Educational Handout

Get Stressed. Eat. Repeat.

How We Can Break Emotional Eating Habits - Simply by Paying Attention
whatever our sugar fix is)
and we’ll feel better.
Judson Brewer Interestingly,
MD, Ph.D. mindfulness training seems
to be emerging as a possible
way to specifically target
“I gained insight today relating this emotional eating habit
to the correlation between my exercise loop. Each time we notice
routine and my eating patterns,” she that we’re about to indulge,
posted on our online community. but step out of the loop, it
What correlations is she talking gets weaker. For example,
about? someone in our program
Our brains are set up to learn. From wrote, “I am really seeing
an evolutionary perspective, when we how the habit loop has
come upon a good source of food or water, driven my life with food.”
it is helpful to remember where they How can mindfulness
are. When we see something dangerous, help us step out of this emotional eating. We also pair this with an
remembering that is helpful too. And this habit loop? When we pay careful attention online community and a live weekly online
learning system, in its most basic form, to our cravings, we can start to see check in. We can support people as they
has three elements: trigger, behavior, really clearly what they are made up of: go through their journey of changing their
reward. This is a reward-based learning simply, thoughts and body sensations. relationship to eating. We can ensure they
system. We see berries, we eat them; and Importantly, with this awareness, we can really are understanding the mindfulness
if they taste good, we lay down a memory notice cravings as they arise and how practices, instead of trying to “think”
to come back for more. they change from moment to moment. there way to changing their eating habits.
Fast forward to the modern day, As a result, we can stay with them and And the results are promising: in our first
where food is seemingly everywhere. Our ride them out instead of getting sucked study, led by Ashley Mason, PhD at UCSF,
brains still have this same reward-based into them and feeding our habit loops. we’ve found that mindfulness training
learning system. Called positive and As an example, one of our participants delivered via Eat Right Now shows
negative reinforcement in psychology, a commented, “[I] was again able to ride out significant reductions in craving-related
lot more is now known about how this my mid-morning craving for soda.” eating.
system works. This is the good news. The Is there science behind this? We have So with a bit of mindfulness
bad news is that over time, when we learn designed and now studied our app-based training, we can first recognize and then
to pair triggers that aren’t hunger-based program called Eat Right Now (www. learn to step out of our old habit loops of
with the same reward we get from eating goeatrightnow.com) to specifically give eating. One bite at a time.
sugar, we are in for trouble. For example, if daily bite-sized mindfulness training that
we like chocolate, yet are feeling lonely or can help us get out of our unhealthy habits Judson Brewer MD Ph.D. is a TCME
stressed, our brain might say to us, “Hey, of stress and emotional eating. Through board member and the Director of Research
why don’t you eat some chocolate? You’ll videos, animations, and in the moment at the Center for Mindfulness and associate
feel better.” We eat the sweet, and in so exercises, people learn the difference professor in medicine and psychiatry at
doing, learn that if we’re sad or stressed between stress and hunger, and also University of Massachusetts Medical School
out, we just need to eat some chocolate (or learn how to not feed the habit loop of (UMass Medical School).
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Meditation - Mindfulness of Emotions
Try this meditation when you This is often a time when you will want to
are experiencing difficult emotions run away, fight, and resist — or eat — or
to help you learn that they are do anything except stay present. Instead
natural and manageable. of these old strategies, do nothing. When
a difficult feeling arises, tell yourself with
Instructions: kindness, “Sadness (or whatever else you
are feeling) is present. This is just what
Start by sitting for a few moments
wants to be here right now.” You might
as you settle into an erect, yet relaxed
discover another related emotion arising.
posture. Let your eyes close, or simply
Acknowledge and sit beside any emotion
lower your gaze to the ground as you
that arises with great kindness and
take your attention to your body and
compassion.
your breath. Take a couple of deep
You might find yourself going back
breaths to help you relax and settle into
to the thoughts that feed the feeling.
this moment—into your body and your
This could be a thought about another
breath.
person, about yourself, about your life.
First, acknowledge the emotion
The subject doesn’t matter. Move your
that is currently present, as best you
attention from the subject to the direct
can. Is it sadness, anger, frustration, or
experience of where the emotion is felt in
impatience? Naming your feeling may
the body. Without a subject, the emotion
be harder than it sounds. Give yourself determined to be a threat. Take your time
becomes fluid and it cannot sustain itself
time to explore what’s happening. to discover what the emotion feels like in
for very long. If you don’t keep feeding
Use “sadness” as an example. Instead your body.
an emotion with your thoughts, then the
of saying “I’m sad,” try something Notice what thoughts are present.
emotion soon runs out of flame.
like “I’m aware of sadness,” or simply Thoughts and feelings go hand in hand.
“sadness is present.” Taking the “I” out Once your body registers something as
Lynn Rossy is a health psychologist
of the statement begins to help you threatening and sends a signal to the
and author of “The Mindfulness-Based
understand that you and “sadness” are emotional center of your brain, a half
Eating Solution.” She developed and teaches
not synonymous. second later you have a thought. Your
the empirically-validated, 10-week mindful
Notice where you feel the emotion thinking will be shaded by the emotion
eating program called “Eat for Life.” She
in your body. There might be tightness in and may be a distorted view of your
is a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
your chest, a pain in your stomach, or a world that make things look bleaker
teacher and serves on the TCME board. She
clenched jaw. Whatever it is, notice with than they are. Simply see the thought
welcomes comments on this article. She can
curiosity and kindness. Notice how and as a thought and let it go. Come back to
be reached at www.LynnRossy.com and
if it changes under your examination. the body and what you are experiencing
[email protected].
Difficult emotions are triggered by a there.
bodily reaction to something in your Now the important work becomes
internal or external environment that is staying with your current experience.

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