Are you an emotional eater – or just hungry?

For anyone who views their diet in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods, there may be an unexpected underlying cause for their tendency to scoff a family-sized trifle in front of the TV of an evening, despite their best intentions.

‘Very often, someone will come to me for help with comfort eating or stress eating, whatever they want to label it,’ says nutritionist Laura Thomas. ‘And they will typically mention their daily food diary

– they might skip breakfast because they were in a rush, then have a salad for lunch because they were being “good”, then hit the gym after work. By the time they get home, they’re raiding the fridge and eating everything in sight. It’s chaotic and stressful but what they are describing isn’t emotional eating – it’s hunger!’

If you restrict calories and deprive yourself of the things you really want to eat, no wonder you’re tempted to reach for sugary foods at the end of the day. ‘It’s the equivalent of letting the petrol tank in your car run right down – until you’re running on fumes. When it gets that low, the natural response is to fill it back up to full,’ she says.

Thomas suggests that we pay close attention to the language we use around food, particularly words that involve guilt or shame. ‘Are you judging yourself for eating a slice of cake or a pizza? A great start is to neutralise the phrases you’re using to talk about what you’re eating. Eliminate the good-bad dichotomy. Allow yourself to eat the foods that you find satisfying and pleasurable.’

That sounds lovely, but I worry that if I gave myself permission to enjoy the Brie and Camembert with a baguette and all the organic butter, I’ll consume an unhealthy amount. By thinking of it as ‘just food’, I’m keeping things in balance.

In the interests of research, I decide to try this approach. Every day for a week, I have my French cheese course after dinner. It is a revelation! For a start, after day four, the unthinkable happens and I start to lose interest in cheese. Maybe some dark chocolate would be nice? I’m not a chocoholic, so two squares is enough.

‘The more often you give yourself permission to eat what you want, the less you will feel a pull to overindulge on those things. They will lose the charge they have over you,’ says Thomas.

In my case, I also realise that by not focusing so much on ‘reward’ foods, I’m not rushing through my main meal to get to the treats. No guilt, no shame – and less overeating.

“Are you judging yourself for eating a slice of cake or a pizza? Neutralise the phrases you use about food. Eliminate the good-bad dichotomy”