The Science of Emotional Eating

Emotional eaters eat because they want feel better, rather feel full. This experience brings a feeling of particular pleasure to the eating experience, and, over time, the experience of feeling pleasure while eating becomes part of the LTP (Long-Term Potentiation). This feeling of pleasure cements it self to our long-term memory, and repetition creates additional gratification layers, makingpleasure and food become one in the same. Neuroscience explains emotional eating is a memory response in which the hippocampus plays a crucial role in its manifestation. The pleasure felt during emotional eating and junk food consumption is the result of dopamine being released by the reward center of the brain (the Nucleus Accumbens). Once the taste has the brain’s attention, the prefrontal cortex commands the hippocampus to remember the situation and sensation in intense detail. For instance, if you love the taste of chocolate, the brain will link the aroma of chocolate and sensation felt to a.

The prefrontal cortex (logic and reasoning) and limbic system (emotion) must agree before the judgment is executed and it becomes part our memory as LTP in the hippocampus. Prefrontal cortex analyzes the incoming stimuli, sequences it, and the limbic system fertilizes the data with neurotransmitters or feelings to complete the process. The repetition of this process creates bushier dendrites in hippocampus cells. Once the memory is created the prefrontal cortex goes dormant. That’s why when it comes to emotional eating or addictions logic and reason and what you are consuming does not come in play. Strong association or addiction to food is engraved in long-term memory and it takes behavior therapy to fix it. For many, a relationship is created between food and the self. Rather than a partner or a good friend, people turn to food with their problems. Like a good friend, the food takes the problems away(ever notice how people say that they “love” chocolate or ice cream and they can’t live without)

Solution:

By increasing one’s self awareness, a person can become able to identify the situations in which he or she is vulnerable to emotional eating. Temporary fixes, such as “fad” diets,may assist in weight management, but the results will be fleeting as they will not solve the root of the problem. When it comes to emotional eating, the emotional part of the brain (limbic system) and their thinking brain (cortex) is out of balance. For this reason, the “temporary fixes” such as diets, weight loss pills, and surgery usually creates more problems than results. The key lies in a long-term mindset: empowerment to take control, leading to an improvement in self-image and self-worth. By raising an individual’s awareness of emotional eating and the five causes that trigger emotional eating, it is possible to achieve long-term results for both the body and mind.

At Ultimate Results, we empower individuals reduce or eliminate their emotional eating. Mustafa Nazary believes that emotional eating is a memory response and created by learned behavior. Just as this behavior is learned, corrective behavior can be learned as well. The team of experienced staff at Ultimate Results will walk you through the physical exercises to better your body, and the mental exercises to strengthen your mind and defeat situations that trigger episodes of emotional eating – empowering you to achieve the long-term results you desire. Our results-driven programs have helped numerous clients achieve goals they never thought possible – and you could be our next success.