Emotional eating during stressful times

11/23/24 • 31 min

Emotional eating isn’t a lack of willpower - it’s your brain trying to make you feel safe in the easiest way possible.
If you’ve ever found yourself turning to chocolate, wine, or chips after a long day, you’re not alone - but it doesn’t have to stay this way.
Key takeaways
Discover the real reasons behind emotional eating and how perimenopause, holiday stress, and subconscious habits play a role. This episode breaks down:

Why you eat on autopilot: Understand how the brain’s reward system strengthens emotional eating patterns - and why stress and overwhelm make this worse.
How the festive season fuels emotional eating: Learn how family dynamics, unresolved emotions, and holiday busyness trigger this cycle.
The first step to breaking the cycle: Why self-compassion and curiosity are essential tools for creating intentional, lasting change.

Sneak peek
“Knowing what food to eat is the easy part. The hard part is working with your mind - your monkey mind - stepping out of autopilot mode, and living intentionally. It’s about giving yourself permission to feel what’s there and learning to interrupt the patterns.”
This episode is for every woman who’s tired of feeling trapped by emotional eating - especially during stressful times. Listen now to gain clarity, feel empowered, and learn the first steps toward change.
Tune in to the full episode now to uncover how emotional eating works, why it feels so hard to break, and the tools you can start using today.
Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Podcast Episode: Setting Boundaries Without Guilt
Podcast Episode: Avoiding Burnout This Holiday Season
Learn more about PerimenoGO

Send us a question for the FAQs segment or your feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about Sarah, her services and the Freebies mentioned in this episode at https://www.ThePerimenopauseNaturopath.com.au

The Perimenopause Decoder is the ultimate guide to understanding if perimenopause hormone fluctuations are behind your changing mood, metabolism and energy after 40, what phase of perimenopause you're in, and how much longer you may be on this roller coaster for.
For more, follow on Instagram at @theperimenopausenaturopath.

WORK WITH SARAH THE PERIMENOPAUSE NATUROPATH:

PerimenoGO (because who wants to pause anyway?!) A self-guided program to help you reverse weight gain, boost energy, and reclaim your mood — without extreme diets or cutting carbs. Perfect for women who want a realistic plan that fits around kids, work, and actual life.
The Chaos to Calm Method: A 1:1 personalised program for women who want a more personalised plan and support — especially if you’ve got 10kg+ to lose, other health issues, or feel like your body’s just stuck. Includes comprehensive blood testing and analysis, Metabolic Balance ...

Why you eat on autopilot: Understand how the brain’s reward system strengthens emotional eating patterns - and why stress and overwhelm make this worse.
How the festive season fuels emotional eating: Learn how family dynamics, unresolved emotions, and holiday busyness trigger this cycle.
The first step to breaking the cycle: Why self-compassion and curiosity are essential tools for creating intentional, lasting change.

Podcast Episode: Setting Boundaries Without Guilt
Podcast Episode: Avoiding Burnout This Holiday Season
Learn more about PerimenoGO

Send us a question for the FAQs segment or your feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about Sarah, her services and the Freebies mentioned in this episode at https://www.ThePerimenopauseNaturopath.com.au

The Perimenopause Decoder is the ultimate guide to understanding if perimenopause hormone fluctuations are behind your changing mood, metabolism and energy after 40, what phase of perimenopause you're in, and how much longer you may be on this roller coaster for.
For more, follow on Instagram at @theperimenopausenaturopath.

WORK WITH SARAH THE PERIMENOPAUSE NATUROPATH:

PerimenoGO (because who wants to pause anyway?!) A self-guided program to help you reverse weight gain, boost energy, and reclaim your mood — without extreme diets or cutting carbs. Perfect for women who want a realistic plan that fits around kids, work, and actual life.
The Chaos to Calm Method: A 1:1 personalised program for women who want a more personalised plan and support — especially if you’ve got 10kg+ to lose, other health issues, or feel like your body’s just stuck. Includes comprehensive blood testing and analysis, Metabolic Balance ...

Previous Episode

Tired of people-pleasing? How to set boundaries that stick

Tired of saying yes? How setting boundaries can change everything - especially at the end of the year.
If you’re worn out from always trying to keep everyone else happy, it might be time to rethink your approach to saying yes.
In this episode, we’re cutting through the guilt and tackling why boundaries are so essential - especially for women over 40 who are ready to put their well-being first. Learn why saying no isn’t selfish, how people-pleasing can mess with your health - especially in perimenopause - and how setting boundaries can make the holidays (and every other day) more manageable.
Key Takeaways:

Understand why people-pleasing is a hard habit to break: Discover how cultural conditioning and your own primal brain might be working against you, making “no” feel like the wrong answer - even when it’s exactly what you need.
Learn the real costs of people-pleasing in perimenopause: Find out how always saying yes can damage your health, relationships, and self-worth, and why it’s essential to put yourself back on your own priority list.
Get practical strategies for guilt-free boundaries and saying no: We’ll talk through how to start setting boundaries that feel right for you, with scripts and examples that make it easier to stand your ground without feeling guilty.

Sneak Peek
“It’s really important to know that you don’t make people feel the way that they feel. That is always their choice... Our thoughts around what’s happening create those feelings. So if someone reacts poorly to your boundary, it’s their thought about it - not your worth or value as a person.”
If you’re ready to hit the holidays without feeling burnt out, tune in to learn how setting boundaries can shift your perspective, your health, and your relationships this holiday season.
Listen to the full episode now and start setting boundaries that stick.
Links & resources mentioned in the episode:

Episode 39 - Self-coaching

Send us a question for the FAQs segment or your feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about Sarah, her services and the Freebies mentioned in this episode at https://www.ThePerimenopauseNaturopath.com.au

The Perimenopause Decoder is the ultimate guide to understanding if perimenopause hormone fluctuations are behind your changing mood, metabolism and energy after 40, what phase of perimenopause you're in, and how much longer you may be on this roller coaster for.
For more, follow on Instagram at @theperimenopausenaturopath.

WORK WITH SARAH THE PERIMENOPAUSE NATUROPATH:

PerimenoGO (because who wants to pause anyway?!) A self-guided program to help you reverse weight gain, boost energy, and reclaim your mood — without extreme diets or cutting carbs. Perfect for women who want a realistic plan that fits around kids, work, and actual life.
The Chaos to Calm Method: A 1:1 personalised program for women who want a more personalised plan and support — especially if you’ve got 10kg+ to lose, other health issues, or feel like your body’s just stuck. Includes comprehensive blood testing and analysis, Metabolic Balance ...

Next Episode

Busy and burnt out? Easy self-care hacks every woman over 40 needs

Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by the holiday chaos? It’s not just your to-do list that’s running you ragged.
This episode isn’t just another pep talk encouraging you to do less, and have more mani/pedis or weekends away. It’s a real-world guide from a busy homeschooling mum of 4 kids, to help you break the cycle of burn out and actually feel good and enjoy this holiday season.
Key takeaways:
In this episode, we’re diving into the difference between self-care and self-comfort and how small shifts in your habits can help you feel more energised, focused, and calm during the busiest time of year.
You’ll learn:

Why self-comfort might be sabotaging your energy (and how to swap it for self-care that truly supports you).
Simple, practical self-care hacks that don’t require hours of your time, like mindful moments, movement, and nourishing your body.
The surprising power of reflection helps you stay grounded, avoid burnout, and feel more in control - even during the busiest weeks of the year.

Sneak peek:
“Self-care is a long-term investment in your well-being. It’s not necessarily a quick fix, but it can help you feel better in the short term too. It’s all about choosing habits that move you closer to your goals and not just easing that stress or feeling blah at the moment. And that’s what I would call self-comfort.”
If you’ve been putting everyone else’s needs first and feeling like you’re running on fumes, this episode is for you. You’ll walk away with strategies you can put into practice today - no fluff, just real solutions that make a difference.
Links & resources mentioned in the episode:

Send us a question for the FAQs segment or your feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about Sarah, her services and the Freebies mentioned in this episode at https://www.ThePerimenopauseNaturopath.com.au

The Perimenopause Decoder is the ultimate guide to understanding if perimenopause hormone fluctuations are behind your changing mood, metabolism and energy after 40, what phase of perimenopause you're in, and how much longer you may be on this roller coaster for.
For more, follow on Instagram at @theperimenopausenaturopath.

WORK WITH SARAH THE PERIMENOPAUSE NATUROPATH:

PerimenoGO (because who wants to pause anyway?!) A self-guided program to help you reverse weight gain, boost energy, and reclaim your mood — without extreme diets or cutting carbs. Perfect for women who want a realistic plan that fits around kids, work, and actual life.
The Chaos to Calm Method: A 1:1 personalised program for women who want a more personalised plan and support — especially if you’ve got 10kg+ to lose, other health issues, or feel like your body’s just stuck. Includes comprehensive blood testing and analysis, Metabolic Balance ...

Chaos to Calm - Emotional eating during stressful times

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the Chaos to Calm podcast episode number 71. I'm Sarah, The Perimenopause Naturopath, your guide through this magical journey that is perimenopause. If you're over 40 and feeling like your changing, hormones are hijacking your mood, energy, and weight and you want to change that in a holistic way, then this is the place for you, my friend, because each episode I share with you my views on what is happening in your body, why you're feeling the way that you are and how you