Too much stress = emotional eatting

Aks30in14

I have been having trouble with emotional eating and handling stress. I have just been eating quick fast food meals, not watching what I am consuming and almost giving up on dieting in all! I am discouraged in this area of my life and know I have to get on track and stay on track...................it's just so hard!!!!

LizAnn925

I totally understand! A lot of us out there are emotional eaters. I just saw a quote that said "Food is the most misused anxiety drug and exercise is the least utilized antidepressant."

The only thing you can do is to start with your thought process and Stop. Right. Now. in your tracks. You recognize that you are on a downward spiral, so stop right there. Recognizing is the first step to changing it, so you are already there!
Recognize that unhealthy foods make you more stressed and feel worse! I think it is important that you find time to exercise. Exercise will help jumpstart your mood, ease your stress, and help you want to eat healthier. Think about your goals. Is this one moment of binging because of stress worth fighting the weight off for the next few months? Probably not. Is your need of junk food right now greater than your need for a healthy, fit body? Of course not.

Since stress is a factor, I highly recommend cooking all of your food the night BEFORE. This way, you already have your entire day's worth of meals picked out and you won't even want to buy fast food if you already cooked something delicious for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Craving sweets? Opt for bananas drizzled in honey and cinnamon. Craving salt? Opt for some edamame soy beans sprinkled in a little bit of sea salt. There are ALWAYS alternatives. If you want to stress eat, allow yourself to snack on kale chips or a salad instead. You can even make yourself a bowl of cucumbers covered in some olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper instead (I hear they are addicting). But portion what you eat and only allow yourself to snack on healthy things if you MUST emotional eat.

Also, plan out the night before what you are eating on MFP as well. I do this often and it really helps me stay on track! Fight off that stress with a run, exercise class, or workout DVD instead of food. The food might make you feel better for a second, but it isn't worth feeling bad about yourself for months ahead.

You can do this! If you have survived life up until this point, you can certainly beat a little bit of stress and food cravings

silmarilliane

i agree, i totally stress eat, or depressed eat etc.
i find that if i've had a bad day, if i go back and log it all, it makes me understand what i'm eating more and helps me think about it in future. i find that having lots of healthier snacks around helps, like cereal bars and light crisps or popcorn. if i ever go to a fast food place i get a kids meal etc. sometimes you just want a bit of chocolate and often a little bit can really help.

also, maybe cliche but i find going for a walk/run or doing some exercise is really good against stress and takes my mind off things.

i hope you find something that helps, and don't spend too much time worrying about what you've eaten recently - you've asked for help which tells me you want to move past it.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

I just saw a quote that said "Food is the most misused anxiety drug and exercise is the least utilized antidepressant."

That is so true! I used to have a horrible time with emotional eating. I had a really good handle on it for a long time, and then things started to get bad at home. My first thought is to put on my running shoes and go, but I can't leave the house at the time this is happening. Most times I realize what I'm about to do, shut the cabinet, get a glass of water and walk out of the kitchen. My "home page" on my computer is MFP. I have it set to open up to my diary, so I'm not distracted by my newsfeed first. If I pre-plan my entire day, I have an easier time sticking to my plan. If I do screw up (i.e. eat something because I'm frustrated, not because I'm hungry), I can make changes later in the day to allow for it. When I see it's starting to become a habit, I put sticky notes with my name in a red circle with a line through it on the things I'm tempted to reach for. It helps snap me back into reality, since nobody else is going to smack my hand.