with my values?

3. Avoid Restrictive Dieting

When a food, or a category of foods, is completely off limits, it can increase our desire for it. In fact, research shows that those with a high dietary restraint (more foods that are “off limits”) have more of a desire to eat when asked to accept or suppress emotions.*  

Instead, try adopting a more flexible and mindful approach. This can look like allowing yourself to have the foods you truly love more frequently, but in moderation, while truly being present to the experience. Or, can you make another version of this food that’s more nutritious but still feels enjoyable? Or, perhaps you need to eat more of this food in the short term so that you take the “off limits” power away from it. 

4. Find Joy Outside of Food

When was the last time you did something just for the sheer joy of it? 

As adults, our careers, family life and other responsibilities often push aside our own joy. However, when we ignore our own need for joy, we can subconsciously seek it in other ways. This could be turning to food, alcohol or even scrolling on our phones. These short-term pleasures provide a brief dopamine hit that quickly dissipates, followed by feelings of guilt or regret. 

Make space for the true pleasures that light you up in the moment and after, and watch your cravings subside. 

5. Strengthen Your Foundational Habits

Foundational habits are the lifestyle habits you do on a daily basis that make you feel your best. These vary from person to person but could include things such as prioritizing protein and fiber-rich meals, a regular exercise schedule, an evening wind-down routine, amongst other things. 

Work on identifying and solidifying the habits most important to you one at a time. Once these are in place, you will feel safer around food. You can indulge at the occasional meal because your foundation is in place 80 - 90% of the time and you know you’ll go back to that at the next opportunity. 

Stress, celebrations, and emotions both positive and negative are all part of a life fully lived.  We encourage you to use the above strategies to practice navigating these moments with more ease, less guilt and in a way that keeps your health and wellbeing intact. Your present and future self will thank you! Please reach out to Dr. Katie Wellness Insights to book an appointment with Coach Natalie, our board certified Health and Wellness Coach.

This blog and website do not provide medical advice. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and should not be relied on to make decisions about your health. Always check with your own healthcare provider before taking a new supplement and before making any significant diet, lifestyle, exercise or other changes. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read on this site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or dial 911.

Sources:
Restrictive Eating
*Greeno & Wing, 1994; Polivy, Herman, & McFarlane, 1994; Svaldi et al., 2012
Journal of Health Psychology: A Systematic Review of the Association Between Emotions and Eating Behaviour in Normal and Overweight Adult Populations
Tracey J Devonport, Wendy Nicholls and Christopher Fullerton, 2017