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Beyond Willpower: Understanding Emotional Eating

Are you finding it hard to lose weight even with the right medication or plan in place? You’re not alone, emotional eating is one of the most common and overlooked barriers to sustainable weight loss.

Updated over a week ago

In this Medicspot guest lecture, midlife coach and nutritional therapist Suzanne Laurie explains what really drives overeating — and how you can break the cycle.

Drawing on her experience as a positive psychology coach and emotional binge-eating specialist, Suzanne explores the habits, emotions, and thought patterns that can override hunger cues, including when using GLP-1 medications such as Mounjaro or Wegovy.

What You’ll Learn in This Webinar

What emotional eating is — and how it differs from physical hunger

Why willpower isn’t the answer, and why guilt and shame make things worse

The “habit loop” that keeps you stuck, and how to break it

Common emotional and environmental triggers for overeating

How emotional eating can reduce the effectiveness of GLP-1 treatments

Practical tools to help rewire your habits and manage cravings, including: HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) — a quick emotional check-in before eating

The 3 Ds (Delay, Distract, Decide) — a simple strategy to pause automatic behaviour Mindful eating — building awareness, not restriction

Balanced routines — eating regularly and nourishing your body without deprivation

Why This Matters

Studies show that emotional eating can significantly reduce the effectiveness of GLP-1 medications. When we eat for comfort or stress rather than hunger, even the best medical treatment can’t work as intended. Combining behavioural support with clinically approved medication delivers far better long-term outcomes. Suzanne also discusses how past experiences, self-worth, and restrictive dieting can all contribute to the emotional eating cycle — and why being compassionate with yourself is the first step to lasting change.

About the Speaker

Suzanne Laurie is a midlife coach, nutritional therapist, and emotional binge-eating disorder specialist. She works with clients to build healthy, balanced relationships with food and self-image. This session is part of Medicspot’s Behavioural Change Programme, a series designed to complement safe, medically supervised weight-loss treatment with practical mindset and lifestyle support.

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