Emotional Eating vs. Mindful Eating: 4 Critical Contrasts

Understanding the difference between mindful and emotional eating can reduce much of the stress and confusion around nutrition. Emotional eating often brings negative consequences, but mindful eating offers a simple and effective solution. This blog post will explore these concepts to help you make more informed and balanced food choices.

Jump to . . .

What is Mindful Eating

Mindful eating means being aware and present during meals. It involves eating based on hunger and fullness cues, taking time, and eating intentionally. You view food as fuel, savor the flavors, and understand that food is simply food, not a solution to other problems.

Benefits of mindful eating

• Improved digestion
• Better food choices
• Enhanced enjoyment of food

What is Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is when you eat in response to emotions rather than hunger. This can include stress eating, eating for pleasure rather than nutrition, eating out of sadness or boredom, and eating in response to a situation.

Common triggers

• Stress or anxiety
• Boredom
• Sadness

Negative impacts

• Weight gain
• Poor nutrition
• Cycle of guilt and overeating

Key Differences

Physical hunger vs. Emotional hunger 

Physical hunger and emotional hunger differ by the cues your body gives you.

• Hunger cues: signals from your body that indicate the need for food
  • physical cues: growling stomach, feeling lightheaded, low energy
  • other cues: irritability or difficulty concentrating
• Emotional cues: signals from your emotions prompting you to eat
  • emotional cues: stress, sadness, boredom, or anxiety
  • other cues: desire for comfort/pleasure, food as a reward, or using food to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or situations

Awareness vs. Distracted

• Mindful eating practices: slow eating, savoring flavors, smaller bites, appropriate portions
• Emotional eating habits: eating quickly, large bites and portions, eating beyond fullness cues

Energy vs. Guilt

• Eating mindfully helps you eat in a way that energizes you and makes you feel good
• Emotional eating can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or disgust

Fuel vs. Solution

• Food as fuel: focused on nutritional value, helps your energy and productivity
• Food as solution: gives you emotional satisfaction

Going for 2nds: Remember this

→ Ensure you listen to your fullness cues

→ Wait 10 minutes before grabbing seconds

→ Drink water between servings

→ Grab seconds only if you aren’t truly full

Identify Your Emotional Triggers

When you are eating do you. . .

1. Overthink about the food you’re eating food
2. Feel guilt or shame about eating
3. Do NOT feel a hunger sensation

If you answered yes then you may be experiencing emotional eating

Make sure you. . .

1. Identity patterns with your emotions and eating
2. Know your comfort foods
3. Note what is happening immediately before your desire to eat