Overeating when Stressed

soccerkon26

I have been doing IIFYM and exercising more for about a month and a half and am really happy with my progress. But, when I get stressed about homework and school I just can't stop eating (which happens late at night!)

Last night I ate about 1,500 calories over my goal. I'm frustrated about it but I know I need to move on and just do better today.

What do you do when you are stressed? What do you turn to? I don't know why my mind reacts like this.

kandell

It might be helpful to find a new outlet for stress, like yoga or meditation, or maybe kickboxing. Anything that you can channel your stress into that isn't food.

wathjo1

I know exacty how you feel! I have been actively working on this for a long time, but sometimes it's like my body goes on autopilot and before I know it i've ate an entire pizza or whopper meal with ranch!

Trying to stay focused on something else, getting up and moving, or telling myself I have to do 50 crunches before I can snack uuusually helps.

SwankyTomato

How late are we talking? If you are done for the day, go to sleep.

If you are studying for school and late nights are a regular thing, you have to make it work.

Save some calories for later, make up veggie trays, get an air popper for popcorn, drink hot tea, talk a walk around the block or stop and give yourself a break with chilling out, drinking water, etc.

It is a struggle for sure.

I think you just have to have a set plan and do it every night until it becomes habit.

jmagdalena707

This happens to me too. When I get super stressed out I go into "don't give a eff" mode and will overeat to feel better. I've started yoga 3x a week to help with stress. I've also been trying to go to bed earlier since I tend have more food cravings when I'm tired.

When I'm in the moment and start to get stressed out I will

-Drink a mug of tea
-Go outside and just breathe for a minute
-Take a shower
-Go for a walk
-Paint my nails(makes it hard to eat and keep you busy)
-Stretch my muscles since I'm probably pretty tense from the stress
-If it's late enough I just go to bed

wkwebby

What about keeping fruit around that you can snack on (of course, it should be low cal fruit)? I mean, could you even eat 1500 cals worth of kiwi fruit or grapefruit?

PeachyPlum

I have the exact opposite problem, I have zero appetite when stressed. However, I tend to eat a lot when I'm sad or depressed, which is an ongoing thing.
If you can divert your attention into something else, like exercising or another distraction that's great. If you tend to eat *while* you're working on your schoolwork, I second the suggestion of low calorie snacks. Carrot sticks, cucumber slices, celery, and plain (no butter, no salt) popcorn are my favorite go-to's. I could eat them all night and not hit 100 calories.

Amanda4change

Being stressed kills my appetite (actually it makes me nauseous and eating will make me sick), right now my life is insanely stressful. Cardio is my way a dealing with stress, I take "run it out" to heart. If I can go running, I clean, reorganize closets, If it's super bad and none of the above work I drink. I've tried tea, I've tried yoga and meditation but none work for me. I need something that *kitten* my brain off.

dubird

I don't overeat from stress, but I do have a bad snacking habit. I'll be watching TV or on the computer, and tend to just snack without it actually registering that I'm doing so just so my hands have something to do. I've found that if I don't keep things handy, I'm much less likely to go after them. I've also tried to use other things, like sketching or cross-stitch just to keep my hands busy. So maybe find some other hobby that you can focus on? Something that allows you to break from the world around for a bit and focus on one thing that isn't stressing you out might help lower stress and thus, lower the snacking desire.

Lounmoun

I tend to clean when I am stressed. I get a lot done, it is somwhat physical and I suppose that helps me feel a bit more in control or better.
Soaking in the tub, drawing, exercise, listening to music are other things I do.