Stress eating

HeavyHilda
HeavyHilda Posts: 25
in Health and Weight Loss
What is the best way to deal with stress eating, you know, those crazy carb's calling out your name. Am very stressed and find that this is when I eat more.

Would love suggestions - the stress isn't going to go far until next year (moving involved).

Replies

  • rmdaly
    rmdaly Posts: 250 Member
    Make sure you log your food. When I stress eat, I binge. If I know I have to keep track of it, I will tend to do better. Be honest with yourself, but also be caring.

    Recognize when and why you are stress eating and find a way to get out of the situation. Go for a walk, do yoga, brush your teeth, etc. Maybe afterward sit down and write about your feelings and what happened.

    Sometimes having a small thing helps. You have to find your way on this one. Sometimes, I can eat one cookie, but more often, I eat many instead.
  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
    You find other ways to cope besides eating. Is it easy? No. But it can be done. I recommend the Beck Diet Solution book--it gives strategies on how to change the way you think about food. I still have my off days, but I have started subbing in exercise instead and I NEVER thought I would say that!
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    If you go to binge log immediately while you are taking your first bites. The other day my daughter made Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies, I am not a huge fan but she insisted she made them perfect and I had to have one. Well I ate 1 logged it and saw 150 calories, that small cookie was not worth that many calories.
  • HeavyHilda
    HeavyHilda Posts: 25
    Make sure you log your food. When I stress eat, I binge. If I know I have to keep track of it, I will tend to do better. Be honest with yourself, but also be caring.

    This right here, I think you are correct. Didn't want to come back and put that half bag of chips I just ate. Ate veggies/beans first but they didn't hit the spot. I was screaming for those chips (quietly).

    Tried the WW and found with eating all the veggies/fruit I wanted didn't work because of the hunger. Was a 24 hr. starving situation.

    Does the carb craving go away? It seems to be the only thing to quite the growling belly.
  • rosemary98
    rosemary98 Posts: 632
    my go to snack food when i am feeling hungry/stressed is 100 calorie popcorn. it takes some time to eat a bag. you know exactly how much you eat...and you can have two bags and you are still not doing serious damage.
  • dancinrascal
    dancinrascal Posts: 204 Member
    try to do another activity. I realized today that I binge when I am stressed because my mind goes numb...I describe it as blacking out. It is like I am not even in my body. Now I can recognize...hey I'm stressed and I want to eat x, y, and z because it will distract me, why don't I have a cup of tea and go on facebook or do some other mindless activity other than eat!
  • jesmith86
    jesmith86 Posts: 46
    I also tend to stress eat, what I have found is that if I am feeling the mood to punish a filthy hamburger or chocolate biscuit, I will eat a boiled egg or two (good protein to fill you up) then look on the health and fitness page on pinterest and that tends to reel me back in. I love pinterest just for that motivation to keep eating well and exercising more. I also trying to take my stress out on my workouts - lift more, do more reps etc
  • gabegruber
    gabegruber Posts: 1
    Drinking tea is something that helped me. I keep several kinds of herbal tea that I like on hand. When the stress or boredom sets in I tell myself I will have a cup of tea first and then see if I am still hungry. Usually, having a cup of tea distacts and calms me.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Love the suggestions!
    I usually have a cup of tea to either halt the cravings or halt the binging, whichever comes first LOL!
    A rich bean soup usually quiets a carb craving so I always have a soup in the crockpot or 'fridge ready to heat and eat. Beans tend to really do the trick, any and all kinds of beans, but black beans are somehow more satisfying for me.
    Popcorn is another good thing to binge on if you must. Not movie theater popcorn! I can actually eat an entire huge container of that stuff from the movie theatre; of course I'm sick afterwards but that doesn't stop me. I've found that spray butter minimizes the butter calories but still provides that butter taste, even on air-popped popcorn.
    And I have to agree, a good brisk walk will sometimes do the trick. I should probably try that more often!

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