How to Stop Stress Eating

matchymatchmatch

Hi everyone,

I have always been overweight my entire life... I remember weighing in at 100lb at age 7.

I naturally jumped into the first relationship with a man who would love me, got married had three kids... he was extremely abusive mentally and physically and I ended up leaving him a year and a half ago... and gained an additional 60lb in the process (and I was already obese to begin with).

I weighed in at the start of the year at 351... I have tried dieting all year and only got down to 335 that I am currently. I find that I always give up as soon as anything gets stressful... and it does get stressful frequently, my ex stalks my house and leaves my kids alone in the house at night, ect. Which is currently a prolonged legal battle... but anyway.

I am unemployed, uneducated, and over weight... but I am happier then I have been in a long run to be out of that toxic environment. I desperately want to lose weight, I know realistically I will never be "skinny", I just want to be healthier than I am now. I know everything is an excuse, but my way to cope with everything my entire life has been through food. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I just self medicate with food.

And I just don't know how to deal with it. Any tips or support would be greatly appreciated.

MrsDan1667

I have always been a stress eater. Recently I've started noticing when I'm getting anxious. A 15 min walk is becoming helpful for me personally when I start feeling stressed.

alexandriapwll

Walking is a great idea! Also, setting a timer for 15 minutes and declare "no food" for that time. Have a list of easy alternatives you could do during that time to either distract or calm yourself. During that time, something like writing down what's going on or about current feelings has helped me to purge some of those excess "feelings/food urges". Maybe get away from kitchen or sight of food for awhile. These are just some thoughts. Something else may work for you. You are not alone and you are worth the effort. Don't give up even if you don't win every battle!

tinkerbellang83

Finding another outlet for your stress that doesn't involve food is probably a good way to deal with your stress eating, a new hobby or activity perhaps.

Have you spoken to anyone in a professional capacity about what you have been going through with your ex, because that in itself can be a big help.

Maggieisabel

Hi! I'm also an emotional eater .... so when I'm stressed I turn to comfort food. There is a lot of weight loss programs out there and I've done them all and they all worked but the maintenance is hard! I'm now praying through my difficult times and keep telling myself that God is my portion and I can do anything through Christ! This is what I'm hanging onto now to get healthy! For me now it's not about numbers but getting fit and maintaing it! Let's support one another .... remember there is strength in numbers! Stay blessed!

dani_1977

**raises hand**

Stress and emotional eater here, if there was a magic way to get rid of stress and emotion then I would be skinny as a rail. But the 2 things that I know help me in this battle are: journaling my feelings and staying active. Active doesn't have to be running, it can just be walking. Just making myself aware that I feeling some kind of way will help be make more choices based on health and not stress or emotion.

AliceDark

Start a list of other things you can do to self-soothe that don't involve eating. When you're in the moment, you need ideas right at your fingertips. Some people like things like taking bubble baths, doing their nails or drinking hot tea, but it's really individual to you.

seltzermint555

I love some of the other posts here so far. Self-care is super important and all of the things you can do for yourself, even little things like a hot shower, nice smelling lotion, enjoying your favorite movie/book, nap, etc...it adds up for a healthier, happier person in the long run even though that stuff doesn't seem like a big deal, it really can make a big difference.

351 to 335 IS a big deal. You should be proud of that! When I went from 307 to 280 that was one of the best things I ever did for myself, and even though I have continued to lose beyond that, I feel that part of my weight loss was the hardest part of all. You can continue on this path even if you fall down from time to time.

Leaving your abusive ex IS a big deal. You have taken a step thousands of other people haven't, to improve your life. I know I only know you from this one post, but with these things alone, I truly believe that you can take more of those steps!

While I love dani_1977's idea about journaling, I have always been bad at journals/diaries because I get too fussy about it and stress out if I miss a day or make an error or whatever. When I was seeing a therapist, she suggested that I make a gratitude journal. Every day I would write just a word or phrase, something I was grateful for. Some days it was big stuff (overcoming obstacles, love of family members) but other days it was as simple as a nice thunderstorm or cup of coffee. It didn't seem like a big deal but it did help.

I can also relate to having urges to turn to food when times are hard and problems arise. It happens to many of us, as you can see here from other posts. I think the best thing is recognizing that we do that and trying not to do it every single time there is a problem or stressful situation. When I'm really stressed out in the evening over something that happened at work, it would be easy to go get a chocolate bar or make a batch of cookie dough and temporarily ease the stress...but I know that's not going to make me REALLY feel better. Sometimes what I do is plan for the next day or even the following weekend. "I'm so stressed right now and ice cream sounds amazing. It's Thursday afternoon and I already have a healthy dinner planned but Friday night I'm going to get a cone at Baskin Robbins to treat myself after the work week!" That is what I may think to myself. Some would say it's still rewarding yourself with food and a terrible idea. But I think it's better than indulging every time you have the urge, if that makes sense.

I truly wish you the best! I so hope the comments here have helped you.

Valencia123456

Sometimes you have to start with eating something different when you are stressed! If you eat salad ( fat free Western dressing by is delicious) when you are stressed, or steamed broccoli, or spinach with garlic and butter--you can stress eat all you want!!! For me I was depressed and unsatisfied with my looks (5'4" and 267 lbs), so I asked God to help me find something that I like to do, that and to help my body to respond to 30 minutes of working out like I worked out 1 hour. I trusted Him and started looking for things that I like to do, and I found dance: Jazzercise and I liked it! Ask to be a class manager for a Jazzercise class, they don't pay much if at all, but you get workout classes for free!!! I did it for 5 years and lost 90 pounds, not paying a dime to workout!!!

Piperx222

I've always been a stress and emotional eater. It's a constant struggle and always will be for me I'm sure. The key things for me have been finding stress relief in physical activity, even if it's just putting the boys (I have 2 young boys) in the wagon and going for a walk around the block when I feel my breaking point coming on. I also try to incorporate exercise into my life on a regular basis to help keep my stress and anxiety levels down.

Times when I can't be active though, I'll put my headphones in, even if it's just for 1 song and just be 'in the moment' with the song. Sometimes I need something sad to help release that type of emotion some times it's what my husband refers to as my 'angry' music to get the frustration out

I do still end up eating with the stress, we have to eat, it's not like we can just stop doing it, which is why it can be so hard to control... I will hit up the healthy things I love, sweet peppers with hummus, sprinkle a little parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning on plain popcorn, melt semi sweet / dark chocolate and drizzle a little on apple or banana slices (heck or popcorn).

Hang in there! You are VERY much not alone!

mktom29

Have you tried talking to someone to focus on your mental health? I'm saying this from a place of concern. Nothing will work health wise unless you start to heal from the inside out. Mental health is so important. Take good care.