Any Emotional/Stress Eaters? How to cope when it's not just a "Craving"

sparkes2flames2926

I am opening this post for anyone who has tips and ideas on how to handle stress eating. It is more than just a craving, I see as also a slight addiction. This is a place for us to ask for advice and support.
I am a stress / emotional eater. And I know I am because when I get stressed out I eat even if I am full I have the urge to eat. Even if it hurts my stomach or makes me feel ill after... I eat and feel that weight lift off. Don't know really how to handle it when it comes to losing weight and getting better. Because I know it's not just like anyone else who just craves and just eats Because they want to.... idk if I am the only one really out there like this.. 😳😯☹

countcurt

1. You are not the only one really like this.
2. You can’t fix this problem by focusing on the eating. Eating is not the cause of your problem. It’s the effect.

showjack70

Trust me, you are not the only one. I am a binge/emotional eater. Despite losing a lot of weight and keeping it off for several years, I still struggle with these eating splurges. Particularly over the last couple of months. I wish there was an easy fox for this. I have noticed some patterns or behaviors that do seem to help me with this.

• Meditation
• Stay busy
• Move around when hunger comes
• Do not keep trigger foods around the house
• Be present and eat slowly rather than zombie mode and eating until popping
• If it is true hunger, don't deny it. Select "healthy" foods that are more difficult to binge on
• Breathe. Closely related to meditation. Deep breathing before eating
• Try to uncover what pain or hole you are trying to fill by turning to food for comfort
• Call a friend, talk to someone when you feel like you want to binge

Just a few ideas. Maybe you can implement one or two of these. Would love to have further discussions on this. Hope more people chime in.

estherdragonbat

Okay. For me, the thing I had to avoid was getting locked into a cycle of "I feel stressed and nervous, therefore I am eating. I had cake! There goes the diet! I feel like a failure, today is shot, I can start fresh tomorrow but I really blew it tonight and... And I may as well have some more cake. Oh, great. Now I REALLY did it..." (For the record, I'm an introvert. I think on some level, my brain worked it out that if I was constantly eating, I wasn't standing around wishing I knew how to make small talk. So in social settings, gravitating toward the food was just... what I did.)

So. When I knew I was going to be out, I tried to anticipate what was likely to be served and log it in advance. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I wasn't, but I could at least ballpark the food that was there and figure out whether, say, two chocolate chip cookies was close enough to one gingerbread man.

And along the way, I lost my food stress. Basically, logging gave me permission to eat something a bit higher in calories than usual without stressing and feeling guilty.

Which brings me to my next coping method: as much as possible, I log food before I eat it. Sometimes it's 5 seconds before, but it goes in my journal before it goes in my mouth. And then, I can see for myself how many calories it is and how much I have left. It's a last-minute check that keeps me 'real'. Am I sure I want this? Is it worth it? If it's too big a 'hit', am I willing to either close out my diary in the red, eat a lighter supper, or work out? And sometimes? The answer is "Yes." And sometimes, it's "I do want something sweet and chewy, but a brownie just isn't worth it. I'll have a Fiber One bar."

Remember when I mentioned working out? Exercise is a stress reliever. I find that on the whole, I'm less anxious and less moody when I can get a good walk or strength training workout in. Plus, the time I spend exercising is time when I can drown out the voice of the leftovers calling me from the fridge.

Not pretending I never go off the rails anymore. But I find that it's gotten easier and when I do, I don't fall far.

Hang in there.

VUA21

I would go for walks.

As I lost weight and got into better shape, I go for runs. New 5k PR's generally mean I'm extremely stressed out.

trshfnly

Super not alone. I have pretty much accepted that stress eating will always be an issue for me, but I struggle with it a lot less than I used to. Here are some things that helped me:

An honest-to-god therapist
Getting at least eight hours of sleep
Exercise
Making sure I take breaks at work
Meditation
Cutting out unhealthy relationships
Treating myself to things that help my body relax but aren't food (a fun exercise class, a body scrub, walking a dog from the shelter in the woods, a trip to the beach, a Lush bath bomb.)

Basically I had to learn to manage stress or eliminate it before I felt like I had any power over my eating. It's been a long process, but it does get better.

lartishs

I used to have this problem until I read The little book of big change by Amy Johnson. Its about emotional binge eating and urges.

kommodevaran

Wanting to eat even if I am full - it's disturbing that this is presented as some kind of eating disorder (not by you, it's an official factoid). We eat for many other reasons than nutrition, and many foods are easy to eat and overeat. But just because something is easy, doesn't mean we have to or should do it, sometimes it's important to do difficult things, but then it's important to not make it more difficult.

Make sure your nutritional bases are covered - are you eating balanced and varied meals? Make sure your emotional/physical needs are covered - are you getting enough sleep and rest, moderate exercise, challenging (but not too challenging) tasks at work, how are your personal relationships?

Having a too easy life can make us depressed and anxious, ironically. Finding balance is a difficult, important task. Setting and accepting boundaries is hard in our culture, but it's important for everybody.

neugebauer52

I had a good look what exactly I want to eat when stressed: It always was bread - bread, bread, and lots of eat. I would easily eat a loaf or two - a kg or 2. With the bread came all those goodies - from mayonnaise, cheese, meat to oily sardines, you name it. I realized that bread is my trigger point - now I am very careful with bread and automatically the portions of all the other stuff has gone to very small amounts. Generally I get my carbs from vegetables and a fruit or two a day now. After 170 days with MFP my macros have adjusted to approx. 30 % carbs and 35 % each of fat and protein. I am very happy with my daily meal plan and can see this to continue for years to come. Starting weight: 170 kg, 375 pounds. So far lost 22 kg, 48 pounds.

kiela64

Great thread! I thought I was mostly passed this but I’ve been home sick and doing this every day 😞 great tips! I found moving to be the best anxiety/emotional release and distraction, but being sick and not going anywhere my old habits came back.

88olds

A friend says, if hunger isn’t the problem, food isn’t the solution.

May sound odd, but I can be an angry eater. I think it has to do with chewing. Sugarless gum helps.

Go for a walk. Get a stress ball.

lorrpb

Whenever you want to eat, drink 16 oz of water. Then eat about 2 cups of veggies, then 2-4 oz protein, then finally 2-4 oz carbs Then start the cycle over.

walshcooks2018

Nice to find a bunch of people sharing the same issue. I am an emotional eater, and have an all-or-nothing approach. When a craving hits, I have gone in a complete zombie-state and find myself chowing down on whatever the craving was for, then whatever else happens to be nearby. The only thing that works for me is focusing on the feeling, then distracting myself - a walk, a puzzle, reading, have a cup of tea, or write in my diary. There are times I do all those distractions and STILL cave for the craving and spend the next few hours berating myself. It's an awful loop and am determined to learn to break it.

Running2Fit

I’m a stress/emotional eater as well. What’s helped me the most has been finding better ways to cope with stress. Going for a run, doing some yoga, journaling, drawing, listening to a favorite podcast while taking a hot bath, binging some Netflix with a glass of wine...basically there are a lot of ways to deal with stress and other negative emotions without eating you just have to figure out what works best for you!

RelCanonical

I had to learn how to handle stress better, not freak out over the little things, and not take people's problems on as my own. The worst of the issues with stress eating went away because I straight up was stressed less. For the remainder, I find that some sort of self-care served to help the issue rather than distract me from it. Usually, for me, it involved skin care like a face mask, but it didn't even have to be "therapeutic", like plucking my eyebrows. xD I think it helps because I'm taking care of my body and realizing that this is how I feel better about myself, not eating things that my body doesn't need.

bleepboop8422

I’m totally an emotional eater as well. Of course, the ideal solution would be to resolve the root of your stress, but that’s a hefty task.

I think a couple of things helped for me. I don’t keep any snack foods around my home if I can help it. If I slip up and purchase something that doesn’t suit my goals I either bring it into work to give to coworkers or (and this was hard for me at first) throw it out. Minty things also dissuade me from eating. So I try to brush my teeth after dinner. I keep a bag of Pur gum in my purse. If I find myself tempted to binge or in the middle of a binge, I just start chewing that gum instead. I also keep a huge selection of tea, for when I feel like tasting something but don’t want the calories.

On a more meta level, I started to let myself have bad days. Often I would give into the emotional eating so I could move on from my problems and get things done. Now I’ve just accepted that sometimes I’m going to be emotionally distraught, and instead of trying to block that feeling out with food, I just let myself feel those bad feelings.

I still slip up, but these days I try to think why I binged instead of just feeling guilty or punishing myself.