When you emotionally eat, you tend to want to eat a very specific thing. In other words, you aren't physically hungry, where you have an appetite for a variety of foods.

Rather, you have a craving for a bowl of ice cream or a slice of cake or even a pizza. The specific food that you crave will depend on your favorite foods and what you associate with comfort in your life.

This craving, though, is worth noting. It can be difficult to distinguish a craving from physical hunger, but noting what food you are hungry for can help you identify emotional eating habits.

For instance, if you go into the kitchen really wanting a bowl of ice cream, that's probably a sign that you are emotional eating (because you are sad, bored, or feeling some other emotion).

To distinguish this emotional craving from physical hunger, simply give yourself a healthier option and ask if you're willing to eat it. If you don't want any real, nutritional food, this is just a craving and it should be addressed, not fulfilled.

This is an excellent way to check in with yourself before you eat and it can help you identify your emotional eating habits.

Another physical sign that you may look for is mindless eating. In other words, if you find yourself using food to keep your hands busy or just to pass the time, that's a major emotional eating symptom.

Unfortunately, we're often programmed to do this. We grab popcorn when watching a movie, we grab a snack while we work, and we typically snack on something when hanging with others.

Identifying the times when you eat even though you aren't physically hungry will help you overcome your emotional eating habits.

Finally, some other physical signs to look for include eating even after you're already full and eating very quickly.

Both of these can be linked to emotional eating habits and tell you that there may be an issue you need to address.