If you’ve ever felt trapped in cravings, emotional eating, or shame after food — this episode is for you.

I break down the three feel-good hormones that quietly run your relationship with food, cravings, and self-sabotage: dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.

This isn’t a biology lesson.

It’s a reframe — one that replaces shame with understanding and control with compassion.

1. Dopamine: The Fast Relief Loop

Dopamine is the reward hormone. It’s released anytime we move away from discomfort toward relief.

Stress → foodOverwhelm → wineEmotions → scrolling, shopping, snacking

When I feel stressed and ice cream makes me feel better, my brain learns that pattern. Over time, dopamine becomes the shortcut — but it never lasts. The body adapts, and suddenly one cookie isn’t enough. One glass of wine becomes three or four.

This isn’t a discipline issue.It’s a trained reward loop in the nervous system.

1. Serotonin: Why Joy Starts in the Gut

Serotonin is the hormone of calm, ease, and steady joy — and 90% of it is produced in the gut.

When I’m in protection mode, digestion is no longer a priority. Blood flow shifts, cortisol rises, and healing shuts down. I can eat — but I’m not digesting.

This is why protection mode often shows up as:

• bloating

• food sensitivities

• anxiety

• stubborn weight, especially around the midsection

My body isn’t failing.It’s responding to perceived danger.

1. Oxytocin: The Hormone I’m Actually Craving

Oxytocin is the hormone of love, safety, connection, and belonging.

It’s released when I’m kind to myself, when I speak gently, when I connect, hug, touch, laugh, and allow myself to feel safe.

But when negative self-talk blocks access to oxytocin, my body looks for substitutes.

First serotonin.Then dopamine.

Food becomes the regulator when love feels inaccessible.

1. Why Shame Comes After the “High”

Dopamine delivers fast relief — followed by second-order thinking:guilt, shame, regret, self-judgment.

That emotional crash isn’t failure.It’s the nervous system losing access to safety again.

My body was never asking for food.It was asking for connection.

1. The Missing Piece: Safety Before Change

Every thought I think creates chemistry in my body.The vagus nerve listens to all of it.

When safety comes first:

• digestion improves

• serotonin rises

• cravings soften

• weight becomes releasable

This episode reframes emotional eating as a nervous-system response, not a character flaw.

Key Takeaways

• Dopamine offers relief, not regulation

• Serotonin requires digestion and safety

• Oxytocin is the deepest need beneath cravings

• Food becomes the fallback when love feels inaccessible

• Healing happens through safety, not control

Reflection Prompts

1. When I crave food, what feeling am I really seeking?

2. Where am I relying on dopamine instead of safety?

3. How do I speak to myself when I feel out of control?

4. What would it look like to choose kindness instead of correction today?

5. Where can I create more connection — with myself or others?

Closing Thought

You’re not addicted.You’re not broken.

You’re regulating the best way your body knows how.

And what it’s really asking for…is love.

Book your FREE 30-minute Food Freedom Call now and start your journey to lasting change! Schedule here: https://sherryshabanfitness.com/clarity

Stuck in cravings, stubborn weight, or unwanted eating? Download my free e-Book Calm The Hormones That Drive Cravings and reset your body naturally.

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