How I Drastically Reduced My Comfort-Eating

I write so you share. Thank you.

It’s all too easy to turn to food when our emotions are running high, but it’s tough to break the cycle of cravings and overeating once it takes hold.

Comfort food is a term and subject matter of study in both culinary and psychological fields. Comfort foods can be categorized as foods that are high in carbohydrate and/or sugar content, which provide a feeling of being “comforted” by the physical sensation they create in the mouth and body when eaten. 

INFO: Comfort foods can include fast-food, pastries, cakes, cookies, crisps, carbonated drinks, confectionery (candy) and ice cream. Comfort foods may also refer to certain recipes like macaroni and cheese, hearty meats like hot dogs and cheeseburgers, potato dishes such as mashed potatoes or french fries.

In addition to high-calorie foods, crispy or sweet-tasting foods such as crackers and chocolates are a favourite when people crave a snack. This can be associated with the human preference for sweet foods, as well as the crisp texture that food items such as crackers have, i.e. when they are fresh out of the oven.

And, yes, comfort foods are typically regarded to be unhealthy.

NOTE: Think of emotional eating as smoking.

Which Comfort Food Eater Are You?

You might not think you are a comfort food eater if you generally eat quite healthy meals and every now and then have a little naughty snack:

• Perhaps you have some chocolate here and there, a light version even.
• Maybe you have ice cream on a hot day that feels well deserved.
• Maybe you have that double cheeseburger after a long day at work, but only once in a while, and you make sure to keep it healthy.

But these ARE comfort foods.

NOTE: Are you more the type that eats ice cream when it’s too hot, but also when it is cold? Are you a secret chocoholic? Or perhaps you eat cookies with your morning coffee?

1st Step: Identifying you are a comfort food eater and recognising it is an unhealthy habit

The first step consists on being honest with yourself, and also, if possible, recognising the effect these foods have on you (you can do some research on them).

Also, you will have to decide if comfort eating is something that you want to remove from your lifestyle or if you’re happy to keep on the habit (nothing wrong with that. We’re ready for what we’re ready for). I, myself, do comfort eating regularly but I don’t feel too guilty about it. Only when I go that little bit too far, which still does happen at times (too much of a particular food that is not healthy).

Recognising these foods are unhealthy every time you eat them is a good way to be really honest with yourself. I’m not saying you should feel guilty, I’m not saying to throw the snack away and I’m not saying you skin on meals to make up for the comfort food you ate. All I’m saying is to recognise that what you are eating is unhealthy. That’s all. But it is already a HUGE step.

NOTE: I had sugar-coated peanuts last night after dinner and I could literally feel the pleasure in the body as I was sucking the sugar from the peanuts. But, I was totally aware of how unhealthy eating them was for me. Just because these were peanuts it doesn’t mean that they were good for me. There was a ton of sugar coating them!

2nd Step: Recognising Hidden Comfort Foods

It is easy to recognise foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value. But, when the obvious ones have been diminished, other not so known “healthy-looking” snacks can become more appealing.

Snacks such as air-popped popcorn, fruit, nuts, crudites (vegetables) and yoghurt are healthy choices. However, if you’re snacking on these items because of reaching for a quick bite or because you think it is the “healthy” thing to do (and you’re not really hungry) then this may be your comfort food. Your comfort food eating might be coming in “through the back door”. You make yourself believe you’re doing the right thing, but you’re comfort-eating again.

NOTE: Comfort eating is simply eating when you’re not hungry.

Examples of why you comfort eat

1. You could be eating comfort food because of a moment where you felt overwhelmed
2. Maybe it’s one of those days when you had to wait and needed something to do.
3. Perhaps you have a big project at work and you’re a little stressed out
4. You could just be bored and looking for something to do
5. Or you’re just having a bad day and need a pick-me-up
6. You could be using food as medicine to deal with your temper or emotions
7. Or, are you comfort-eating because of bad news, i.e. change in the household income
8. Maybe you feel lonely
9. You could be feeling depressed
10. You could be eating comfort food because you have something to prove OR because you are trying to gain control over your life
11. You might be eating comfort food every now and again to satisfy an emotional need. For example, maybe you’re feeling restless and unhappy, so you turn to comfort food to take away that negative emotion and feel better
12. Or, because of a sweet tooth

The above are some examples of situations where you could be grabbing food for the wrong reasons. You can easily see why it is called emotional eating as well.

How to Stop?

Okay, I’m not gonna lie, this is not an easy one.

Some people are blessed with the ability to stop eating comfort food whenever they feel like it. For others, it is more of an everyday battle and you will need a serious commitment to stop reaching for food as comfort.

It looks like in order to stop, someone would require strong “willpower”.

But I find this has not been the case with me. I’m not going to bore you with my story, but I remember years ago eating biscuits every night (and I mean lots of biscuits) and watching myself eat them in disgust. I didn’t really understand why I could NOT stop. This went on for a while. When I finally stopped it, another comfort food would take over. And so on. I didn’t seem to be able to get rid of this addictive behaviour. It was a nightmare.

Sweet things were not the only thing I would eat in order to feed my addiction (because comfort eating, in my books, is an addiction). I would grab all sorts of unhealthy snacks, cakes, carbonated drinks, etc etc. You name it, I probably have had it.

The one thing that kept going through my mind was: “will this EVER stop??”

Fast forward a few years later, and the truth is: No, it has not stopped.

BUT IT IS SO MUCH BETTER NOWADAYS!

1. I still comfort-eat every day but I CAN stop (and I do)
2. I seem to only comfort-eat at night. So that’s the spot that needs healing (probably the night bring in feelings of abandonment which are inherent in all human beings).
3. I eat very healthy meals during the day. In the past, I would have used this as a valid argument to enjoy my treats in the evening. But I don’t anymore. I actually find that I do very much enjoy my healthy daytime meals because I’m in a much healthier state of mind.

So, how did I manage to heal my comfort-eating habits so drastically? (From very unhealthy foods throughout the day to little portions at night, and generally not processed sweets or snacks).

I made a commitment to stop eating comfort foods a few years back which was a scary decision I must admit. And, instead of FORCING MYSELF to stop these foods, I WAS GENTLE and trusted life to do it for me. That’s all I did. I kept wishing for it to stop and trusted that something would happen at some point. I didn’t fight it. I patiently waited for life to do the job and make the changes. All I did was to be willing to let the changes change me.

As time went by, many things started to happen. Let me give you a summary of what I think has worked:

• I moved from the city to a much quieter place where there is no pollution, no neighbours, no busy lifestyle. I live on a farm now and it feels incredibly healthy.
• I have removed from my life everything that is not good for me: people, behaviours, clients, certain environments, thoughts, et cetera. My rule: if it is not good for me, it has to go.
• I have connected with my inner self and as a result, I have had what is commonly known as a spiritual awakening. This is when we start to live life from within our deeper self rather than the outer shell or personality. What happens then is that LOVE becomes the most important thing. Self-love, Love towards the planet, Love towards animals, Love towards other human beings, etc.
• GRATITUDE. I feel this one is massive. By living in constant gratitude (and I do 100% of the time), the body and mind seem to relax – they don’t look for a quick way to destress any longer. Sugary foods and unhealthy snacks are a quick way for the body and mind to stop feeling anxious. But when anxiety is no longer there, the body and the mind don’t feel so eager to grab something in order to relax (when the body feels pleasure, the mind relaxes).

This brings me to my last point.

The Body & Mind Seek Comfort Because they’re Stressed (Inflammed)

The body and mind, when stressed, will look for comfort (relief) in anything and everything at hand. This could be alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, eating, abusing others, self-abuse, Internet bingeing, et cetera. You get the idea.

The key, for me, has been letting go of fear. Fear is something that the human being feels at every moment because of the uncertain future and the events it might bring with it.

But the moment fear is removed (achieved when you learn to let go of everything and everyone), the body-mind mechanism start to relax and it then lets go of all those behaviours that served as relaxers, comfort eating being one of them.

That’s why moving to a quieter place, working on myself, getting to know me, facing myself (and this means certain behaviours and attitudes needed to be changed), living in gratitude, asking for forgiveness when I had to, making amends with my mother, forgiving my father, getting along with my siblings, helping others, being a good member of society, identifying when I’m angry and dealing with the feelings (and not just anger but many other feelings that can invade the human at any time) and many more changes have all contributed to my drastic reduction in regards to comfort eating.

By no means my situation is perfect, but I can forgive myself about this today as well. I am eating a lot healthier foods than I used to and have definitely cut down on unhealthy emotional eating.

If I’m honest with myself, I do feel I have arrived. I’m not waiting any longer for that perfect moment where I never ever eat unhealthy foods again. In this society, this is an impossible task. I am very happy with my progress, and it will probably get better over time.

Although, it doesn’t really matter. I am enjoying the moment as is, with whatever the moment brings with it. And in that relaxed state of Being, my body and mind seem to be happy as well. They no longer scream for a packet of biscuits at night.

Share with Me Your Comfort Food Journey

Share with me your emotional eating journey. Let me know if you have identified it and where are you within this difficult and sometimes arduous journey.

P.S: I hope you found my story interesting and helpful. I’ll be happy to answer any questions.

P.P.S: Feel free to share the article if you found it useful in the comment section below.

Love,

Patri ❤️💕