How to Master Your Emotional Eating Patterns With Food Workshop

Do you find yourself racing to the pantry when you suddenly feel stressed out, emotional, or tired? Does it feel comforting at the moment to numb out with food, but, in the end, lead to a frustrating cycle of overeating, disappointment, and weight gain?

If you’ve been struggling with your emotions being tied to food, you are not alone. Get ready to release the guilt and shame after turning to food. Discover how to separate your emotional needs from food and find better solutions to intense feelings.

Session #1:

Assess and Get Ahead of Emotional Eating

Notes

Notes for Session #1

Food is often used to fill a void. It creates a false feeling of “fullness” or temporary wholeness.

Other factors include:

retreating from social support during times of emotional need
not engaging in activities that might otherwise relieve stress, sadness, and so on
not understanding the difference between physical and emotional hunger
using negative self-talking that’s related to bingeing

episodes. This can create a cycle of emotional eating

Physical hunger	Emotional hunger
It develops slowly over time.	It comes about suddenly or abruptly.
You desire a variety of food groups.	You crave only certain foods.
You have no negative feelings about eating.	You feel guilt or shame about eating.

Let’s get started practicing!

Grab a jar/glass and some beads/rocks/anything to visually see that you are amazing and kicking butt at moving through your old emotional eating patterns.

Before you tend to emotionally turn to food – get out a piece of paper and write down how you would like your evening/emotional eating time to play out with food in a realistic and doable manner.

It may be beneficial to have an alarm set up to remind you to take 2 minutes to do this.

Then, allow your evening to unfold.

If it works out the way you want, put a bead in the jar and tell yourself you’re awesome.

If it doesn’t work out the way intended, tell yourself “Nice job trying.” Then ask, “What would be helpful for tomorrow that I learned from my experience today?”

Options:

Go cold turkey – no emotional eating
Give yourself a small cup with a few things in them to eat, mindfully
You can swap the quality of the food for something that works a bit better
You can swap the quantity so that it works best for your body over time

Action Plan

Action Plan for Session 1:

NOVICE LEVEL – Complete the ThinWithin Life™ Emotional Eating Assessment. If emotional eating is not an issue for you, choose something that is and replace it in the assessment and throughout all assignments during this workshop.

Answer these questions:

How has it been in the past with Emotional Eating?
How do I want it to be?
At least 3 days this week, write your plan for how you will deal with Emotional Monster if s/he shows up.
If you complete your proposal, put something into your Follow-Thorugh Jar to see your growth and progress. If you are not able to, NO JUDGMENT! With compassion, regroup as soon as possible (don’t wait until tomorrow), reassess, and start again with your intended plan of action.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL- Do the novice level assignment from above. 4-5 days a week plan what you will do during the most common time that Emotional Eating is active for you.

ADVANCED LEVEL – Do the assignment above 6-7 days this week. Post on our private Inner Circle Facebook to inspire others with what you are doing. If this assignment is easy for you, make time to listen to podcasts or a previous workshop.

Session #2:

Facing the Voices of Emotional Eating

Notes

Notes for Session #2

Today, I will build on the last session by having you continue getting in front of Emotional Eating and create a relationship with food that you want while lessening your emotional eating tendencies and patterns.

DECIDE TODAY that you are awesome! Decide that you are someone who eats when you are hungry and stops when you are satisfied the majority of the time.

Just the majority of the time. 90% is enough. Perfection is overrated!

And when you are not hungry but you have a desire to eat it is a miscue, an unhelpful habit that will not solve the deeper wanting. This over desire can be satiated by food or by facing it. Both have outcomes. Both require some level of discomfort, but one will create weight loss and the other will not.

By facing your over-desire for food this week, you can stay committed to your health and come up with other options to satiate your brain.

As you take on the identity of someone who

eats the majority of the time when you are hungry
stops when you are satisfied
removes and relaxes all the mental noise about food
just tunes in to your body

you…

Release the guilt, shame, and weight that manifested from the old pattern.

Take a moment and notice what it feels like to BE that person living a vibrant life, checking in with your body to decide when to eat, and choosing to do something else when the brain is in overdrive about food.

It is 100% possible for you to be this healthy version of yourself.

CELEBRATE your ability to get in front of over desire. This is such an important part of changing a habit loop.

Some ways to celebrate:

Tell yourself how amazing you are
Put a star on your calendar or a bead in your Follow Through Jar
Remind yourself you’re getting closer to your goal. You’re making it happen
Cheer yourself on with celebratory music. Dance if it feels good.
Share on Facebook how awesome you did. 🙂

If the new result equals or overrides the dopamine hit that you’ve been used to with food, it will be more desirable to continue on.

Action Plan

Action Plan for Session 2:

NOVICE LEVEL – Continue with Week 1’s Action Plan of writing out how you want the challenging emotional eating times of the day to play out if it worked well for you. If you are ready for something new or extra, tell yourself every day at least once, “I am that person who is deciding today and every day to eat only when hungry the majority of the time.”

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL- Do the novice level assignment from above. Choose to take the discomfort when you experience the over-desire to eat instead of the guilt, shame, and weight afterward. Deal with the discomfort by

Claiming your new identity in the bolded sentence above
Journaling to find out what your need actually is
Distracting your brain with a different activity that you love to do
Immediately rewarding yourself for any healthy choice
Be compassionate if you fall back into old patterns.

ADVANCED LEVEL – Do the assignments above. If you fall back into old patterns, notice what happened without blame. Plan for a better result next time. Report into your accountability group or on Facebook to let everyone know how you did.

Session #3:

The "What Do I Need?" Technique

Notes

Notes for Session #3

Today I will assist you to face stresses head-on with the “What do I need?” Technique thereby moving you away from numbing yourself with food and toward solving the realities that truly are bothering you.

The “What Do I Need?” Technique:

The problem: What is really going on?

Get out a piece of paper and write out at the top WHAT DO I NEED.
Then free-write for several minutes. Get all of the emotion out on paper. Don’t worry about how it sounds or if it makes sense. See what thoughts and clues come up about your needs. Something will emerge.

Maybe you are stumped. Even if you don’t know and nothing comes to you, keep writing. When you are done, read what you wrote to see what the issue is or what they are if it is plural.

The answer: What can I do?

Once you have figured out what you actually need, become Solution-Oriented. Come up with 2 things you are willing to do that could take you a step toward resolving the issue/s.

First, what is one action step you can take right away or in the next couple of hours to take action on whatever it is you desire?
Then write out one more action item you can take to do in the next 24 hours.

Instead of running from the swirling thoughts and beliefs, put them on paper. Instead of engaging in avoidance behaviors, focus on the issues through writing.

When you want to eat but you are not hungry or you’re just feeling emotional and want to avoid heading to the fridge, pull out a pen and paper.

Deepen your relationship with yourself and your needs!

This Within Work will deepen your relationship with yourself, deepen your understanding of your needs, and get you taking action toward solutions that last longer than the dopamine sure that comes with food.

Action Plan

Action Plan for Session 3:

NOVICE LEVEL – Continue with Week 1’s Action Plan of writing out how you want the challenging emotional eating times of the day to play out if it works well for you. Repeat the mantra from Week 2 at least once, “I am that person who is deciding today and every day to eat only when hungry the majority of the time.”

If you are ready to add more, 1-3 times this week stop when you notice yourself reaching for food without hunger, free write about what is going on that is stressing you. Come up with (and write them down) 2 action steps you can take to solve the true issue. One action is to be taken within 2 hours and the next within 24 hours. Notice if that helps you avoid eating without hunger.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL- Do the novice level assignment from above 4-5 times this week.

ADVANCED LEVEL – Do the assignment above every time you encounter the desire to eat without hunger and see what you learn about your needs this week. Report into your accountability group or on Facebook to let everyone know how you did.

Session #4:

Good, Better, Best Strategies

Notes

Notes for Session #4

There is always more than one way of handling the desire to eat without hunger.

A good way to deal with the urge would be to eat better quality food, eat mindfully, or eat something that is lower calories. All without judgment. Instead, compliment yourself for making a better choice.

A better option is often about avoiding the food. Opt for a State Change by getting out of the room, doing something you love to do, or simply set a timer for 30 minutes and do something else. Practically ANYTHING ELSE! Check back in after the time passes to see if you still even want the food.

The best strategy is usually to face the emotion or thought head on. Feel the feeling, acknowledge it, and let it pass. Journal about “What do I need?” with an immediate action step and another action step within 24 hours. Or you can simply breathe through the frenetic desire to eat. Transformation is waiting on the other side of the desire.

This week I want to you play with possibilities and make a Good, Better, Best ladder to creating new practices.

Give yourself choices.

Work with your brain instead of telling it what to do. Then give yourself the opportunity to choose. It’s harder for the brain to rebel if it gets options without recriminations.

Here are some examples of good, better, best strategies for long-term success to tackle emotional eating.

Good

Eat what I crave mindfully
Choose lower caloric/whole food option
Compliment yourself for choosing a good option

Better

See if you can put off eating for 30 minutes
Avoid eating by going outside, reading, or getting out of the space you are in
Take a nap if you can

Best

Feel your feelings
Allow mind to desire food without having to do anything
What Do I Need Technique

In order to change the habit of eating without hunger, make a 3 tiered strategy to deal with your most challenging issues or whatever comes up this week.

No forcing. In the situation, ask what you are willing or open to doing.

Change will happen.

Action Plan

Action Plan for Session 4:

NOVICE LEVEL – Carry on with any work that has helped you during this workshop:

Week 1 – Prepare for challenges by writing out what you see happening.
Week 2 – Repeat the mantra “I am that person who is deciding today and every day to eat only when hungry the majority of the time.”
Week 3 – “What do I need?” Technique when reaching for food without hunger

If you are ready for the next step, choose one emotion or thought that can trigger eating without hunger. Write out at least one Good/ Better/ Best strategy ladder to give your brain other possibilities. Please, share your ladder on Facebook to inspire others. Then, when you are in the situation, ask what you are willing or open to doing.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL- Do the novice level assignment for at least 3 emotions or issue.

ADVANCED LEVEL – Do the assignment above for more than 3. Report into your accountability group or on Friday’s Check-In post to let everyone know how you did.

Tapping with kate

Tapping with Kate

Extra Support Session: Tapping with Kate

Tapping “Recipe” Worksheet – How to Continue at EFT at Home March 2022 – Instructions if you are new to tapping Topics:

I need food when stressed – Zoom Recording – audio only (~ 15 mins)
I don’t know why I eat – Zoom Recording – audio only (~ 21 mins