Too Much on Her Plate with Dr. Melissa McCreery: Emotional Eating Help for Smart, High-Achieving Women

This is the first of what I hope will be an ongoing series of episodes of the Too Much on Her Plate podcast dedicated to answering listener questions. If you’ve got a question you’d like me to address in a future episode, be sure to join my (free) Freedom from Emotional Eating and Overeating group on Facebook and share your question! Today’s question is from Jodi who wants to know how to break the habit of comfort eating at night. How do you break the habit of reaching for food to self-soothe at the end of the day?

In this episode:

• How to address the perfect storm of Hidden Hungers that tend to show up at the end of the day
• Why you might have a long list of alternatives to overeating, but you still don’t use them
• How to start breaking the habit of overeating at night even if, in the moment, you don’t really want to

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/q-a-help-me-break-my-nightly-comfort-eating-habit-tmohp-episode-103/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

Today we’re getting right to the point. Because too many women are expending too much effort, and are still going in circles with overeating and emotional eating and their weight. In this episode I’ve got some straight talk for you if what you’re doing isn’t working - about why this is, and what changes will help. 

In this episode:

• Relationships with food and eating are complicated - and then some
• How deprivation thinking can sneak in to your plans - and sabotage them
• Three things you’ve got to shift to break ongoing overeating habits
• Why you’ll never beat the cycle that you’re stuck in - and what to do instead

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/straight-talk-about-what-to-do-when-youre-still-overeating-tmohp-episode-102/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

How do you avoid emotional eating when you’re busy and have a lot going on? This episode is about getting practical. I have a handful of strategies that you can use during busy, stressful times to short-circuit or avoid emotional eating patterns.

In this episode:

• How not to overeat when you have too much to do
• How to keep practical strategies doable 
• Places where perfectionism might be tripping you up and strategies to avoid this
• Why it’s important to acknowledge stress and overwhelm

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/how-to-avoid-emotional-eating-when-youre-busy-tmohp-episode-101/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

Freedom feels expansive. Freedom is something you can relax into. Freedom - the idea of it - probably doesn’t come with a time limit. When I talk to women about their overeating and emotional eating, they aren’t seeking short-term changes. What they’re craving is freedom. Lasting freedom from overeating.

Willpower plus tough love plus deprivation plus self-blame will never equal feelings of peace and freedom.

In this episode:

• Overeating is a puzzle and you may not have all the pieces you need to solve it
• How deprivation thinking can lead you to try to solve the wrong puzzle, with the wrong pieces
• The four key pieces you need to create lasting freedom from overeating 

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/solving-your-overeating-puzzle-find-freedom-forever-tmohp-episode-100/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

“Being good” or “being on track” doesn’t build a strong, lasting, solid relationship between you and food. You deserve better - SO much better. This episode is about untangling the deprivation tendencies that may be a part of your current relationship with food and exploring what it takes to create lasting change and a feeling of freedom from overeating, freedom from deprivation, and freedom from dieting.

In this episode:

• Recognizing the need for a personalized approach
• Moving beyond short-term fixes
• Embracing trial-and-error and imperfection
• The importance of a supportive community

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/ending-overeating-creating-lasting-change-and-emotional-freedom-tmohp-episode-099/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

I don’t diet. I don’t restrict myself. A long time ago, I made a promise to myself: I can eat what I want, when I want. It’s been key to how I created peace with food and freedom from overeating in my own life. And a week before I recorded this episode, I felt that changing. 

In this episode, I’ll explain more about why this led to deprivation thinking, what I’m doing about it.

In this episode:

• The agreement I made with myself about what and when I can eat
• The difference between deprivation and constraint
• Our tendency to think in terms of deprivation
• The benefits, empowering qualities, and examples of intentional constraint

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/not-overeating-deprivation-vs-constraint-tmohp-episode-098/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

Self-care (or the lack of it) and overeating go hand in hand. Upgrading your self-care game doesn’t require a life overhaul or two weeks of vacation. In fact, these beliefs make it even harder to give yourself the attention you need and deserve. Tune in to this episode for three ways to readjust your thinking about self-care and your approach to fitting it in - consider this a cheat sheet for sneaking in great (and simple) me-time and self-care to replace emotional eating. Be sure to check out the show notes. I’ve included a ton of resources for you!

In this episode:

• The essential nature of self-care
• The power of ten minutes
• Paying yourself first
• Simple self-care routines

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/3-doable-ways-to-replace-emotional-eating-with-self-care-tmohp-episode-097/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

This bonus episode is designed to answer your questions about the free workshop series I’m offering. Please share this episode and this invitation with other smart, busy women who want to create peace with food and freedom from overeating.

If you're a smart woman who secretly wonders whether it's really possible to change your overeating or emotional eating habits, the Freedom from Overeating Workshop is for you.

There's a good chance your approach to overeating is keeping you stuck. We can change this. 

Join me August 7 - 11 @ noon EST/9:00am Pacific for this free 5-day workshop and learn the 4-step approach no one ever taught you - so you can stop overeating and emotional eating - without guilt, without superhuman levels of willpower, and without feeling deprived.

You can stop fighting with food. You can end the cycle of running out of willpower, blaming yourself, and endlessly "starting over on Monday." In the free Freedom from Overeating Workshop Series I'll teach you an approach that allows you to lose your cravings and urges to overeat, so that you can eat in a way that you love, achieve your goals, and feel confident that you can maintain them.

Register for the Workshop Series or Join the Waitlist for the Next Workshop Series: https://TooMuchonHerPlate.com/Register/

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/free-workshop/.

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

Some of the most non-helpful advice for ending overeating is to “eat only when you’re hungry, and stop eating when you’re full.” It’s not helpful because it’s usually delivered with no explanation of how to execute this plan. 

In this episode, I’m covering how to get better at eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full by learning how to identify your hunger and fullness and how to listen to your body better.

In this episode:

• How diet mentality disconnects you from your awareness of hunger and fullness
• How to get better at eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full
• The Hunger Scale and how to use it
• Practices for tuning in to what your body needs
• Practices for getting better at noticing when your body is full or satisfied

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/hunger-fullness-and-how-to-listen-to-your-body-better-tmohp-episode-096/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH

Sometimes the advice we give ourselves in the midst of our day isn’t the most helpful. Neither is our self-talk or our tendency to react to the situation or feelings rather than create a thoughtful response. We know a lot about ourselves and what works best for us, but in the thick of things, our choices don’t always reflect this.

In this episode:

• Shifting your perspective with your Future Self
• Your Future Self is likely less reactive, firmer, and more compassionate than your present-day self
• Questions to ask to access your own inner wisdom

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/how-to-get-the-advice-you-need-from-your-self-tmohp-episode-095/

Ready to take your next step with emotional eating?

✨ Start here:
Discover what’s really driving emotional eating for you.
Take the free Hidden Hungers Quiz → https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-quiz/

🧠 Want practical tools you can use right away?
Explore my programs for ending emotional eating and creating peace with food →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/shop/

🎧 New listener?
Download the free Podcast Roadmap to find the episodes that will help you most →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/map/

📬 Stay connected:
Get updates on new episodes, free resources, and upcoming events →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/emotional-eating-help-mailing-list-signup/

💬 Looking for deeper support?
Learn more about private 1:1 coaching for emotional eating (limited availability) →
https://toomuchonherplate.com/private-coaching-emotional-eating-coaching

⭐ Enjoying the podcast?
Rate and review here → https://apple.co/3i2L8CH