Aggeliki FaitaMarch 2026 was intense. I had been posting a lot about emotional eating, helping others understand their relationship with food… while at the same time my own life felt like a marathon I couldn’t step off.
I was working in a salon.
Working in a spa on weekends.
Babysitting.
Coaching.
And at the same time navigating life after divorce, managing money worries, raising a teenager, cooking, answering school emails, organising playdates and birthday parties, and everything else that comes with running a household.
If you’re a parent, you know exactly what I mean.
By the end of the month, I was mentally overloaded, emotionally drained, and physically exhausted. My work is quite physical too, so my body was tired as well.
And I realised something important.
My life had become work, work, work.
No pleasure.
No fun.
No joy.
Something had to give.
When emotional eating becomes the easy escape
Let’s be honest. When you feel overwhelmed, food is often the quickest way to soothe yourself.
It’s warm.
It’s comforting.
It requires very little effort.
And unfortunately, that was exactly where my mind went.
But because I’m that kind of person… even my emotional eating came with a plan.
I knew I was exhausted.
I knew my period was due.
I knew I was emotionally fragile.
So eventually I just said: “That’s it. I’m doing it.”
My emotional eating lasted three days.
And honestly? It was exactly what I needed.
“Mum needs emotional support”
That Friday I picked up my son from school.
There was a meme trending everywhere at the time — you know the one — teenagers shouting:
“Emotional damage!”
If you have a teenager, you’ve probably heard it about a hundred times. So when I picked him up I said:
“Today I need emotional support… because I am emotionally damaged.” He laughed immediately.
Then I explained what was going on. I told him how tired I was, how disappointed I felt about a business situation, and that I just needed someone to listen.
I told him:
“Let’s go home. You cook for me. We’ll make popcorn and watch a movie.” He was the sweetest listener.
He hugged me, listened to me vent, and gave me the comfort I needed.
My ‘mindful emotional eating’ strategy
We stopped at the supermarket like we do every Friday.
Usually our shopping is very boring. I cook almost the same meals every week to avoid decision fatigue.
I plan the whole week in advance: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and my son’s packed lunches.
It saves time.
It saves money.
And nothing gets wasted.
But that Friday I added one extra thing to the trolley.
A pack of crisps.
We ate them in the car before going home, laughing together.
And just like that…
Day one of emotional eating had begun.
“Mum… you’re doing emotional eating wrong”
When we got home, reality kicked in. My son was definitely not cooking dinner.
So while I was making dinner I started snacking.
Cheese.
Lettuce.
Fruit.
Nuts.
At one point my son looked at me and said: “Mum… you can’t even do emotional eating properly. You’re eating lettuce.”
We both burst out laughing.
But actually, there was a reason for it.
My goal wasn’t to eat junk until I felt sick.
My goal was to feel full, comforted, and satisfied. So I filled up first on fruit, fibre, nuts, and cheese before dinner.
You could call it “mindful emotional eating’’.
Dinner that night was pasta bolognese, but the pasta was made from peas — more fibre, more fullness.
And by the end of the evening?
I finally felt calm.
The second day: when exhaustion takes over
Saturday I was working.
In the morning I was still quite disciplined.
I did yoga, handled some business admin, and ate a protein-rich breakfast: yogurt with berries and nuts. I even managed about 12 hours of fasting, which helps balance things out.
But Saturday night was different. I finished work late, around 8pm, and had to drive 30 minutes in the rain to pick up my son from a playdate.
I hate driving at night.
I was exhausted.
And when I arrived, the other mum had prepared so much delicious food.
Soup.
Pistachios.
Chocolate.
Sweets.
So I ate.
A lot.
Three bowls of soup, plus snacks.
At some point I felt that familiar uncomfortable stretch in my stomach. That was my signal to stop. But something else interesting happened that night.
I realised that throughout the day at work, I had been trying harder to connect with people.
I kept asking how they were, starting conversations – even small ones.
Because when we feel emotionally drained, what we really need isn’t food – it’s connection.
That evening, luckily, I had some lovely conversations with two other mums. And I felt grateful.
Full — emotionally and physically.
A walk that changed everything
That same night (Saturday), when I went to pick up my son from his playdate, he told me he’d lost his phone during a walk at Westonbirt Arboretum.
Another small stress added to the pile. But we agreed to go back the next morning to look for it. Normally I would never do something like that before work.
My Sundays are usually reserved for yoga, admin, and preparing mentally before a long day at the spa.
But we went anyway.
And something magical happened.
After walking through the forest for a while, I felt so much better.
My mood lifted.
My mind cleared.
Movement, fresh air, nature… it makes such a difference.
And incredibly… we found the phone. Can you believe it???
The sweetest Mother’s Day
Sunday was also Mother’s Day.
When I came home after work, my son handed me a card.
Inside it said:
“Thank you for being the best mum I could ever wish for.
Your beloved child.”
He also made me green tea… and jelly.
Which honestly made me laugh so much. But it was perfect.
The end of my three-day emotional eating
That night I finished my little emotional-eating phase with:
Chicken
Bread with olive oil
Dates with chocolate and peanut butter
And jelly
And that was it.
Three days.
No more.
Monday morning: no guilt
Monday morning I woke up feeling energised, grateful, and balanced. No guilt.
Just awareness.
I did my yoga, cooked some batch meals, wrote this blog, and got ready for another week of work and school runs.
And that’s when I realised something important.
Emotional eating isn’t the enemy
The real problem is unconscious emotional eating.
When we don’t understand why we’re eating.
When guilt follows.
When it slowly becomes a habit.
But if you are self-aware, you can set intentions.
I knew I was struggling.
So I allowed myself a small three-day pity party.
And then I moved on.
No guilt.
No shame.
Just honesty.
Awareness is the first step
If you recognise what’s happening inside you, you can make conscious choices. Sometimes what we need is:
Connection
Rest
Movement
Or simply someone to listen
And sometimes…
Yes.
Sometimes we just need a little emotional eating.
But done with awareness, intention, and kindness toward ourselves.
If you want help understanding your emotional triggers and learning how to navigate emotional eating without guilt or weight gain…
I’ve got you.
I’m Aggeliki.
I help women Eat Well, Love Well, Live Well… so they can Bee Well.
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