Comfort eating in perimenopause and menopause: what causes it and how to stop it

Today’s topic:

Most of us will comfort eat at some point because of something. And I know I do. I'm very much a comfort eater. But the problem is that when you approach perimenopause and menopause, you can become even more prone to what's called emotional eating.

So, I'm going to look at what causes this, the symptoms, how you can figure out whether it is emotional eating, how it can impact you, and what you can do to help yourself.

What causes you to comfort eat more in perimenopause and menopause

One of the things about comfort eating is you're more prone to do it anyway if you are tired, stressed, or bored; and, due to the emotional roller coaster you can experience during perimenopause and menopause, these feelings can be heightened on a more regular basis. So, you're going to get the desire to eat like this more and more.

But it can also be other emotions as well. So, in perimenopause and menopause, you can feel things like sadness and fear. These are big emotions, and sometimes you have no idea how to control them. They very often come on very suddenly. This is when you need something to soothe you, to calm you down, to make you feel better. And, of course, the first thing we tend to do is reach for food to give us that kind of satisfaction.

Another symptom that can cause emotional eating is poor sleep. We know that if you don't sleep well, you're going to be more prone to overeat. You're going to be hungrier the next day. Fatigue is another one too. If you're really tired, you very often want something that gives you a quick boost just to make you feel better, to make you feel more energetic.

It's really common to turn to food for comfort when we can't cope with things, such as stresses and strains at work, with family, or just with life in general.

The problem is that when you comfort eat, it soothes you instantly. But when you finish, it's not fixed the problem, and it often makes things worse because then you feel guilty that you’ve eaten a whole packet of biscuits in one go.

You may feel guilty that you have no self-control. Also, if you comfort eating on a regular basis, very often this will lead to weight gain. And then, of course, you'll start to feel guilty about putting on weight.

Emotional eating can become a real vicious cycle of anxiety, stress, feeling down, eating, feeling worse, and so on. The reason this happens is that when we eat nice foods, sweet foods, and comfort foods, it makes us feel good, and that releases a chemical in the brain called dopamine. And dopamine is one of our feel-good chemicals.

So, we tend to reach out for things like sweets, biscuits, and cakes. It will be things like junk food, sometimes high-salt foods as well. And this will give us that really instant hit, but it's also going to shoot our blood sugar levels up. They're going to suddenly dip when you finish, and that can pull your mood down really, really quickly. So, you then need something to lift your mood up again - a real vicious cycle.

Signs of emotional hungry versus physical hunger

So, how do you know that what you're doing is emotional eating rather than physical hunger? There are quite a few signs that just give you a quick idea.

The first one is how suddenly you feel like something to eat. Now, just be aware that in perimenopause and menopause, because of all the physical changes that are going on, our nutritional needs go sky high. You can therefore find your hunger increasing. Even if you eat reasonably well, you may find that you get hungry a lot sooner after you've eaten. But with emotional hunger, you're going to get a sudden urge to eat... It's just like, "I have to eat now," rather than the hunger creeping up quite gradually.

You find that if you've had a difficult situation, maybe you've been upset about something, you need to eat straight after it. So that's the emotional eating as well. It has nothing to do with your body being hungry, but your emotional self is needing soothing and it's needing comforting.

It's an urge to eat when you're in any of these emotional or difficult emotional situations. So, it's hunger as a craving. Rather than thinking, "Oh, I'm hungry.

What am I going to have to eat? What am I going to cook for my dinner?" It's this really sudden feeling of, "I need something sweet. I need something that will give me a hit right at this moment."

What you will also find is that with emotional eating, when you've eaten something, you immediately feel better. But, as I mentioned before, very often, it's very short-lived, and then blood sugar levels go up and down, and then the whole process starts again.

What can you do to help reduce comfort eating?

So, what can you do to help yourself? Here are a few things I recommend:

Support your emotional well-being: First of all, it is about looking after your emotional well-being. It's so important. This is where you really need to put yourself first in perimenopause and menopause. So, if you find that you're getting all the emotional issues or your emotions are going up and down, then these need to be stabilised. The more stable your emotional self is, the less likely you will comfort eat.

You can look at things like a vitamin B complex. You can look at doing your deep breathing: slow, deep breathing. If sleep is an issue, that will need to be sorted out as well. And, eat regular meals.

Exercise regularly: That's really important because exercise also releases those feel-good chemicals, so you can replace extra food with exercise.

Stay hydrated: Water is so important because dehydration can affect the nervous system. It can also affect your blood sugar levels, so your blood sugar levels can plummet. That brings your emotional self down and you then need to eat something. So, keep yourself really well-hydrated.

Also, you can feel hungry when, in fact, you're thirsty. So again, if the hunger comes on really quickly, drink a big glass of water. Try that first. See how you get on. You might find that that just sorts things out really, really quickly.

Limit your junk food at home: Try not to have things in the house so you won't get tempted. I just don't keep biscuits or lots of ‘the baddies’ at home because I know that if I have a low moment, I'll be in the cupboard eating everything inside. When you don't have things to hand, you're less likely to reach for them. And it also gives you a moment or two just to start the deep breathing and to calm yourself down as well.

Helpful herbs: You can look at calming herbs such as Passionflower and the herb Avena sativa. These are both lovely at helping to calm the emotions down too.

Distract yourself if you feel the sudden urge to eat: Go for a walk. If the weather's nice, go out. Get those feel-good hormones released whilst you're having a walk, or look at other things to distract yourself. Maybe sit down and have a read of a book or just catch up with one of your TV programs instead of going into the cupboards.

You can look at mindful eating: This is a process you can learn where you are much more focused on what you're eating. You're looking at the food, you're smelling it, you're tasting every mouthful. You're eating really slowly. So that's helping you again to control what you're eating and how much you're eating at any one given time.

You could also do a diary: Maybe look at when are you getting the cravings, and when you comfort eat. Because very often, it can happen at the same time every day. And if it is happening at the same time every day, then there's another trigger going on. It could be that you're just not eating enough. So, you're getting really, really hungry, and your blood sugar levels are so low that you're craving those sweet things.

Eat well: This is so important. In perimenopause and menopause, weight gain can be an issue, and an awful lot of women want to go on a diet. They think it's the only way that's going to help. So, food intake, calorie intake is reduced. That makes you more and more hungry. It affects your blood sugar levels. That affects your emotions. So, it can make you much more emotionally vulnerable, and you're more likely to crave. Eating enough at each meal and having little ‘healthy’ snacks in between is therefore actually one of the best ways to stop the comfort eating, because you won't get the emotional rollercoaster, and you won't get the cravings to eat things.

So, I hope you found this one helpful. It's a huge issue. I know what it's like. I've been there and done it myself, and I know just the sort of impact it can have on you generally. If any of you out there have experienced this, what did you do to stop it? How did you help yourself? Please share your stories because we really do love to read all about them.

Until next time, take care.

You may also find these topics helpful:

Food cravings in perimenopause and menopause

Appetite changes in perimenopause & menopause

Emotional Menopause Symptoms: Why they can worsen or come back

Disclaimer:

The information in this blog is for informational or educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek advice from your doctor or another qualified healthcare provider if you have any concerns or ongoing symptoms. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read in this article or on this website.