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

Let’s tackle the challenge of emotional eating head-on. In this episode, I’m offering a specific plan centered around the powerful strategy of curiosity. I’ll explore how understanding the reasons behind emotional eating can empower you to regain control over your eating habits. By fostering curiosity rather than self-blame, you can uncover the underlying needs driving overeating and emotional eating and develop tailored strategies for healthier eating patterns. Through prompts and exercises, this episode guides you through a journey of experimentation to cultivate lasting peace with food.

In this episode:

• The curiosity strategy as a powerful tool for overcoming emotional eating habits.
• How self-blame prevents growth and change.
• Practical tips and prompts for you to explore your emotional eating patterns and identify your underlying needs and cravings.
• Guidance on designing a personalized seven-day experiment to address emotional eating triggers and test alternative coping mechanisms.

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/how-curiosity-can-break-emotional-eating-habits-tmohp-episode-133/

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 week’s podcast episode is about a breathing technique that you can use to interrupt emotional eating, overeating, and even a binge. What does breathing have to do with ending overeating? A lot. If you’re an emotional eater or a stress eater or someone who overeats on autopilot, you know how frustrating it can be to try to change habits that feel deeply ingrained - even automatic. You’ve likely had experiences where, despite your best efforts or intentions, overeating habits have kicked in without much conscious thought. When you’re stressed or overwhelmed or anxious, reaching for something to eat might feel like the natural, easy response. How do you interrupt emotional eating when it’s a habitual reaction?

I have a tool that can help. The best part is, you can access it anywhere, it’s free, and you can make an impact in as little as 60 seconds. Let’s talk about PACE breathing, how to use it, and why it helps (even if you do a lousy job of it).

In this episode:

• The power of breathing to interrupt emotional eating
• Your stress response vs. the PACE process
• How and why to do PACE breathing

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/how-to-interrupt-emotional-eating-in-60-seconds-tmohp-episode-132/

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 believe that you can heal your relationship with food or permanently change your eating in positive ways if you don’t address the emotional baggage of shame. So let’s talk about how to break the cycle of guilt, shame, and overeating.

You’d have to be superhuman not to have internalized some or all of these beliefs and influences. This episode is about how to break the cycle.

In this episode:

• The shame/guilt/overeating cycle
• Getting off the hamster wheel
• Self-compassion and shame
• Letting help in

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/how-to-break-the-cycle-of-guilt-shame-and-overeating-tmohp-episode-131/

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

You’ve probably been there. You walk in the door and you head to the kitchen. You hit “end meeting” on a work call and you go for a snack. You finish up dinner and all that you want to do in the kitchen and then you circle back for one more little thing before you leave.

I’ve talked about transitions before on the podcast. In this episode, I’m sharing why your power to break overeating habits may lie in finding new ways to switch gears.

In this episode:

• Why you might mindlessly eat at the same time every day (and not feel able to break the habit)
• What to know about switching gears and overeating
• What you want vs. what you don’t want

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/when-youre-mindless-eating-at-the-same-time-every-day-tmohp-episode-130/

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

Struggles with food and eating take up a lot of mental space. I frequently hear from women who desperately want to put an end to all the drama, the thinking about what and when to eat, and would give a lot to be able to create mental peace with food. If you want to understand what freedom from overeating really is, it’s important to understand cognitive dissonance and the mental tricks your brain might be using that are keeping you stuck.

In this episode:

• Cognitive dissonance and internal struggles with eating
• How we cope with cognitive dissonance and wanting to overeat (and also wanting to change our eating)
• Mindless eating or eating to numb as a coping mechanism
• Respecting vs. gaslighting your cognitive dissonance about overeating and emotional eating

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/fighting-cravings-when-you-dont-want-to-overeat-and-yet-you-do-tmohp-episode-129/

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

Whether you choose to or not, it’s difficult to be a woman and not be continually exposed to the assumptions and stresses of diet mentality and deprivation thinking. Recently I experienced a few instances when I was surprised by diet thinking and beliefs and the stress that goes along with them. These experiences, that I’ll share with you, definitely highlight the difference between pursuing freedom from overeating vs. working to get “in control” of it. This episode also covers the difference between advice and support and the way that requests for support might be eliciting the opposite of what you need to end struggles with overeating.

In this episode:

• Going out to lunch with someone - and the stories they were telling themselves about me
• When weight loss “support” completely misses the mark
• Advice vs. support
• The role of compassion in healing that so many experts miss

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/diet-mentality-ick-a-rant-tmohp-episode-128/

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

There are a few things I’ve learned about managing stress eating that help a lot. In fact, these are life lessons that keep repeating themselves - and that I’ll probably be relearning and remembering for the rest of my life. Imperfectly. In this episode I’m sharing ten life lessons on managing stress eating that I never stop learning.

In this episode:

• How to get more help when you don’t know how anyone can help you
• Where you are probably tackling someone else’s to-do list most days (and maybe even before you look at your own)
• The obvious choice between being happy and right that can be incredibly difficult to make
• Where taking more time can give you more time, less stress, and help you be more productive
• The question that works magic when I remember to ask it in the morning

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/a-few-lessons-on-managing-stress-eating-that-i-never-stop-learning-tmohp-episode-127/

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’m covering what you can do to stop fighting with your inner critic and how to stop negative thoughts from triggering overeating. It’s a two-step process, and the steps I’m sharing probably aren’t the steps that you’ve been trying so hard to implement.

In this episode:

• How your inner critic and negative thoughts sabotage your work to create freedom from overeating
• The two steps to take to stop fighting with your inner critic
• What your inner critic and a door-to-door salesperson have in common
• A simple way to feel more confident

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/how-to-stop-negative-thoughts-from-triggering-overeating-tmohp-episode-126/

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

In this episode I’m answering a question about how to be okay - and even motivated - by less than perfect progress. Spoiler alert: less than perfect (and sometimes gradual) progress is the only kind you’ll see if you’re making lasting changes to break overeating and emotional habits. So how do you stay motivated and feel satisfied? Tune in to this week’s episode.

In this episode:

• Why making “some” progress can feel discouraging
• The progress we miss or disregard and how to capture it
• Capturing wins
• What to focus on to feel more satisfied and motivated to keep going

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/qa-how-to-be-okay-with-less-than-perfect-progress-tmohp-episode-125/

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

Fiona has a great question: “How can I feel delighted with small portion sizes, rather than feeling robbed, disheartened, and treated badly.” Q&A episodes are some of my favorites, because there’s a lot to be learned from a question - and there’s a lot to unpack in this one. In this episode I’m answering Fiona’s question and also tackling some important aspects of making changes to the way that you eat - whether you are adjusting your portions or trying something else. 

In this episode:

• Is choosing “small portions” helpful at all?
• Why any change you make to your eating is going to require an adjustment period.
• What to pay attention to before you even begin to change portions.
• How to create more delight - whatever change you’re making to your eating.

Find links to everything we mention in this episode as well as complete show notes & transcript at https://toomuchonherplate.com/qa-can-you-be-delighted-by-small-portion-sizes-tmohp-episode-124/

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