Emotional Eating Treatment & Medical Nutrition Therapy in the St. Louis Area, Missouri, and Illinois

Get Strategies to Overcome Emotional Eating with Dietitian Nutritionists, Restore your Relationship with Food and Body

What is emotional eating?

Emotional eating refers to the use of food to cope or regulate emotions rather than to satisfy a physical hunger.

Is there treatment for emotional eating?

Treatment may include individual therapy to address the underlying issues contributing to the use of food as a coping mechanism. This may stem from anxiety, stress, depression, trauma, unexpected life events, etc. These things often feel out of control for the individual affected, so they turn to food as a way to suppress the emotions they are experiencing.

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What is the theory of stress eating?

The theory is that one turns to food in the face of stress, fear, anxiety, depression, or other emotional feelings. Using food to numb them out in order to “forgot” about a certain incident that made them feel icky inside (think: “my boyfriend broke up with me, so I’m ordering pizza and eating a pint of ice cream in return!”) BUT will the pizza and pint of ice cream make your ex-boyfriend want to get back together with you? Probably not, BUT it pushed the negative feelings associated with it out of the way for a short period of time only for the vicious cycle to continue again.

Is emotional eating an eating disorder?

It’s not a diagnosable eating disorder in the DSM-5, however if symptoms are not addressed, it can turn into a more serious eating disorder.

How to stop emotional eating?

One of the key ways to suppress emotional eating is to work with a multidisciplinary team to address the underlying issues contributing to food being used as a coping mechanism. A dietitian can assist in regulating food intake by assisting with meal and snacks ideas and working to decrease underlying behaviors contributing to emotional eating. At Branz Nutrition, we do this through the lens of a Health at Every Size, eating intuitive approach.

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Our Team of Dietitian Nutritionists and Eating Disorder Specialists in the Greater St. Louis Area

Branz Nutrition Counseling is a team of certified eating disorder dietitians who provide compassionate care to those struggling with their relationship to food. Our approach is weight-inclusive, LGBTQIA+, and social justice-oriented, which means that we believe that everyone deserves access to quality care.

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With locations in Illinois and Missouri, we offer both virtual and in-person counseling sessions. And, we are licensed to provide Telehealth nutrition therapy to patients around the country.

We see clients in person in the St. Louis area, Missouri, Illinois, and from around the country via Telehealth. Learn more here.

How It Works - An Easy Three-Step Process to Get You on the Road to Recovery

Make An Appointment

What service do you need? Schedule a 15-minute discovery call, free of charge. It is a great way for a dietitian on our team to get to know you and your unique needs.

Meet with your Personal Dietitian

Be paired with the dietitian nutritionist on our team and get continued support with one of our online groups. One-on-one counseling, in-person, or virtual. WE TAKE INSURANCE!

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