stress sugar cravings

twinklefingers2016

My goto for stress or emotions would be food, specifically sugary, carb filled, garbage. I understand that this requires self discipline, a butt load of self discipline.

Does anyone have any quotes, motivational stories, or tips for overcoming the sugar thirst during rough times?

kommodevaran

First stop relying on willpower - which is what you are doing now - discipline is setting oneself up to avoid relying on willpower. Then understand what things are - sugar is just a carb, and carbohydrate is just one of the macronutrients that provide energy (the others are fat and protein). You need all of them, but not too much of any of them. Then stop giving your favorite and comfort foods derogatory names - you think you are making yourself stop wanting them, but you are doing the opposite. Then make sure you are feeding yourself properly - you can't resist what you want, when you don't even have what you need. Then find other outlets for emotions.

YalithKBK

I am a huge stress eater. My weight directly correlates with my stress levels. I do a few things to avoid stress eating sugars:
-Plan a small treat every day. I've found that if I plan for a little treat every day, then those sweets become routine and they are no more special than the veggies I eat every day. I'm a big fan of the Ghirardelli squares as they come individually wrapped so I'm not tempted to eat the whole bag.
-Another thing I have done is just not buy some of my most tempting foods. I'm an ice cream junkie. I see any ice cream container as single serving whether it's a pint or a gallon. So, I avoid buying ice cream. You can't eat food that isn't in your house.
-Find an alternative de-stresser. When I'm tempted to munch on something, I'll hop on my treadmill instead. Or listen to music. Or I'll do an activity that keeps my mind distracted so I stop thinking about food. Before I know it, hours will have passed and I won't even feel hungry anymore.
-As was said above, make sure you're eating enough calories and you're eating foods that keep you feeling full.
-Before you eat something, ask yourself "Am I eating this because I'm genuinely hungry or because I just want to munch on something?"
-Chewing gum. Lots of chewing gum. Keeps the jaw working without eating.
Good luck and you can do it!

ladyhusker39

If it really is triggered by stress then you have to work on the source. You're trying to use motivational quotes, tips etc. which won't get you anywhere. Figure out how to manage the stress and the eating will fix itself (if that truly is the source).

crazykatlady820

I use the blog feature on here to work through stress and emotions. I have it set to private so that I can be as open and honest as I need to be without worrying about others reading it. It's hard at first because you can't bury your emotions and things come to the surface that you maybe haven't thought about in a long time... or things you maybe didn't even realize bothered you. But it gets easier. The urge to bury my emotions arises less and less. Instead I face them head on and work through them by writing about what I'm feeling.

kshearer13

1. Don't deprive yourself too much. I keep some sweet foods in the house that won't take me too far from my goals like light hot chocolate, 110 calorie mini ice cream drumsticks, I put yogurts in the freezer. Things I can eat when I get those cravings.
2. Find other ways to deal with stress. Going for a walk, reqdinf, working out, blasting music and dancing alone, etc.

lulalacroix

We got some devastating news this past week. As much as I love a giant bowl of homemade mashed potatoes, I choose to spend an hour on the treadmill instead.

Now I would allow myself those mashed potatoes, but personally there would be rules. Such as the next day I have to be back on track.

Lots of us ended up overweight due to eating our emotions. I think practicing good eating habits and relying on those habits during difficult times can be helpful. Not to mention working thru emotions.

lemurcat12

ladyhusker39 wrote: »

If it really is triggered by stress then you have to work on the source. You're trying to use motivational quotes, tips etc. which won't get you anywhere. Figure out how to manage the stress and the eating will fix itself (if that truly is the source).

This. Things that help me with stress are exercise, being in the outdoors, meditation, just picking out some small tasks to do and doing them, journaling, trying to stay in the moment and remembering the panicky feelings (if that's going on) will pass, so on. (Been under a lot of stress and emotional situations lately, where I didn't have much opportunity to control much of what was happening, so have been focusing on this myself.)