Emotional Eating - Part 2

by Karen Dion, One2One Wellness Coach

In our first segment on Emotional Eating, I introduced the topic and described the differences between eating for emotions or eating for hunger.  Part 2 gives you a tool to determine if you are an emotional eater and to what extent.  Fill out this quiz and stay tuned to Part 3 for more information:

For each item, record the scale number that best reflects your current lifestyle.

0 = Never, 1 = Rarely, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = Almost Always

1. I feel out of control of my eating.

2. My hunger tends to come on very suddenly.

3. I find myself craving certain types of foods.

4.  I often stand in front of an open fridge, wondering what to eat.

5. I feel like snacking when I get stressed or am upset about something.

6. Food gives me a lift when I’m feeling down.

7. Food helps calm me when I’m feeling tense or wound up.

8. Outside mealtimes, I feel the urge to eat at certain times of the day.

9. Even when I am full, I often do not feel satisfied.

10. Unpleasant feelings like sadness, anger, and frustration are reduced while I am eating.

11. I feel guilty and/or ashamed about what I have just eaten.

12. I often describe food and eating using emotionally charged words.

13. It feels like I seek solace in food.

14. I often eat to the point of physical discomfort.

15. I use food as a source of pleasure or a reward.

16. I eat when I am not physically hungry.

17. I often overeat after denying myself certain foods.

18. I feel ashamed of my eating and myself.

19. I find myself snacking when I am happy.

20. I am preoccupied by thoughts of food.

21. Eating reduces a feeling of emptiness I have inside of me.

22. I am often surprised at how much I have eaten.

23. I try, but fail to lose weight and keep it off.

24. Once I start eating certain foods, I find it difficult to stop.

25. My behavior with respect to food and eating causes me significant distress.

SCORE:______________

 Interpretation:

·        0-25  No or little emotional eating: Your weight management efforts should be relatively uncomplicated by emotional issues.

·        26-50  Mild emotional eating: You may experience difficulty achieving weight management goals due to emotional obstacles.

·        51-75  Moderate emotional eating: You will probably encounter emotional obstacles to healthy weight management and should consider being coached.

·        76-100  Severe emotional eating: Significant obstacles exist to healthy weight management, and coaching is strongly recommended.