I recently came across an Instagram post by Dr. James DiNicolantonio suggesting that losing weight is 20% exercise and 80% managing emotional eating. And it made me think about something I have been aware of for most of my life, but haven’t really talked much about. I am an emotional eater myself, although probably not in the way most people imagine when they hear that expression.
First of all, I don’t think we can divide weight loss into such simple percentages. Our body weight is influenced by several factors, including our food intake, physical activity, genetics, metabolism, hormones, and environment. And when we have lipedema, things become even more complicated because lipedema tissue does not necessarily respond to weight loss in the same way as other adipose tissue. But I do agree with the broader message that our relationship with food can have an enormous influence on our eating habits.
And this is something I struggle with myself.
When Healthy Eating Becomes Overeating
I have always been interested in nutrition, even before I decided to study it academically. I genuinely love nutritious food, and I rarely find myself craving unhealthy food because I am sad or stressed. My challenge is something quite different. I tend to overeat, even when I am already full, and sometimes I find it surprisingly difficult to stop.
For example, I can look at walnuts, avocado, salmon, chicken, vegetables, and all these wonderful nutritious foods and immediately start thinking about how much my body would benefit from eating them. In my head, it is almost like I want to give my body every possible nutrient at once. I know how important different nutrients are, and sometimes that knowledge makes me want to eat more rather than less. I can prepare an incredibly nutritious meal and still end up eating a much larger portion than I actually need.
