Living On Purpose In Christ | Christianity, Biblical Encouragement, Aromatherapy, Devotions, Essential Oils, Journal Prompts

133 | Why Can’t I Stop Eating? Finding Victory Over Emotional or Binge Eating

• Paula Behrens | Christian Coach, Pastor, Certified Essential Oil Practitioner • Season 3

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What if binge eating isn’t a lack of willpower, but a signal that your heart and body need tender care? In this episode, we open a clear, compassionate path out of the binge–shame cycle by reframing emotional eating through Christianity, Scripture, neuroscience, and gentle daily rhythms that restore peace. Instead of piling on rules, we look at how self-control grows as a fruit of the Spirit, why condemnation keeps you stuck, and how conviction draws you toward healing with clarity and love through steady biblical encouragement.

Together, we unpack the real drivers—stress, loneliness, exhaustion, grief—and how the nervous system reaches for quick relief when emotions go unprocessed. We share a practical approach that pairs prayer with physiology: short resets, calm breathing, and aromatherapy support using essential oils, alongside the Aroma Freedom Technique to uncover and release emotional roots. You’ll hear how reframing your body as God’s temple replaces guilt with value, inviting care, nourishment, and compassion. From that place, food returns to its rightful role as a good gift rather than a coping tool.

We also walk through the "Build a Better Meal" framework, a simple, faith-centered guide that helps you fuel consistently, lower decision fatigue, and separate hunger from stress. And if you’ve been craving more consistency with God, we’ll connect these wellness rhythms to your devotions, including gentle reflection and journal prompts that help you process what’s really happening underneath the cravings. As small rhythms take hold, urgency fades and choice expands. The aim isn’t perfection; it’s alignment—mind, heart, and body ordered by God’s truth so that self-control can emerge naturally over time.

Grab the free Build a Better Meal and Seven-day Devotional Guide at PaulaBehrens.com, and consider booking a private coaching call for prayerful, personalized support. If this helped you, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

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Paula Behrens:

If you've ever felt trapped in a cycle of emotional eating, guilt, and prayer that seems to go unanswered, stay with me. Because today we're going to be talking about binge eating plus a gentle next step that can help you begin healing right now. And I want to invite you to listen all the way to the end of this episode because I'll be sharing how you can download my free Build a Better Meal and seven-day devotional guide. If you've been battling emotional eating, I want you to know this isn't just about willpower or food choices. It's about building peace, creating simple structure, and letting the Lord steady you in an area where so many Christians struggle quietly.

Paula Behrens:

In a world that often celebrates the loud and visible, it's easy to feel as though your quiet acts of devotion go unnoticed. Yet scripture assures us that God sees every hidden moment of faithfulness and he uses them to weave his redemptive story in ways we may never fully comprehend. If you're navigating past wounds, finding it challenging to practice grace and difficult relationships or longing to see how God can use your seemingly small steps to create meaningful change, this podcast is for you.

Paula Behrens:

Hey friend, ever wonder how the Aroma of Christ coaching hour uses pure natural scents to bring calm and clarity into your faith walk? Let me give you a quick overview. Before our session, you'll get a free essential oil sampler in the mail, carefully selected aromas to use on our call together, where we'll dive into the peace reset. First, I'll guide you through using these soothing aromas to ease emotional stress, quiet your mind, and align your heart with God's peace in just minutes. Then we'll spend a little time cultivating a simple rhythm that fits seamlessly into your busy life, small steps that add up without overwhelming your day. By the end, you'll feel refreshed, equipped, and ready to embrace more balance and faith as the mind connects the power of a pure and natural aroma with a deep sense of God's peace. Give yourself room to breathe. Head on over now to PaulaBehrens.com /coaching to book your spot. That's Paula Behrens, B-E-H-R-E-N-S .com /coaching (no spaces). It's time to take that simple step toward a calmer, more connected you. All right, it's time to get started. Grab your Bible, dust off your journal and grab your cup of green tea, and let's dive in.

Paula Behrens:

Before we step fully into today's topic, I want you to know this. If binge eating or emotional eating has been a long-standing battle for you, you do not have to face it alone. I offer private coaching calls where we can talk openly and compassionately about what is really driving the behavior, not just what you see on the surface. During your call, I will guide you through an aroma freedom technique session, which is a gentle, prayerful process that helps uncover and release the deeper emotional and spiritual roots connected to binge eating. Then we'll talk about simple steps to stay connected to God on a consistent basis. You know, many women discover that what they thought was a lack of self-control, especially when it comes to food, was actually unresolved grief, stress, fear, or emotional pain that God is ready to heal. If that resonates with you, hold that thought as we continue, because freedom begins with understanding, not condemnation.

Paula Behrens:

Now, there's a question I hear more often than almost any other. It's a question whispered in prayer, spoken through tears, or admitted only after a long pause. And that question is, why can't I stop eating like this? Why do I feel out of control around food? Even though I know better, pray about it, and promise myself it will be different next time. This question is often followed by shame, frustration, and confusion. Many believers assume that if they were truly walking closely with God, this would not still be an issue. They wonder if they're failing spiritually, lacking discipline, or disappointing God. But let me gently and clearly say this: struggling with binge eating or emotional eating does not mean you are weak in your faith. It doesn't mean you love food more than God, and it doesn't mean you're broken beyond repair. It means you are human, living in a fallen world, carrying emotions, stress, and unmet needs in a body that longs for comfort and relief. And it means you're facing a battle that requires more than willpower.

Paula Behrens:

Binge eating is rarely just about food. Emotional eating happens when food becomes a way to cope with feelings rather than hunger. Food becomes a temporary refuge, a numbing agent, a false sense of control. Believe me, I've been there. And for a moment, it works. There is relief, there is comfort, there is distraction, but then that moment doesn't last. What follows is often a flood of guilt, regret, and self-criticism and spiritual confusion, actually. You see, the enemy seizes that moment to whisper lies into your ears. He tells you that you should know better by now. He tells you that God must be tired of hearing about this. He tells you that you will never really change. So why try? This is how shame tightens its grip and keeps the cycle alive. Now, the Bible is clear that shame does not come from God. Romans chapter 8, verse 1 tells us that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Condemnation pushes us away from God, where conviction by the Holy Spirit draws us closer to Him. The Holy Spirit convicts with love and clarity, pointing us toward truth and freedom. But the enemy condemns us with accusation and despair, trying to keep us hidden, isolated, and stuck.

Paula Behrens:

Emotional eating often begins long before the food enters the picture. It begins with exhaustion, loneliness, stress, disappointment, boredom, or emotional overload. Many of us, especially those of us who work from home, care for others, or carry quiet responsibilities, spend a lot of time pouring out without being replenished. We push through, we stay strong, we meet everyone else's needs while our own emotional needs remain unspoken and unmet. And then what happens? Well, food becomes a substitute for rest, comfort, or connection. Scripture reminds us in Psalm 62 that our souls find rest in God alone. Yet when life feels relentless, it can be easier to reach for something tangible and immediate than to slow down and bring our emotions before the Lord. Emotional eating is not a moral failure, though, but it is a signal that something deeper needs attention, compassion, and care.

Paula Behrens:

This is where many Christians misunderstand self-control. We tend to think of self-control as something we should be able to summon on demand. We're thinking, well, if if we love God enough, if we try harder or make better rules, well, we believe the problem would naturally disappear. But scripture never presents self-control as a personal achievement, it presents it as a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5 tells us that self-control is produced by the Holy Spirit, not by human effort alone. This changes everything. It means that victory over binge eating does not begin with stricter rules or harsher self-talk, it begins with surrender. It begins with inviting the Holy Spirit into the moments when emotions rise, cravings intensify, and old patterns try to reassert themselves. When emotional eating drives binge eating, the body is often responding to unprocessed feelings. Stress hormones are elevated, the nervous system is overwhelmed. Food becomes a way to regulate emotions when we haven't been taught healthier ways to do so. God understands this. I mean, he created our bodies and our emotions. He knows how stress, trauma, and emotional pain affect us physically.

Paula Behrens:

I n 1 Peter chapter 5, we are invited to cast all our anxieties on him because he cares for us. That invitation includes the anxiety we feel in our bodies, not just in our thoughts, it includes the heaviness we carry in our chest, the tension in our shoulders, and the restlessness that drives us toward food when we are emotionally depleted. You know, I find that I want to eat when I become stressed, like when my cat meows, keeps meowing at me. I don't know what it is about that. It's almost like hearing a baby cry. I just want to go and get some comfort food. I know that's something I need to work on myself. I need to go through an aroma freedom technique on my cat meowing. It probably links back to when I was a young mom of raising three children and was afraid I didn't have what it took to do that properly. I mean, that's what we do in the aroma freedom technique. We we peel away those layers like the skin of an onion. We just peel off those things that are getting in the way of our emotions and keeping us from responding the way that God would have us respond in a healthy way.

Paula Behrens:

You know, the enemy exploits emotional vulnerability. He uses shame to convince us that our emotions are weaknesses rather than invitations to God's care. But Jesus never shamed people for their need. He met them with compassion, truth, and healing. One of the most powerful truths for anyone struggling with binge eating is this: God is not asking you to ignore your emotions, he is inviting you to bring them into his presence. Self-control, biblical self-control, is not about forcing yourself to behave. It's about allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your desires and responses. It reflects a life ordered by God's truth rather than driven by impulses or emotions. For someone struggling with binge eating, this is incredibly hopeful. It means self-control grows as trust grows. It deepens as we learn to rely on God instead of using food to manage our emotions. When our hearts, minds, and bodies are aligned with God's purposes, self-control becomes a natural outcome rather than a constant struggle. This kind of self-control is gentle, patient, and rooted in love.

Paula Behrens:

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. This truth is often misunderstood and misused, though. It's used to create guilt around food and body image. But the heart of this passage is not shame, it's value. If your body is God's dwelling place, then it deserves care, nourishment, and compassion. God doesn't call his temple worthless or disgusting, he calls it holy. Understanding this, reframes the entire conversation around binge eating. The goal is not to control the body through fear, the goal is to partner with God in caring for the body through wisdom, grace, and truth. Emotional eating begins to lose its grip when we learn to listen to our bodies instead of fighting them, and when we allow God to meet our emotional needs rather than numbing them.

Paula Behrens:

For many believers, binge eating is not resolved by a single prayer or moment of insight. Healing often unfolds gradually. Each time you pause before reacting, each time you acknowledge an emotion instead of suppressing it, and each time you choose truth over shame, you are participating in God's redemptive work. This is why addressing emotional eating is so important. When emotions go unrecognized, they often drive behavior unconsciously. When emotions are brought into the light, they lose their power to control us. That's what we do in our aroma freedom technique session. During our coaching session, this process will allow us to prayerfully identify emotions and memories that are connected to binge eating. As we invite the Holy Spirit into these moments and blend prayer with specific essential oils, many experience profound emotional and spiritual release. The goal is not to erase the past, but to remove its power to drive present behavior.

Paula Behrens:

Now let's talk about practical support because spiritual truth must eventually meet daily life, right? Freedom is not just about insight, it's about creating new rhythms that support healing. This is where the Build A Better Meal guide comes in. This guide was created for believers who are tired of extremes. It's not a diet, it's not about restriction, punishment, or perfection. It is a simple, faith-centered resource designed to help you approach food with intention, nourishment, and peace. The Build a Better Meal Guide helps you think about food as nourishment rather than reward or escape. It gently encourages balance without strictness. It supports emotional stability by helping you fuel your body consistently and thoughtfully. When the body is nourished, emotional eating loses much of its urgency. Hunger and stress no longer blur together as easily. The guide provides a simple framework that removes decision fatigue and reduces the mental load around food. More importantly, it invites you to bring God into the process. Meals become moments of stewardship rather than battlegrounds. Food becomes something you receive with gratitude rather than something you fear or abuse. Over time, this shift creates space for the Holy Spirit to work more deeply within.

Paula Behrens:

It's about supporting the healing God has already begun in you. It's a practical way to cooperate with grace rather than striving in isolation. I encourage you to take the next step. Visit PaulaBehrens.com and download the free Build a Better Meal and Seven-day Devotional Guide. That's Paula Behrens B-E-H-R-E-N-S .com (no spaces). The link is at the very top. You'll find it. And if you feel ready for deeper support, consider scheduling a private coaching call where we can prayerfully explore the roots of emotional eating together. You know, God is not finished with you, and freedom is possible. All right. I hope you found this conversation helpful.

Paula Behrens:

Thank you for tuning in today. And remember, just like setting biblical boundaries, it's okay to say no to things that don't serve you well, like that third piece of cake at the church potluck. If you were blessed by this episode, be sure to share it with a friend and leave a review so that we can reach even more listeners like you. Check the show notes for all the links. Join us next week as we continue to discover how to live on purpose in Christ. Until then, keep leaning into Him and walking in His wisdom. See you next time.

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