Losing Weight When You Are Stressed

SincerelySB

I've met my initial weight loss goal and have been doing a pretty darn good job of maintaining if I do say so myself but recently I've been going through a stressful period in my life and I see the scale creeping up. Nothing too extreme but I want to get a handle on it. One of the awesome things about logging is that you learn a lot about yourself and I believe one of the reasons why I gained weight in the first place was consuming too many calories due to "stress eating". I wondered if anyone else here can relate and if so do you have any tips, strategies, advice, etc. to gain control in these situations.

magpie0829

I am a stress eater too. So to curb that, any time I feel stressed and want to reach for the ice cream, I get up, drink a glass of water and take a short walk instead.

Since you know that you are a stress eater you just need to find something else that will help reduce your stress instead of snacking.

Fitnessgirl0913

First of all kudos for meeting your goal and recognizing that you need to tweak a few things before anything goes majorly wrong. My biggest thing was finding another outlet for my stress. For me I like to take long walks while blasting my music to de-stress. Find something that works for you whether it be knitting, walking, hitting a punching bag. Also don't push yourself when stressed. I try and exercise for at least 30 minutes 5 days a week but if I am just plain burnt out that day I don't push myself to because that may stress me out more. If you need to rest, just stick to your calories goal and do nothing but sit in front of the TV all night that is okay!

HoneyBadger302

*raises hand* another stress eater here, too. Not so much that I eat because of stress, but I do start eating out far too often, and my portion sizes get out of control.

I'm trying to work meal prepping into my life. Not 100% sure that'll happen like I want it to, but I'm trying!

Other than that, it's just tracking. Even if it's not every single day, doing it enough to keep my portions reasonable and honest is key.

callsitlikeiseeit

yeah when im stressed.... i stop eating.

when im happy GIVE ME ALL THE FOOD!

nom nom nom

it also explains why i was able to lose most of my weight when i was still with my ex lolololol

2aycocks

Yep! This has been the most stressful year of my entire life and I ate and ate. I'm trying to lose what I gained plus the extra I was already lugging around. I suggest having some low calorie snacks around for when you need to munch. At least the stress eating can be something healthy. Plus exercise is a great stress reliever.

MelanieCN77

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

yeah when im stressed.... i stop eating.

when im happy GIVE ME ALL THE FOOD!

nom nom nom

it also explains why i was able to lose most of my weight when i was still with my ex lolololol

Yeah this is me, too. It's the contented and happy times I over-eat. Food is a thing to be shared and celebrated with and I enjoy the "rituals" of planning and preparing food for other people and myself. When I'm stressed, finding pleasure in those things goes away or even feels wrong.

SincerelySB

2aycocks wrote: »

Yep! This has been the most stressful year of my entire life and I ate and ate. I'm trying to lose what I gained plus the extra I was already lugging around. I suggest having some low calorie snacks around for when you need to munch. At least the stress eating can be something healthy. Plus exercise is a great stress reliever.

I wish I could say I'm glad to hear there are others like me but at least we can share tips! I fully agree that exercise is a great stress reliever. That's actually been part of the problem is that my schedule has been so hectic that I'm having a hard time finding the time to exercise. One of the strategies I used to lose weight is to exercise more because it was so great at relieving my stress and so I was burning extra calories by moving more plus because I was reducing my stress I wasn't "stress eating". *SIGH* Having low calorie snacks around is a useful tip too. I'm married and have three young sons so a lot of the snacks I buy for them (healthy but they need the calories) are difficult to not be tempted by. I think being aware of why I'm munching is super helpful rather than just mindlessly wandering to the kitchen and gnawing on something without even realizing it. Logging has really shined a light on that for me.

SincerelySB

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

yeah when im stressed.... i stop eating.

when im happy GIVE ME ALL THE FOOD!

nom nom nom

it also explains why i was able to lose most of my weight when i was still with my ex lolololol

Yeah this is me, too. It's the contented and happy times I over-eat. Food is a thing to be shared and celebrated with and I enjoy the "rituals" of planning and preparing food for other people and myself. When I'm stressed, finding pleasure in those things goes away or even feels wrong.

It's so interesting how people differ in why they overeat. Logging has been so great at learning about myself in that way and I think it's so important to be aware of how your emotions affect you in this way.

SincerelySB

HoneyBadger155 wrote: »

*raises hand* another stress eater here, too. Not so much that I eat because of stress, but I do start eating out far too often, and my portion sizes get out of control.

I'm trying to work meal prepping into my life. Not 100% sure that'll happen like I want it to, but I'm trying!

Other than that, it's just tracking. Even if it's not every single day, doing it enough to keep my portions reasonable and honest is key.

Yes, meal prepping and logging for the win! They both save me from a lot of trouble.

LiminalAscendance

When I was quitting smoking, it seemed like stressful events would continuously appear, "requiring" me to take solace in the comfort of nicotine (and, no doubt, quelling an addiction feels great).

Now, that I no longer smoke, I realize that "stressful" events are still happening (and were happening to others while I kicked the habit), but I'm somehow able to soldier through it.

It's all a matter of perspective.