Why Do I Eat So Much When I Come Home From Work?
Bypassed Hunger.
Being busy during the day often means that we have less time and focus to eat. This can be intentional or unintentional bypassing -- we may use the adrenaline and distraction of the day to eat just enough to get us through, rather than what we actually need. Being distracted can suppress our inner attunement to hunger -- so even if you don't feel hungry during the day, your body may be waiting for a time when you're paying more attention. The end of the day is a time when hunger cues can finally have space.
Discharging Energy.
At work we experience stressors that we are unable to deal with in the moment. For example: temporary surges of energy from deadlines, conversations, projects, and even being among noise/people all day (especially for introverts). As humans, we are designed to experience stress and discharge it physically from our nervous systems, which is difficult in modern day work environments. Food (a sensory experience) becomes the means by which we expend that excess energy.
Transitioning
Many of us have sensitivity to transitions. Moving from a higher pressure, performance based environment to a down regulated, lower-pressure environment requires a shift in our nervous system. Moving from one environment to the next too rapidly may quietly overwhelm our system. Food can be used to mitigate the energy of that transition or to keep the mind and body moving. We are not in the practice of using transitions to mindfully decompress, so food becomes the default
Second Job.
If you come home from one job role and immediately enter the next (hi Moms, Dads, household managers, and/or those with second work from home roles), the mind and body have no time to decompress. We may also feel resentmentabout the chronic state of work required of us in a day, and food hits our reward centers where we may not otherwise have access to that moment of retreat and relaxation.
Unstructured Time & Expectations.
