[POD] 8:12:25. The Gift of Emotional Eating FINAL
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[00:00:00] Hello. Hello. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm your host, Elizabeth Dahl. If you are new here, welcome. If you've been listening for a while, I am so grateful that you are here. And today we are going to be talking about the gift of emotional eating. I absolutely believe. It's a gift and we're gonna be talking all about it.
Before we jump into the episode, though, I know that so many women struggle with emotional eating, and I created a full resource for you to help you navigate the ins and outs of emotional eating, how to stop it in the moment, how to prevent it from happening, and. All of the in between. It's called the Emotional Eating Toolkit.
And I have a full download for you to learn about the three steps, um, that we use to reset when food [00:01:00] feels like. The only answer, I'm going to teach you how to stop emotional eating before it starts. How to nourish your body in a way that's going to prevent emotional eating episodes. Um, I'm also going to teach you all about how to be more compassionate with yourself when.
Things feel out of control, or when you do struggle with emotional eating as well as a full reset to help you meet your body's needs, it it's a complete toolkit for you to have at your, for your use at your disposal. I don't know if that's the right word, um, to be able to use when you need. Support, and I'm actually sharing a little bit in the episode today about how even as a coach, I teach this stuff and I found myself in a place where I needed that support and I, and I went to my tool, my toolkit, um, and utilize that support.
So that's there for you. I'm going to leave a link in the. Description of this podcast [00:02:00] episode, you can go, um, learn more about the toolkit. The cool thing is I've also got some really cool bonuses to go with it that's gonna help you, um, stop cravings, stop self sabotage, and help support a better body image.
So that is really just like a full picture support and toolkit for you to use to overcome. Emotional eating that leads to shame and guilt and that cycle, right? That cycle that you feel stuck in, that you can't overcome that. I'm starting over all the time. I'll start tomorrow. I'll start Monday because I screwed up.
I might as well just keep going. Anyway, all those things, if that's you, you need this toolkit, so make sure to grab it. Okay, before we jump in, I have one more announcement I'm really excited about. Um. I am reopening the doors to my food freedom program. It has been a couple years since I have, um, run a round.
But if you are someone that is struggling with your relationship with your body, [00:03:00] your relationship with food, you're on that diet hamster wheel, you're struggling. Guilt and shame and all of the above. Um, this is going to be for you as well, so I'll be sharing more throughout the next episodes and on Instagram and in email.
Make sure you're, um, all over there. But, um, I'll be sharing more about that. But if you wanna get yourself on the wait list, you can also do that with the link in the show notes as well. So thank you for letting me share those things with you. I'm excited for. For what's to come and the support that you need and the healing that you're going to get as we talk about these things and as we work through them together.
So I'm excited to jump into this episode. Let's talk about the gift of emotional eating.
Welcome to the Woman of Wellness Podcast, a show dedicated to empowering you to make peace with food, embrace your body, and enjoy the journey to lasting health and wellness. I'm your host, Elizabeth Dahl, a certified exercise. [00:04:00] Physiologist and women's nutrition and behavior coach passionate about helping you build sustainable habits, achieve your goals, and create a lifetime of health without dieting or restriction.
And because women's health is such a multifaceted journey alongside sharing my expertise, I'm bringing you conversations with leading women's health experts to explore the many dimensions of wellness from nutrition and weight loss. To mental health hormones and self-care will uncover the tools and strategies you need to create a life of health and balance.
To the woman who's tired of the dieting rollercoaster, who feels disconnected from her body or overwhelmed by food and fitness rules, this is your invitation to make a change to the woman who's ready to achieve. Food freedom, lose weight in a way that feels good and discover the true meaning of health.
You are in the right place. It's time to ditch the guilt and shame of diet, culture, and embrace a new path to wellness. My friend, you are [00:05:00] already a woman of wellness. Your worth is not defined by a number on the scale. You deserve to show up in love for your body today and every day. Join me each week for inspiring conversations, expert insights and practical strategies to help you discover what your body truly needs.
It's time to reject the lie that help and weight loss have to be hard, painful, or miserable. I'm ready to link arms with you and experience the joy of wellness together. It is time for a story. A few months ago, I was struggling, okay, here's the deal. I am. I'm a coach, I'm a health coach, I am a nutrition coach.
I am a behavior change coach. I have a lot of training. I do a lot of, um, coaching, um, on this topic. And oddly enough, ironically enough, I was in a little bit of a cycle [00:06:00] myself. And I had a moment where I was like, uh, I should not be doing this. I know better. Do we ever have that? Do you ever have the I know better.
I should be better. I've done this before. Situation. Well, the truth is, is I was still struggling and I was finding myself just like. Overeating a little bit. I mean, not crazy. You know, I've, I've really healed from, um, the depths of my struggles with food and just like constantly overeating and starting over and all of that.
But I found myself like. Kind of sneaking into that a little bit where it was just like, oh, there's so much going on. I'm so exhausted, and I would just like go to food in the evening. Um, and then you'd like, wanna fix it the next day and you'd wanna start over and then you'd end up, you know, having a long day and, and a busy day.
And I. I caught myself in this cycle and I was like, hold on. This is what I teach women. [00:07:00] Right? And And that's the first thing is like becoming aware of it because it can be so easy to kind of. F it can be really easy to kind of get back into it, um, because life is stressful and overwhelming and sometimes needs can't get met and all of that.
And so it can be really easy to to slide back in, but it's really important to become aware of it, to pay attention to it. And that's, that's something that I have worked really hard on over the years to improve and, um, have as part of my life is an awareness a, a recognizing, hey, like this isn't going the way I want it to.
I'm going to turn it around quickly. Right? When we're stuck in the spiral, it's really hard to turn it around quickly. Um, and so it takes, you know, sometimes it's like days, weeks, months, years of just like that cycle. And I have healed my relationship with food and so. It doesn't mean that I don't have, it doesn't mean I have a perfect relationship with food.
I'm not gonna have [00:08:00] ups and downs, but I'm able to essentially recover quicker, right? I'm able to see what's going on and to what I tell my, um, students and my clients is like spiral up from there. So. I, you know, said, okay, this isn't going the direction that I want it to. And I remembered my tools. And this is a little plug for the emotional eating toolkit, um, that I have for you because it has all the tools in there that you need.
If you find yourself in this spiral or creeping into that or life gets out of control and you start turning to food, um, I use those tools and as soon as I use those tools, I was able to change and. The episodes and, and the, and the cycle, you know, quickly halted and went back to, you know, regular because I was able to utilize those tools, um, to help support my body.
And I'm gonna talk about what this, that looks like in the episode, [00:09:00] but ultimately what I want this episode to leave you with is that emotional eating is a gift. The problem is, is we often see it as something that is bad or something that we shouldn't do. Right. Ah, I overate because I was stressed. Right?
Or all these things and we sort of, sort of, we try to avoid it and one of the strategies that we use to deal with emotional eating is typically to restrict more or to apply more rules. Okay? I just won't eat after seven because that's my binge time. Right. Or, um, I just won't have any treats because I always binge on the treats.
So if I, if I have a rule that I can't have treats, then I just won't eat them. But we all know how this goes. We all know how this goes because we like implement these rules and then at some point we break the rules, whether we're like rebelling or we're just like, [00:10:00] I can't do this anymore. And we repeat that cycle over and over again.
And so. Our mindset goes to like, emotional eating is bad. I need to avoid it. But I'm here to suggest we need to, we need to tweak that mindset. We need to shift it. Maybe do a 180 here. Is that one? 180. Yeah. Um, and look at it as an opportunity. Okay. Having an emotional eating episode is not bad. As long as you recognize that A, you have the tools to know what to do about it, okay?
And that's what we're teaching you, um, and b, that you are capable of, of changing that cycle. That you can change it because you can become aware of it and know that it's an opportunity, right? Instead of seeing it as a bad thing where it's like, I've gotta restrict more so that I avoid more, so that I don't do those things.
We can look [00:11:00] at it as, oh, this happened. This is an opportunity to dig a little bit deeper to see what's actually going on. And I'm gonna share a little bit more of like what, how that went with my story. Kind of at the end, but I, I want to kind of explore why. We turn to food, um, to deal with our emotions.
Why? Why is emotional eating a thing? Why is it something we feel like we need to fix? A lot of people suggest that, or, or say, or maybe we think that emotional eating is a response to feeling something, right? So I'm sad I'm going to go eat, but I wanna shift your mindset today. I believe that emotional eating is actually a, a way to feel.
Okay? So when we engage in emotional eating, it's [00:12:00] because we want to feel. A certain way, and we use food to try to experience that feeling. And the truth is, is that the food works for a minute. Why does it work? Well, food is essentially a neurotransmitter. It, it releases neurotransmitters. Okay, so it releases dopamine.
So if you have a food high in sugar or fat or salt, it can activate that brain's reward system by stimulating that dopamine release. And that's a neurotransmitter that's linked to pleasure and motivation. So there's that temporary like feel good sensation, which is why we rarely, I don't think I ever have, but maybe you have.
I'm gonna say very rarely would we ever turn to like. Fruits and vegetables or carrots or like the quote, healthy foods when we're dealing with emotions because [00:13:00] it's not giving us that dopamine. It's the foods that are high in, in, um. You know that those neurotransmitters basically like the sugars, the fats, the salts.
Okay. Um, another neurotransmitter released serotonin. Certain foods can promote production of serotonin, which helps with mood, sleep, and appetite. So this can also lead to feelings of calmness and wellbeing. So are you seeing here that if we're eating something. We want to feel something. So maybe you're going for sugars, fat salts, right?
Because you want to feel good. Maybe you need some, like more energy or something. Um, or like, you know, you want to feel good, you're sad or you're struggling with something and so it stimulates that. Or, um, maybe you're tired or you just wanna relax. Well, certain foods also kind of contribute to this [00:14:00] calmness.
Okay. Um, they also, you know, include endorphins. If you have favorite foods, it increases your endorphin levels. It's, it's kind of like a mood changer. Um, other things that are associated with food and mood is, you know. Comfort and nostalgia. So comfort foods such as those with like memories or traditions can bring, um, feelings of like happiness or reduce loneliness or nostalgia, right?
Like those kinds of feelings. It might even bring a sense of connection. The sharing of the meals. Comfort foods can strengthen those bonds. I mean, food is very social and it can bring that, you know, sensation of belonging. Um, and so I. You're not crazy if you're turning to these foods to feel, because we want to feel happy, calm, you know, all of [00:15:00] those things.
And so what happens is, is these foods do release that in in the moment, but what we know about some of these foods is that they are short-lived and long term. They don't support like the sustaining of those feelings, so. When we're just going for the quick carbohydrates, they give us that rush in the moment, but then they don't sustain us.
And it's almost like we feel like we need more of a rush and we, so we, so we kind of create that almost that addiction. Right. That's the only way I like to call it more of a habit loop, where it's just like, this is what I've trained myself to feel is like when I feel this way, I eat this. So then it makes me feel this way.
And I repeat that loop even if it. It causes me to stay stuck in the loop of what I don't wanna be in. I wanna tell you [00:16:00] about a wellness company I personally use and love Wild Holistic. They're an herbal wellness company that makes clean, concentrated formulas for everyday wellness and life. These are simple blends that you can use consistently without having a cabinet full of bottles.
I actually started using them in the thick of winter because I wanted gentle daily support for my family. Gentle Guardian, one of their products became our go-to, and I'm actually convinced. It kept us healthy through the sniffle season. It's the first thing I reach for when I hear a sniffle and something that I keep in my body consistently for the aches, cramps, and those.
My body needs a little extra love days. I also love using the healing body. It's a synergistic herbal blend with. Think turmeric, ginger, holy basil, Rosemary with fulvic acid to round it out. I keep it on hand and reach for it when I want natural support for comfort and recovery. If you'd like to try what I'm using or try any of the other products, head to Wild Wholistic.
That's [00:17:00] WHO wholistic.com and use code Elizabeth Dahl at checkout. I'll make sure to drop all the links in the show notes as well as a reminder. That's wild holistic.com. Use code Elizabeth Dahl to checkout. So it makes it, I I just wanted to kind of answer the question of like, why, why does it work? Why does food make us feel so good?
Well, that makes sense. We've gotta look at the bigger picture here. Okay. Not only physiologically, so I. Physiologically, we need to make sure that we're getting the nutrients that we need and all of that. And when we do, we can balance those moods. Okay. But I'm gonna, we're talking about emotional eating here, so we're, we're going kind of the next step.
Um, and I wanna look at the big picture. If emotional eating is a way to feel, then that means you're experiencing a feeling or feelings that are disruptive or not desired of what you want to feel.[00:18:00]
So you have a, a dissonance between what's happening in your life and what you want to feel. And the cool thing about that is that opens up an invitation, okay? Having a stressful life, having a lot of things going on, feeling overwhelmed that. Can feel like a lot, but if you could look at it as an invitation to say, Hey, I need to look at what's going on here.
I need to go a little bit deeper. You are invited to then look at why you're wanting to feel based on what you're feeling. Because what it does is it ultimately allows us to reconnect with our bodies, and that's the gift that's. The [00:19:00] entire premise, I don't even know what the right word is for what we do around here, is that you are a woman of wellness who is capable of knowing and meeting the needs of her own body and supporting a healthy lifestyle according to the way you want to feel and to live, and it's within you because you are living your unique life in a unique body.
And what emotional eating allows us to do is to reconnect with our bodies and recognize when we are not supporting it in the way that it needs to be supported. So the truth is emotional eating essentially disappears. Yeah, I said it as soon as you start paying attention to and meeting your needs, that includes physiological needs.
That also includes emotional needs. [00:20:00] And we talk about that in the toolkit. Um, like how do we support our body's needs so that we get those needs met so that we don't, we're not feeling, um. A lack, right? We're we don't have to, we're not getting ourselves to a place where I want to feel a certain way because I already feel the way I want to feel.
We don't have to, I'm gonna repeat that. We don't have to find a way to feel the, the way we want to feel with food because we already feel that way. I feel satisfied, I feel fulfilled, I feel happy. Right? Then guess what? There's no need for food. Isn't that cool? So this is kind of where my story comes back into play is that, you know, as I was going through this, I realized some things I, and I didn't, I don't think I like saw it at the time because sometimes we want to be super superwomen and, and think [00:21:00] that we can do it all.
But the truth is, like I was trying to, um, navigate. Several changes, um, in our lives, and I kind of shared this on Instagram, um, already, but we're, we made the decision to kind of hybrid homeschool our kids this next year. And that came with a lot of decisions and a lot of research and a lot of things going on and a lot of trying to make some choice, you know, trying to make some decisions.
Um, my husband's work got. Significantly busier overnight, which is like, I'm so grateful for. And also, it, it kind of like, I, I wasn't prepared for it because I lost a lot of, um. Kind of the support that I had. And so then I had to start being like, okay, well I don't have help. Um, and I'm trying to work. And, you know, it, it, [00:22:00] we, we were kind of tag teaming a lot of things.
And now it's like, okay, he's unavailable, which is great, um, and a blessing and in what, what we were hoping for. But, um, but like also. It shifted the pattern that we had been in. And so I had to make some shifts, um, with work, and I had to, I had to, you know, really basically, you know, pause my client load for a minute.
Um. And just, just really focus in on like the next steps in our family life and what things are gonna look like. And I was trying to train for the Spartan race, um, and that was really tricky and I had a really hard toddler. She's still a little bit of a tricky toddler. You guys do. Do you remember if you've, if you've been a listener for a long time?
She was the most magical first year baby I've ever had. And then something switched and now we're in like full blown toddler. And while I love it so much, oh, it's the most exhausting [00:23:00] thing I've ever done. She is my most, I tell people, well, she's my most toddler, toddler. She runs away, she throws temper tantrums.
Like I just did not have kids that did that. So, um, I was also navigating like she was a full-time job. She would not let me put her down. She, you know, was not. Doing that. We had summer coming up, like just all these things were in in and all the kind of balancing acts that we had created were starting to crumble.
And I started to kind of turn to food because I like didn't know how else to handle it. And so, you know, taking that toolkit. And saying, okay, I have these tools, um, I have these tools to know what to do, and I'm going to evaluate, I'm going to look at things and I'm going to make some adjustments. Okay, I see where this isn't working.
I see where I'm not getting my needs met here and this, and as soon as I was able to, you know, evaluate. And take that invitation to say, okay, things are shifting. Things are changing. They're not the way that I need them to be to support my body. So I have [00:24:00] to shift some things around, which you may have to do, you may have to do some hard things.
You may have to say no to some things. You may have to adjust and shift things that are good for something that's better, maybe. Um, and that's okay. But as soon as I did that. I didn't need the food. It, it, it's, it wasn't a natural response anymore. It, it, it disrupted the habit loop. And that's what we want to disrupt that emotional eating habit loop, that cycle that you feel suck, stuck in.
So I want to invite you, um, to look at your current, to feel situations, right? What, what do you turn to food to feel? Are you feeling like you're, you know, is life overwhelming? So you're just wanting like, calm, um, from the chaos? Are you wanting to feel happy? Are you wanting to feel [00:25:00] fulfilled? And then we have to adjust and look at.
What's going on? So I want to remind you that emotional eating actually is a gift, and it's an invitation to reconnect with your body. And I want to suggest that you not try to escape from it next time it happens, but instead learn from it. Because remember I said at the beginning, a happy relationship with food isn't a perfect relationship with food, and it's definitely without, not without flaws.
Even as a coach, I found myself struggling. Um, but the, the, the relationship with food, a happy relationship with food is the ability to return to balance and normal quicker. We can't avoid life's [00:26:00] situations. But having that happen almost as an automatic habit loop, when we have the awareness to know what to do about it, then we can come in and tackle it because it's an opportunity, an ongoing opportunity to meet your body's needs.
So I hope that you'll look at it a little bit differently from now on. And. Look at it as an invitation, um, and not something to escape, because when we escape it, it just gets bigger and bigger, right? It still spirals, and that's what we want. We wanna help you, support you to feel good in your body, feel good about your body.
And this is one. Invitation to do so. So if you're like, where do I start? Or I don't really know what to do, we've got all [00:27:00] the tools in your emotional eating toolkit for you. If you're like, I just want something to have and to work on and to. Just like the resource that I have to use. Um, just like me, I went back to the tools that I had from the toolkit, um, to support me through, you know, adjusting things.
Um, I'd love, I'd love to have, uh, you to get that in your hands and support, um, you through that. So that's why I made it. Thank you so much for letting me share this episode with you today. It's been on my heart for a while and I, I really just, I wanted it to come out in a way that. That felt good and happy and different than the way the world teaches about emotional eating and, um, how to manage it and, and what the perspective is.
So thank you so much. I'll be back next week with another episode. [00:28:00] Okay, my friend, if you love the Woman of Wellness podcast, did you know that one of the biggest ways you can say thank you is by hitting that subscribe button and leaving a review? This helps the women that need this message have more of a chance of seeing it.
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