Ep 45 — Emotional Eating & the 3PM Slump

Emotional Eating & the 3PM Slump

Stress, boredom, sadness, or that mid-afternoon crash — these are some of the most common triggers for cravings. In this episode of The Path to Better A1C, Jenny Peña, NBC-HWC, explores emotional eating and the 3 p.m. slump. Learn why these cravings happen, what your body is really asking for, and how to start responding with awareness instead of autopilot.

This is the fourth part of our October Cravings Series.

✨ What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why emotional eating happens (and why it works… briefly)

• The science behind the 3 p.m. energy crash

• Simple tools to pause, reflect, and respond differently

• How to build awareness instead of guilt around cravings
  🎁 Free Resource: Download your Blood Sugar Balancing Snacks List to help you respond to real hunger with steady, satisfying options.

👉 Get it here: https://www.subscribepage.io/snacks

🔗 Connect with Jenny: Website: https://www.jennypena.com

 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/coachjenp

 YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@coachjenp

Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Hello my friend, welcome back tothe path to better A1C
broadcast. I am your host, Jenny Pinion
National Board Certified Health and Wellness coach, diabetes
Prevention program, lifestyle coach, creator of the A1C Reset
protocol is my signature 12 weekprogram to help you balance your
blood sugar, control cravings, increase your energy and prevent

(00:39):
diabetes. And I am coming today with
something that a lot of my clients come and it's like the
first thing that they actually want to address and that is
emotional eating and the 3:00 PMslump.
Now, episode 45, we are going totalk about this.

(01:02):
Now before we dive in, I want toremind you that you can grab
your free blood sugar balancing snacks list at subscribe page
dot IO forward slash snacks And it's a simple go to resource to
help you respond to those hungercravings and especially the
afternoon slump in a way that isgoing to support your energy and

(01:24):
help you take control of them. Let's talk about something I
hear often. Why is it that I hit a wall in
the afternoon? Some days emotions push me to
snack. Other days around 3:00 PM that
crash, It hits hard. This is what I hear all the time

(01:47):
now. Emotional eating and that
infamous 3:00 PM slump often go hand in hand and today we are
going to unpack why and how to shift your response.
Now let's let's talk about emotional eating and why it
actually happens. Right.

(02:08):
Like a lot of people think that being emotional is bad or
negative. Emotions are emotions.
That's what makes us different than human and special.
But being that said, emotional eating is not necessarily your
enemy because it's how your brain and your body is trying to

(02:31):
cope. Stress, boredom, loneliness,
anxiety, well, they all light upreward circuits that make food
feel comforting. So think about all of that,
right? Like it's not just the emotional
part, but all of these differenttriggers, right, that are tied

(02:54):
to our emotions. Those are the ones that create
that desire for food to find comfort.
So eating something sweet or rich, it triggers dopamine and
serotonin and it gives you that short relief.
But I'm going to tell you it's short lived and often followed

(03:16):
by guilt and more cravings. So when these emotions drive
eating rather than hunger, and we talked about that on the
previous episode, we lose track of purpose.
That's why emotional eating tends to feel completely out of
control. I once worked with a client who

(03:38):
always grabs snacks after tense meeting goals.
And and side note, I work with alot of corporate workers.
A lot of people are on C-Suite, a lot of people that have very
demanding jobs, long hours. And this client realized it
wasn't even about fuel. It was just the system seeking

(04:01):
for that pause, for that reset and that was what was available.
So once recognizing that pattern, guess what my client
did? Client started using alternative
tools and we explore these toolstogether.
Take a pause, take a stretch, maybe a couple of intentional

(04:24):
breathing exercises right beforereaching for that food and even
incorporating that between meetings just to find that piece
of breath right. Like that mini reset in the
middle of all this very high demanding calendar because it's
something that the client couldn't really control all the

(04:48):
time. But we figured things out that
worked out. So I will invite you to think
about these things. What can you do to incorporate
that mini break that will break that pattern?
Now let's talk about the three BM slump and why you actually
crash, right? Because there are different
elements. Now we're going to go into the

(05:11):
slump and that mid afternoon dipthat can be real and can be
partly wired into us. You see our circadian rhythm
naturally shifts in the afternoon.
It is starting to signal to rest, right?
Like in the morning, you're waking up, you're energized, you

(05:34):
know that you have all these things to do.
And in the afternoon, the body knows, OK, like the day is about
to end, let me start shifting and signaling that it's time for
you to start slowing down and getting your rest.
And when you combine that with avery heavy lunch with fast carbs

(05:55):
that doesn't have enough proteinor fiber and then the blood
sugar drop, well, you know you're going to have that energy
crash. It's just that perfect
combination for it. Now there is an interesting
article from Nutrition Australiathat I was reading and it was

(06:15):
very interesting because there was a reminding that skipping
meals, eating high glycemic index carbs and not hydrating,
these are all the culprits, the flags for that slum to happen.
So if you're skipping meals and if you're eating all of these
processed carbs, high glycemic index and you're not hydrating

(06:40):
properly, and we talked about that in previous episodes,
that's kind of like how you build the perfect condition for
that slump. That's exactly how it happens.
And then that sugar and caffeineboost that I was guilty of.
I worked in corporate. I work in the finance area many

(07:01):
years. And you run for that.
Like I lived on coffee, I lived on looking, even if it was a
stale doughnut from the morning and I was hungry at at 3:00 PM
in the afternoon. I was just looking for that
quick fix. It gives you a spike, but it
gives you a deeper crash after it makes often the that slump,

(07:26):
it makes it worse. So you're, you're trying to get
more done, but your brain fog won't let you that slump.
You still are crashing and it actually makes it take longer
for you to complete certain tasks.
So fast sugar fixes are short lived and just lead to rebound

(07:48):
fatigue and then dehydration. Low nutrient levels?
Because that is a possibility right?
Like iron, B vitamins. Your system is going to become
more vulnerable. That's another element that you
need to think about emphasizing on hydration, making sure that
you're getting iron rich foods and getting those B vitamins

(08:12):
within your food to support yourenergy tools to shift this
pattern. What can we do about it?
And this is something that almost every client that I have
worked with about 300 at this point, this is what everybody
asks first, Want to build that awareness.
Want to notice when the slump comes, what your emotional state

(08:35):
is, what you ate for lunch, how you hydrated?
These are the things that you can do to build awareness.
The second pause before reacting, and you're going to
hear that out loud this month. Ask yourself, am I truly hungry?
Am I just tired or is this emotional?

(08:59):
I'm going to say this again. First build that awareness.
Think about your emotional state.
What did you eat for lunch? Did you drink enough food?
Did you skip meals? Did you have enough protein?
And then pause and ask, OK, am Itruly hungry?
Do I need to get a balanced snack?
Is this emotions just because I've had a very intense day so

(09:23):
far or am I just tired? And then the third element that
I would say and that I typicallydo with my clients as well, is
to adjust your lunch and your afternoon routine.
Try to choose foods that are slow release carbs.

(09:46):
Those are complex carbs, proteinand fat that is the key to
avoiding those sharp blood sugarswings.
The other thing is stay hydrated, drink throughout the
afternoon. I am based in New York and right

(10:08):
now we're kind of like kicking off fall.
Still quite warm at the time that I'm recording this, but
when the weather gets colder, a lot of my clients struggle with
hydration. Remember that if you drink
herbal tea, that does count as hydration, then swap it for

(10:28):
herbal tea. Drink something warm and that
counts for your hydration, but stay hydrated.
The other thing and and if you have been listening to me for
the past year, you know that I am not very fond of fasting.
There's some science out there. I will close you through it if

(10:49):
you come in your truly believe that this is what's best for
your body. But skipping meals can be a bit
dangerous, especially when you have blood sugar imbalances.
So aim for balanced lunch if youneed to schedule your snacks to
find that balance until you regulate your body and your
cues. Again, I have that blood sugar

(11:10):
balancing snacks list. Do that, but try not to skip
meals and go too long without eating.
And also use non food resets when you're having these
emotional moments, right? Like things that you know that
you need that comfort. Go for a brief walk, step away

(11:32):
from your desk, take deep breaths, right?
Like take an intentional break that is not necessarily tied to
food. And again, keep your snacks list
ready. Have some options if you know
you're going to have a crazy dayand lots of meetings, maybe

(11:52):
having a protein drink, maybe having a protein bar.
They're they're not something for you to do every day, but to
have a backup plan so that you don't have to go through hours
without eating and having those snacks that are better options
for you. So small shifts like tweaking

(12:12):
your lunch, consistent water, pausing.
I know it sounds like too basic and yet they can dramatically
reduce the crash. So remember, emotional eating
and the 3:00 PM slump often feellike you're failing.
And I don't want you to have guilt.
I know that a pre diabetes diagnosis and a diabetes

(12:35):
diagnosis and any diagnosis thatis related to lifestyle habits,
it makes you feel a bit responsible and guilty about it.
But I want you to really just think that, OK, it's not like
you're failing. You're really just getting
signals. Signals from your brain, signals
from your body, signals from your environment.

(12:55):
You just need to start seeing these patterns, see your
emotional state, see your lunch composition, see how much you're
hydrating. And then you move from reacting
to it to responding to it and gaining that control and that
empowerment. And that's where freedom starts.

(13:19):
Not through denial, but through awareness and knowing.
Huh. I know where this is coming from
and I know exactly what I need to do.
So that's emotional eating and the 3:00 PM slump dissected.
Hopefully, you got lots of valuefrom this.
Now next week is our October Cravings series finale and we're

(13:43):
going to talk about candy without the crash.
Now I know it's Halloween and I am going to try to give you some
tips so that you can enjoy sweets in a way that does not
wreck your energy. Now in the meantime, again,
don't forget to get your free blood sugar balancing snacks
list at subscribe page dot IO for slash snacks, your support

(14:07):
system for when cravings and crashes strike because it has a
lot of different options and things that are already combined
optimally so that you can curve those cravings and regain your
energy. Thank you so much for listening.
I will catch you on episode 46, which is Halloween and in the

(14:30):
US, and we'll talk about how to deal with the candy and not the
crash. Have an amazing rest of your
week. Bye.