Stop Stress Eating!
If you’re like me, stressful situations send you to your favorite comfort foods. In my case, stress is often the single biggest factor in causing me to blow my eating plan. You’ve probably heard all sorts of tips for avoiding stress eating, but I have a different approach I’d like to share.
Focus on eliminating the stress, not the stress eating.
I often eat to cope with stressful situations. I may be upset, worried, depressed, whatever…. So I tend to eat to make myself feel better. I could focus on not eating during those times, or doing something else instead, but in the past that hasn’t worked well for me.
If you’re a stress eater, has it worked well for you? I’m going to bet that it hasn’t. It’s hard to give up old habits. Besides stress eating is at least partially rooted in our biology anyway. (The effects of stress on body weight, Stress, Eating and the Reward System.)
I’ve come to think that fighting that response (at least for me) tends to be a bit of a lost cause. Instead, I’m trying to work on my causes of stress instead. It stands to reason that I can reduce my stress eating if I reduce my stress, right?
Here are a few things that I’ve been trying.
- I take a few minutes of quiet time to calm myself. I’m lucky at work — I have an actual office. I shut the door and take a few minutes of quiet time. If I’m home and things are hectic, I’ve been known to shut myself in the bathroom to get that bit of quiet, personal space.
- I get up and move around. I might take a walk down the hall, head upstairs to put in a load of laundry, etc. I don’t mean run out for a two-mile walk (although that would be good too). Sometimes just getting up and moving gives me a different perspective.
- I try to recognize what’s bothering me. After I focus on what has be upset, then I remind myself that eating isn’t going to help that. Sometimes just taking a minute and allowing myself to be upset helps.
- I ask myself if I’m really hungry or just stressed. Believe it or not, it can be tough to tell sometimes. If I’m not sure, I’ll have a cup of tea or coffee and see how I feel in half an hour or so.
- If something is really bothering me, I may try to ask someone else to handle it. This is especially useful if you’re feeling overwhelmed at home; ask for a hand with some of the household chores. At work it can be tougher to ask for help, but consider it if you feel that you’re really carrying more than a fair share or if you’ve been overwhelmed by extra tasks.
What are your tips for dealing with stress? Do you find that stress impacts your eating and exercise habits?
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I just made a post on my blog today about emotional spending and how chocolate cupcakes were a more frugal choice so I had to read your post. They do kind of blow my diet out of the water though. Maybe we should both try walking to relieve stress… it’s cheap and it burns off calories.
Yes, I stress eat too. I always put on weight when things are busy at work and lose the pounds when on vacation.