Are you having difficulty following diets? Our lives are way more complex than one which allows us to stick to a monotonous restrictive diet. Food-Psychologist and Mind-Body Eating Coach, Ridhi Golechha said, “If all of us could follow diets, we’d all have reached our goals. Real-life stresses such as lockdown-anxiety, relationship conflicts, workload, financial stresses, exasperating parenting, teenage drama, and so much more directly impact how we feel and by virtue, what we eat. If on paper diets were so easy to follow, then we’d all be part of that tiny ten percent of people in the world (athletes, models, or actresses) – who are permanently fit.”

What is Emotional Eating?

We all know of those rough days when all we want is to drown our faces in a tub of ice cream or reach out for that melting chocolate cake. “Emotional eating is nothing but eating our emotions. We’re all human- with emotions and hunger. By that definition, all of us are emotional eaters. We turn to food when we’re overwhelmed with anger, sadness, frustration, or any other significant emotion,” explained Ridhi.  

Why do we indulge in Emotional Eating?

There's a reason why the butterfly comes back to suck sweet nectar from the flowers, in turn pollinating the rest of the garden. Humans much like animals, birds, and insects are hardwired for pleasure. But here's the catch- we humans are afraid of receiving pleasure. Many fear that If they allow themselves to eat a slice of cheesy pizza (and also enjoy it), they’ll be overwhelmed with pleasure, lose control, and end up finishing the whole pizza. We fear this would result in a failed diet, weight gain, and massive guilt, so we avoid it altogether. But, it doesn’t work.