Stress and Eating Comfort Foods

lucystacy71

I'm going through a stressful situation right now. All I can think of is diving into my old comfort foods. I passed by a Dairy Queen, and I wanted a sundae so bad that I almost stopped. I know that if I let myself do this, however, I know I'm only sabotaging my efforts. In the end, I'll be even more stressed because I will gain back the weight I've worked so hard to lose. I'm trying to keep myself distracted with extra activity, like riding my bike. Anyone have other advice that might help? I could use some encouragement.

RozayJones

This might sound silly but I have set small goals for myself - my downfall is taco bell, I cannot have it until I lose 5 more pounds! If I get in my desired amount of exercise per week I will have something 'bad' with my kids - that way know I can still have things I like and they are even that much better once you finally make it to your goal - Good luck!

lucystacy71

Thank you. I usually do allow myself little 'treats' but I know right now I would go overboard. A goal may really help however. I had already set a goal that if I get to 210 by my birthday, I'm going to have a piece of pumpkin pie.

lcyama

As a stress eater myself, I don't have any reliable advice, but I will say WELL DONE! for driving past the you-know-where without stopping! You should be very proud of yourself!

Lemmynade

As a stress eater myself, I don't have any reliable advice, but I will say WELL DONE! for driving past the you-know-where without stopping! You should be very proud of yourself!

Agreed! I stress eat, but I'm trying to stop. When I want to eat, I take myself away from the temptation (whether I leave my apartment, drive by the fast food, or even just say no to seconds!), then distract myself from the food, from the situation, and do something that gets me up. I play with my dogs (great stress-reliever!), work out, or something. Sometimes I even cook or prepare my breakfast or lunch for the next day. For some reason, handling food that I get to eat later satisfies me, distracts me, and even comforts me. Find something else comforting.

Zombella

You have to tell yourself that if you give in, you may keep giving in, thus throwing off all of the hard work. That is the only way that I can stop myself sometimes. My biggest problem is cheese. I am trying to stop eating it.

For awhile I ate fast food every day, sometimes more than once a day. Since starting my diet and working out, I've gotten better but have to admit wasn't really good until last month. I haven't had it in forever, and I will be treating myself to pizza or something but I won't be going overboard or anything like that.

RawCarrots

I keep telling myself that food is not going to solve my problem, it may make me temporarily feel better but an hour later I'd still have to deal with it, and I'd be even more annoyed as I've gone over.

Look after yourself x

RobynUnfiltered

Good job just driving by the DQ!!! it is hard, we almost all stress eat at some point in time. I wish I had the magic answer for you, but all I can say is take it day by day and if you slip up just restart your efforts and move on. Good luck to you.

writergeek313

Stress eating and emotional eating have been big struggles for me. Something I've found to be really helpful is that I've tried to find ways to treat myself or be kind to myself that don't involve food. For instance, after a really stressful day, I love taking a bubble bath. I'm a music lover, and I try to save new albums for when I need a pick-me-up. I've been trying to get back in touch with friends I haven't talked to in awhile so I always have a few new messages to make me smile in my inbox.

Lately I've been cooking most of my meals for the week on the weekends, since that works best for me with my teaching schedule and work responsibilities. Last weekend I made some really great meals, so as I'd be driving home from work, the time when I used to be most likely to fall prey to temptation, I'd remember I had a delicious meal waiting for me at home.

I had a really stressful week last week, and when I went to get my weekly grocery order, I convinced myself I'd earned some Cheetos (one of my favorite junk foods). I ended up putting them back, because I stopped to think long enough to realize Cheetos weren't going to really make the stress go away.

And when all else fails: go for a single serving package!

lithezebra

I deal with temptation by yielding. If there's something I want, the fastest way to end the craving, with the least amount of calories, is to eat the thing that I really want. Then I log it and almost always stay within my calories anyway. I'm not saying that you should go ahead and have a sundae, but I would.

GymPoet

AllI can think of is diving into my old comfort foods.

The key is the word "comfort." We have to find other ways to comfort ourselves. One idea is meditative breathing. Another idea is, ball your hands into really tight fists and then spring them open while imagining that you are "letting go". Another idea is to visualize a happy place or time, eg, sunset on the beach.

I try to be on the lookout for non-eating ways to get comfort.
Recently I learned a new one: touch the side of your face as if comforting a child, and tell yourself, "I'm sorry". Then put your hand to your heart and say, "I love you", lastly put your hands together as if in prayer.and tell yourself "thank you."

Heres2Victory

Excellent Advice Gympoet

lucystacy71

Thanks for all of your advice and kind words.

I'm doing better today (still sad, but better) and I'm happy to say that I didn't give into temptation. I've been keeping myself busy and sticking with my diet.

vegan4lyfe2012

I am a big time comfort eater. I've taken my favorite recipes and made substitutions that lowered fat & cals without killing the flavor. I just can't deny myself everything, so I have to make the "bad" stuff better

YaGigi

AllI can think of is diving into my old comfort foods.

The key is the word "comfort." We have to find other ways to comfort ourselves. One idea is meditative breathing. Another idea is, ball your hands into really tight fists and then spring them open while imagining that you are "letting go". Another idea is to visualize a happy place or time, eg, sunset on the beach.

I try to be on the lookout for non-eating ways to get comfort.
Recently I learned a new one: touch the side of your face as if comforting a child, and tell yourself, "I'm sorry". Then put your hand to your heart and say, "I love you", lastly put your hands together as if in prayer.and tell yourself "thank you."

That's so lovely....

My shrink also told me to find comfort in something else, not food. I'm finding comfort in hugging and kissing my loved ones, playing with dogs, walking around the city.... I try to congratulate myself for certain achievements, including weight loss, not with food but with something else. Spa, tickets to a concert, massage, shopping and etc. not food.

I'm planning to lose all the excess weight by the new year, about 8 kg to go, and will buy a new winter coat to celebrate it.

Lexandreia

Talk to a supportive friend about this. When you get the urge to comfort eat text them and ask them to tell you to stop. Having someone be "there" with you while you're on the verge of a moment of weakness is usually enough for me to stop. My best friends would send messages like "You're so much stronger than this!!!! (I was recovering from anorexia that was causing me to yo-yo like mad)" and "Hands off the cookies girly!! They ain't got nothing on you." or "Don't even!!! Dining commons nachos suck anyway"

Chew on vegetables such as celery, cucumber or carrots. Clench your fists and take some deep breaths to calm down.

For me, I found that after I completely cut out all junk in my diet I just stopped craving them. I don't even want them anymore. This is a big deal since I live in a college town that sells stuff like Nutella-ice-cream-vanilla crepes, Nacho-quesa-rritos and all delicious fattening foods. It was harder for me to try having a little and fight a craving than just to cut them out all together. It was hell for about a week haha until I got used to it.

This is kind of embarrassing but when it got unbearable sometimes I'd go for a run and picture whatever food I wanted chasing me. According to my friends, during those times I might as well go try out for the Olympics because I'd be sprinting my butt off trying to outrun the imaginary monster-sized ice cream shake or churro chasing me.

And don't think of your food as a diet. Think of it as a life-style change. It's meant to keep you healthy for the rest of your life.

Another stupid thing that works for me is to glare down at say, a brownie, point my finger at it and say "No." I'd picture it as it really was, butter, white flour and preservatives and tell myself that I respect myself too much to ingest something that would cause me more harm than good. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a treat but I know if I ate one, it would turn into a heck of a lot more than one brownie, possibly 10.

blah2989

Im not sure if my advice will apply to you. I allow myself "comfort foods/ sweets" but I typically make myself stay under my calorie goal by 200 cal, - it doesnt always happen, but I usually am under and if I am over its typically only by 2 or 3 calories. I usually also make myself work everything off. The food in my house consists of items I need to cook or prepare. I do keep some things in the freezer like chicken nuggets ( for the kids on occasion or pizza bites for hubby, and sugar free ice cream for me.) I allow myself to eat what I want, but in moderation. Like today, I had sushi, rice crispies treats, sugar free pudding... ( yes it was a sugar day for me and no I dont eat like that every day) but I do eat in moderation. You could get away with a soft serve cone from mc donalds- 170 cal, or even a chocolate dipped cone at 270. And you cpuld burn that off doing an hour leisurely walk, or a light half hour jog.I believe in eating better, but I personally will not deprive myself because one day it would lead to an all out binge.

BlackPup

I've been eating a couple of squares of 70% dark chocolate most days for about a week now and I love it. I have to make room in my calories for it or do some extra exercise. But I don't feel like I'm missing out or being deprived.
Also I usually eat a grilled chicken burger every couple of weeks to get my fast food fix in a relatively healthy way.
This is a big improvement for me from my chocolate and fast food binges of the past!!!!

lithezebra

I have never given up any food that I like, just because I wanted to lose weight. I learned to be satisfied with one serving. I learned to have one treat, not 4 or 5. I cut down on snacking. I learned to be selective, and have the treat I really want. I learned not to eat for entertainment. I wouldn't enjoy eating vastly differently from the way that I already do.

bfpower

I sometimes watch Epic Meal Time and it cures my desire to binge eat. YMMV

JDBLY11

I'm going through a stressful situation right now. All I can think of is diving into my old comfort foods. I passed by a Dairy Queen, and I wanted a sundae so bad that I almost stopped. I know that if I let myself do this, however, I know I'm only sabotaging my efforts. In the end, I'll be even more stressed because I will gain back the weight I've worked so hard to lose. I'm trying to keep myself distracted with extra activity, like riding my bike. Anyone have other advice that might help? I could use some encouragement.

Hi, I just went through a very stressful time. My husband had an exploded disk in his back and had to have surgery. He was in the hospital and then rehab for 3 weeks. It was really scary. I just let myself maintain during this time and I did eat comfort foods. I just counted the calories in what I ate and kept track of my calories most days. There is no way I could have lost weight during that time. Now things are getting back to normal and I am back to eating normal foods and losing weight.

I did end up maintaining my weight, which I was really happy with because in the past I would have put on weight.

A_Healthier_Me2013

I'm a stress eater as well .. Going on 3 weeks that I haven't eaten dessert or fast food and its been hard because I crave sweets .. I love all of the advice everyone has given

spiritbrah

Oh man I know this feeling too well...

Nothing wrong with temporarily reverting back to old habits. When you indulge - enjoy it, log it and find ways to reduce stress in the little areas of your life so you have better performance later.

I do a lot of walking with my heavy laptop - just bought a tablet to carry around instead. You'd be surprised by the effects of little things..