Human needs were classified hierarchically by psychologist Abraham H. Maslow according to their priorities. A concept as old as human history, which first appeared in 1551, it takes the first place according to this hierarchy in nutrition, which comes from the Latin word "nutrire", meaning to nourish. Nutrition, which is one of the most important human needs, is necessary for all living things to grow, develop, maintain good health and continue their lives. Nutrition, as a physiological phenomenon, is meeting the energy required for the continuity of metabolic activities in our body from nutrients. However, nutrition is an essential concept that is not only about filling the stomach but also has a need and a reason for our emotions.
We crown our happiness with eating, when we are sad we find ourselves in front of the refrigerator, when we break up with our lover we have a jar of chocolate in our hand, we express our anger towards our family and friends. We try to get it by not eating, that is, we direct our diet for emotional reasons. Because the most important factor that triggers our desire to eat is the feeling of pleasure. It creates a feeling of happiness by ensuring the secretion of dopamine and serotonin hormones in the brain's reward system when certain behaviors are exhibited or foods are consumed. The increase in the feeling of pleasure and happiness leads us to repeat the eating behavior in case of negative emotions. Emotional hunger is not the hunger we feel for activities that are necessary for our body, but the hunger of our brain signaled to cope with our emotions. We eat not to fill our stomach but to feel good.
The Most Common Causes of Emotional Eating
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Stress: With stress, Cortisol (also known as the stress hormone) is secreted at high levels. It increases the desire to eat salty, sweet and fatty foods. The more uncontrolled stress we have in our lives, the more we consume such foods for emotional relief.
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Negative emotions: To suppress our emotions such as anger, fear, pessimism, loneliness, sadness. the way we turn.
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Boredom or feeling of emptiness: Without knowing how much of which food we eat, unconsciously outside of our physical needs. We eat to fill the emptiness inside us in some way.
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Sociocultural effects: Most of us know that we eat our family's baklava and wedding cakes during holidays even though we are full. If you do not eat in society, especially if there is food, you will not be welcomed, all eyes will turn to you, and you will feel under pressure to eat.
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Childhood habits: In childhood, when there is food left on our plate, our mother will say that she will cry behind your back, or Even though we are full in adulthood, we have acquired emotional-based eating habits, such as when he expresses that he will reward us with the foods we like in return for doing what he wants, we always finish what is on our plate, or when we think of rewarding, the first thing that comes to our mind is "What should I cook?", "Where should we go to eat?" questions arise.
Ways to Recognize Emotional Hunger
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Emotional hunger occurs suddenly. We feel an irresistible desire to eat, and we feel it in our minds, not in our stomachs. Physical hunger occurs slowly, and we mostly feel its symptoms in our stomach. While we can withstand physical hunger for a long time, we attack food immediately with a violent urge to eat because we cannot endure emotional hunger.
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Emotional hunger is directly directed towards certain foods. These foods are generally rich in sugar, fat and carbohydrates. So much so that we feel as if we don't need something to eat, but rather a specific food, such as chocolate, pizza or chips. Alternatives such as fruits and vegetables that we eat instead will not satisfy our emotional hunger. When we are physically hungry, almost anything helps us satisfy our hunger, including healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.
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Emotional hunger often leads to unconscious eating. In physical hunger, we clearly feel the moment when we are full, and we do not want to eat another bite.
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Emotional hunger can still make us feel hungry even when we fill our stomach completely. In physical hunger, we do not feel hungry when our stomach is full.
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Due to emotional hunger, we often feel regret, guilt or shame after what we eat. Therefore, emotional eating It is usually an action done alone. However, after eating physical hunger, we feel full, relaxed and satisfied, and do not experience any negative emotions.
Methods for Coping with Emotional Eating
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Be aware of emotional eating and try to understand what pushes you to this behavior.
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Make a shopping list for yourself. Consider the health value of each item you add to your list and stick to it when shopping to avoid impulse buying.
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Bring all your senses to the meal. When you cook and eat your food, pay attention to the color, texture, aroma, and sounds different foods make. As you chew your food, try to identify all the ingredients, especially the spices.
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Take small bites. It is easier to fully taste food when your mouth is not full.
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To get away from your emotions for a moment and engage in a more enjoyable activity (taking a walk, taking a short nap, meeting a friend) instead of eating. work.
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When you do not feel hungry and are in a rush to eat, you can turn to a healthier food instead of junk food.
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Your favorite food You can divide healthy foods into small portions, rather than eliminating them completely. For example, if you have a big bag of chips, you can divide it into small packages and carry them in your bag in small portions. This way, you avoid eating the whole package at once and taking in too many calories.
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For foods that you like but may not be healthy, just take a few forks and then stop. Because, after about 4 bites of any food, the mind remembers this food at its highest point and stores the pleasure of eating in the mind. Thus, it provides more benefit (eating the food you want) with less harm (calories).
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR STOMACH AND EMOTIONS STARVING, AND DO NOT GET FULL. FEED THEM BOTH WITH THE RIGHT FOOD, AT THE RIGHT TIME, IN THE RIGHT AMOUNT…
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