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Emotional Eating Checklist

If you regularly eat when you’re not hungry, eat beyond fullness, or choose to eat unhealthy comfort foods, there is a good chance that your eating has an emotional component. A craving, or an exaggerated desire to eat in the absence of true physiological hunger cues, represents an emotional appetite. Emotional hunger often feels the same as physical hunger.

Please place a check mark next to any of the following that apply:

I use food as a tranquilizer to dull emotions that are difficult to cope with, such as anxiety, anger, sadness, frustration, hopelessness, loneliness, shame, guilt, and even happiness, excitement, and joy.

I use food to calm me when I’m experiencing an unpleasant bodily sensation, such as agitation, nervousness, or muscle tension.

I turn to food for soothing and comfort.

I use food for pleasure, escape, fulfillment, and excitement.

I eat when I’m stressed out.

I eat when I feel numb.

I use food to silence negative, critical, self-defeating thoughts and quiet my mind.

I eat when I’m overwhelmed and feeling paralyzed.

I eat to distract myself from low-motivation states like boredom, lethargy, or apathy.

I eat as a way to procrastinate.

I eat because my life lacks purpose, meaning, passion, and inspiration.

I try to fill up an inner emptiness with food.

I eat because I feel so much regret regarding my life.

I eat because I feel deprived in life.

I eat to reward myself.

I eat to punish myself.

I eat to rebel against someone or something.

I eat because feeling full makes me feel safe.

I eat to ward off sexual attention.

My preoccupation with food and weight keeps me from moving forward in life.

I can’t imagine life feeling satisfying without my favorite comfort foods.

Food is my best friend.

If you have checked off one or more items, your eating may have an emotional component to it. And if that’s the case, you’ll benefit from the mindfulness practice presented in this book.