Stress Eating

PopGoesTheCoyote

Have any of you contended with stress eating? If so, how did you manage it? What tips and methods can you share that were helpful to you?

goal06082021

Cultivate a hobby that either requires clean hands or creates dirty ones, so you can't snack while you do it, whatever it is.

Go for a walk, physically remove yourself from where the food is for a while.

Do a chore or two, channel that stress energy in a positive direction. Start or fold a load of laundry, sweep the floor, wash some dishes.

Stress eating by definition has nothing to do with hunger, so if distracting yourself with arts and crafts, exercise, or chores doesn't work, try journaling to give the stressful thoughts somewhere to be besides swirling around in your head. You get a free blog with your MFP account, if you aren't much one for ink-and-paper journaling, and you can set your blog to private so no one else can read your ramblings. It's under My Home > Blog on the desktop site. I don't think there's a way to get to it on the app; I can't find it in the Android app, anyway, and I don't have an iPhone to see the iOS app.

patriciafoley1

I've always been a major stress eater, always carbs. One thing that has helped is doing a low carb diet, as much as possible, because it breaks the sugar fix. Another is that exercise tends to cut my appetite. Between not fixating on carbs, and doing a lot of exercise, the triggers for stress eating don't hit me as bad. One thing I avoid, though is not letting myself be tempted. No junk food in the house, and I don't buy it, however tempted in the store. I do make sugar free jello and I recently bought some sugar free fudgsicles. Not sure if I'm going to get those again.

NorthCascades

Do something where food isn't.

I like doing fast hill repeats until I'm too exhausted to care about whatever was stressing me out sometimes. 🙃

MargaretYakoda

I am a big stress eater. And one obvious thing to do is try to manage stress ….

Which is usually a tall order. And a lot of pop psychology stress management tips are only meh. Or pointless. Depending on your circumstances.

Gum can be helpful, as it’s a taste without calories.

But in the moment, take a deep breath and try some of the things that have been suggested here. And if that doesn’t work, don’t be too hard on yourself. Log it and move on.
If you continue to have a serious problem with stress eating it might be a good idea to make an appointment with a therapist.

ReenieHJ

goal06082021 wrote: »

Cultivate a hobby that either requires clean hands or creates dirty ones, so you can't snack while you do it, whatever it is.

Go for a walk, physically remove yourself from where the food is for a while.

Do a chore or two, channel that stress energy in a positive direction. Start or fold a load of laundry, sweep the floor, wash some dishes.

Stress eating by definition has nothing to do with hunger, so if distracting yourself with arts and crafts, exercise, or chores doesn't work, try journaling to give the stressful thoughts somewhere to be besides swirling around in your head. You get a free blog with your MFP account, if you aren't much one for ink-and-paper journaling, and you can set your blog to private so no one else can read your ramblings. It's under My Home > Blog on the desktop site. I don't think there's a way to get to it on the app; I can't find it in the Android app, anyway, and I don't have an iPhone to see the iOS app.

Can you walk me through this? Pretend I'm 2 yo. I checked the blog thing out but could only find other blogs, no place where you can create your own? It gives you the option of signing up but since we're on MFP already, aren't we signed up? Sorry if the questions are stupid because obviously, in this case, I am.

As far as handling stress, other than what's been mentioned already, sometimes I make another cup of coffee(if I liked tea, that would probably be better), or watch a mindless movie(thriller or rom-com in my case), lose myself in a book, call a friend and commiserate, do word/number/jigsaw puzzles. Another thought would be to only have allowable foods on hand, no ice cream or cookies, etc., but peanuts in the shell, carrots/hummus, even popcorn will see me through until it passes. Those options are much better for me than having ice cream in the freezer.

rosebarnalice

Taking a moment to call myself out verbally helps me. Out loud. In my car. Or in the bathroom looking in the mirror. Or muttering under my breath:
""Hey there! So why did you turn onto this drive-thru? You know what this, right? That meeting today and tomorrow's deadline have you stressing and you're trying to fix it with food when you know perfectly well hunger ain't the problem so food won't fix it. C'mon-- pull out if the line and let's go home.
I'll feed you a warm comforting bowl of tomato soup, and you can listen to Amythyst for a while, then you'll feel better and we can get back to work."

penguinmama87

Apart from the excellent suggestions already mentioned, what about strategies to stop the situation causing the stress? Sometimes stress is unavoidable and we have to cope, but I also think people can be prone to taking on more than they can handle (It's me; I'm that person!) So learning how to say "no" was a big help, and honestly assessing what I was capable of and was reasonable for me to do, and re-evaluating that every so often especially if big life changes happened.

If I'm feeling tempted to stress eat a lot, it probably means I'm trying to do too much.

ReenieHJ

Depending on the where/what/why of the stressors you're feeling, tearing things apart or pounding things also helps. Just sayin'.
I know 1 particularly stressful and depressing time in my life, I found great therapy in pulling nails out of boards. Weird but true. My dear friends likes to dig out rocks or tree roots(It does have a purpose for her).
I think physical activity sometimes paired with mindlessness works. As does getting out in nature with my dogs, or sitting in the backyard with a cup of coffee and a good book.

goal06082021

ReenieHJ wrote: »

goal06082021 wrote: »

Cultivate a hobby that either requires clean hands or creates dirty ones, so you can't snack while you do it, whatever it is.

Go for a walk, physically remove yourself from where the food is for a while.

Do a chore or two, channel that stress energy in a positive direction. Start or fold a load of laundry, sweep the floor, wash some dishes.

Stress eating by definition has nothing to do with hunger, so if distracting yourself with arts and crafts, exercise, or chores doesn't work, try journaling to give the stressful thoughts somewhere to be besides swirling around in your head. You get a free blog with your MFP account, if you aren't much one for ink-and-paper journaling, and you can set your blog to private so no one else can read your ramblings. It's under My Home > Blog on the desktop site. I don't think there's a way to get to it on the app; I can't find it in the Android app, anyway, and I don't have an iPhone to see the iOS app.

Can you walk me through this? Pretend I'm 2 yo. I checked the blog thing out but could only find other blogs, no place where you can create your own? It gives you the option of signing up but since we're on MFP already, aren't we signed up? Sorry if the questions are stupid because obviously, in this case, I am.

As far as handling stress, other than what's been mentioned already, sometimes I make another cup of coffee(if I liked tea, that would probably be better), or watch a mindless movie(thriller or rom-com in my case), lose myself in a book, call a friend and commiserate, do word/number/jigsaw puzzles. Another thought would be to only have allowable foods on hand, no ice cream or cookies, etc., but peanuts in the shell, carrots/hummus, even popcorn will see me through until it passes. Those options are much better for me than having ice cream in the freezer.

On the desktop site, in the blue banners at the top. Click "My Home" in the upper, lighter blue bar to go to the homepage. In the lower, darker blue bar, the sixth option from the left is "My Blog." I apologize, I left out the "my" in my original post.

ReenieHJ

goal06082021 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

goal06082021 wrote: »

Cultivate a hobby that either requires clean hands or creates dirty ones, so you can't snack while you do it, whatever it is.

Go for a walk, physically remove yourself from where the food is for a while.

Do a chore or two, channel that stress energy in a positive direction. Start or fold a load of laundry, sweep the floor, wash some dishes.

Stress eating by definition has nothing to do with hunger, so if distracting yourself with arts and crafts, exercise, or chores doesn't work, try journaling to give the stressful thoughts somewhere to be besides swirling around in your head. You get a free blog with your MFP account, if you aren't much one for ink-and-paper journaling, and you can set your blog to private so no one else can read your ramblings. It's under My Home > Blog on the desktop site. I don't think there's a way to get to it on the app; I can't find it in the Android app, anyway, and I don't have an iPhone to see the iOS app.

Can you walk me through this? Pretend I'm 2 yo. I checked the blog thing out but could only find other blogs, no place where you can create your own? It gives you the option of signing up but since we're on MFP already, aren't we signed up? Sorry if the questions are stupid because obviously, in this case, I am.

As far as handling stress, other than what's been mentioned already, sometimes I make another cup of coffee(if I liked tea, that would probably be better), or watch a mindless movie(thriller or rom-com in my case), lose myself in a book, call a friend and commiserate, do word/number/jigsaw puzzles. Another thought would be to only have allowable foods on hand, no ice cream or cookies, etc., but peanuts in the shell, carrots/hummus, even popcorn will see me through until it passes. Those options are much better for me than having ice cream in the freezer.

On the desktop site, in the blue banners at the top. Click "My Home" in the upper, lighter blue bar to go to the homepage. In the lower, darker blue bar, the sixth option from the left is "My Blog." I apologize, I left out the "my" in my original post.

Thanks so much! Not sure how I missed that this morning, found it easy when you mentioned it. I've always wanted to try writing a journal but didn't want anyone in my life finding it so maybe this will help me deal with my stress as well. Thanks again!

Pipsqueak1965

I've been listening to a podcast which addresses emotional eating - worth a go: freedom from the diet cycle. Paul Wistuba.

age_is_just_a_number

Strategies I use:

- I groom my dogs. Combined 270lbs of furry fun. Very meditative and ‘dirty’ (can’t eat anything when you are covered in dog fur.
- I do deep breathing — in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four , then repeat.
- Drink a cup of tea or a glass of water.
- Stretching or short yoga session
- Get outside — even for just a few minutes
- Eventually, I’ll may still grab something. I try to make it a healthy choice, reduce portion size (a handful rather than a bowl or whatever it is) and eat it slowly.

Good luck

zebasschick

long time stress eater here.

i lost my first 50 pounds by using lighter versions of the foods i ate. for example, dryer's slow churned ice cream is lower in fat than regular, yet it's tasty. dannon light & fit (LOVE the cherry and the vanilla) are a lot less calories than full fat or low fat yogurt. lower fat milk replaced full fat. egg beaters replaced whole eggs in scrambled eggs and some recipes. and so on. i didn't eat less, i just replaced higher calorie foods with lower calorie foods i liked. that took some experimenting, but it took me from 242 pounds to under 200 with no other changes.

i also find i stress eat more when i'm tired, so naps or longer sleep times have helped a lot.

i started dancing to music i love when i'm stressed - it's fun! - and i rediscovered drawing and got into watercolor painting, and to my surprise, it relaxes me AND satisfies me, leaving me less stressed.

kshama2001

NorthCascades wrote: »

Do something where food isn't.

I like doing fast hill repeats until I'm too exhausted to care about whatever was stressing me out sometimes. 🙃

Yes, in general regular moderate activity plus increased exercise in times of increased stress keeps my anxiety and thus stress eating under control.

However, this did not work starting last March when I was afraid of catching the coronavirus and killing my mother, so I started therapy.

First I did CBT, which is supposed to be very good for food issues, but I only found it moderately helpful, probably because I had an intern. (Note to self - no more interns.) Now I'm doing ACT with a therapist who is a PhD, and it is a vastly different experience.

MaltedTea

rosebarnalice wrote: »

Taking a moment to call myself out verbally helps me. Out loud. In my car. Or in the bathroom looking in the mirror. Or muttering under my breath:
""Hey there! So why did you turn onto this drive-thru? You know what this, right? That meeting today and tomorrow's deadline have you stressing and you're trying to fix it with food when you know perfectly well hunger ain't the problem so food won't fix it. C'mon-- pull out if the line and let's go home.
I'll feed you a warm comforting bowl of tomato soup, and you can listen to Amythyst for a while, then you'll feel better and we can get back to work."

This is such a great example of effective self-awareness and self-care 😍

(...goes off to SoundCloud to see about Amythyst...)

rosebarnalice

@MaltedTea , that's Amythyst Kiah if you're lookin' :-)

MaltedTea

^^ After two three songs, I'm trying to place her. I'm getting psychedelic bluegrass soul?! I'm down with whatever it is she's doing. Thanks for mentioning her @rosebarnalice!

ETA: "The 34-year-old singer and songwriter fuses folk, blues, rock" according to the NY Times