As we have now stepped into 2025, many of us are reflecting on our goals from the past year and the goals we have for the year ahead. For some of us, this includes building a healthier relationship with food.

Emotional eating—turning to food for comfort, stress relief, or as a reward—can feel like a constant cycle of guilt and frustration, especially during a health and wellness journey. But the good news is that breaking free from this pattern is entirely possible.

This year offers the perfect opportunity to take control, not by following restrictive diets or punishing ourselves, but by understanding the deeper connection between our emotions and our eating habits.

Let’s make 2025 your year to rewrite your story with food. Let’s take the first step together.

Here are 8 practical tips to help you to break free from emotional eating and to help build a healthier relationship with food:

1. Identify possible emotional triggers

• Keep a food journal: Write down what you eat throughout the day when you eat a meal or snack, and how you feel at that specific moment. This can help you spot patterns and emotional triggers for overeating due to a specific emotion you might experience.
• Take a moment to pause and reflect: When you feel the urge to eat, pause a moment and ask yourself, “Am I physically hungry, or am I eating to cope with emotions?”

2. Develop alternative coping mechanisms

• Practice some stress-relief techniques: Try some deep breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga to manage stress and anxiety without turning to food.
• Engage in a hobby that you enjoy doing: Redirect your focus to activities you enjoy, such as painting, reading, jogging, playing an instrument, or gardening, to fill the emotional gaps that you might experience.
• Stay active: A brisk walk or a workout session can help release endorphins which contributes to reduced emotional stress.

3. Build awareness around hunger

• Understand your hunger cues: Learn to differentiate between physical hunger (growling stomach, low energy) and emotional hunger (cravings, impulsive eating).
• Practice mindful eating: Slow down when you are eating, chew your food properly, savor each bite, and listen to your body’s signals. When you feel full, stop eating to prevent overeating.

4. Address the root cause

• Seek emotional support: Talk to a friend, join a support group, or work with a professional to address underlying emotional challenges that you struggle to work through.
• Be honest about your emotions: Journaling or talking about your feelings can prevent the need to suppress them with food.

5. Avoid restrictive dieting

• Give yourself permission to enjoy the food you eat: Restrictive diets can lead to feelings of deprivation, which often trigger emotional eating and cravings. Focus on including balance instead of cutting anything out.
• Choose nourishing foods: Eat meals that are satisfying and nutrient-rich that will fill your body and will help reduce cravings and stabilize your mood.

6. Create an environment that supports healthy choices

• Stock up on healthy snacks: Keep nutritious, satisfying options on hand for when hunger strikes. This can be some fresh fruit, veggie sticks, raw nuts, health bars, popcorn, etc.
• Limit trigger foods: If certain foods are hard to eat in moderation, consider not keeping them in the house or portioning them carefully. Rather just include them as a small treat every once in a while.

7. Be patient and kind to yourself

• Forgive setbacks: Emotional eating is a learned habit and breaking free takes time. Be gentle with yourself and view each day as a fresh start. Learning new habits does not happen overnight.
• Celebrate your progress: Acknowledge all your small victories, like recognizing a trigger and opting for a healthier, more balanced option, or choosing an alternative coping method.

8. Stay hydrated and prioritize rest

• Drink water regularly: Dehydration can sometimes be mistaken for hunger. Make sure that you sip on some water all throughout the day.
• Prioritize sleep: Lack of sleep can increase your stress levels and cravings, making it harder to resist emotional eating, so make sure you are hitting that 7-9 hours of sleep.

A combination of these strategies with consistency and self-compassion can help you to gradually overcome emotional eating and build a healthier, more fulfilling relationship with food.