How do you stop yourself from stress eating?

almondize18
almondize18 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've had a very intense week at work and yesterday I cracked and started stress eating. If you take a look at my food diary, you'll see the ice cream, chocolate, AND crisps came out in full force. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/wisevice">?date=2014-06-19

How do you guys cope with stress at work and how do you stop yourself from stress eating? Any tips or tricks to get me through?

Replies

  • haydn24
    haydn24 Posts: 9
    Try a tyrosine supplement, it's most effective. I've had uncontrollable food cravings almost every day of my life. They were caused by stress, anxiety, unhappiness,etc., but with tyrosine I no longer have those urges. It also improves mood and helps you cope with stressful situations. For optimum absorption it must be taken with carbohydrates or sugars, not necessarily a lot of them: a slice of bread or a cup of tea with sugar will be enough. Take it once or twice every day and start in the morning with breakfast. it's not advisable to take it in the evening as it might interfere with sleep. Tyrosine kicks in after a couple of hours after the first time you use it, but it gets better and better after a week or so.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I exercise instead.

    At work I drink water with flavor.

    It is easy enough to get up from your desk and walk around either in the office or outside.

    I see that all the time at ours, people just taking a 10min break and walking around the outside of the building.
  • honey_tequila
    honey_tequila Posts: 31 Member
    That's a hard one! If you're stress eating AT work prepare by having single serves of healthy snacks on hand there so you're less tempted by the vending machine etc. At home if I'm having a bit of a "down time" I try to keep busy doing things that will make me feel good, thus lifting my mood and keeping my mind off food at the same time :)
  • brandnewsnickerpuss
    brandnewsnickerpuss Posts: 110 Member
    I like to eat crunchy foods that are low cal, like baby carrots or an apple or pickles. You can crunch them all angry like, which is fun. I also eat chewing gum like a maniac when I'm driving. I can go through an entire pack during one commute. And lastly, if I feel the urge to binge I try to allow myself the behaviour but with low cal foods like strawberries. It's not the greatest but it can help in a pinch...

    Good luck!
  • honey_tequila
    honey_tequila Posts: 31 Member
    I like to eat crunchy foods that are low cal, like baby carrots or an apple or pickles. You can crunch them all angry like, which is fun. I also eat chewing gum like a maniac when I'm driving. I can go through an entire pack during one commute. And lastly, if I feel the urge to binge I try to allow myself the behaviour but with low cal foods like strawberries. It's not the greatest but it can help in a pinch...

    Good luck!

    TOTALLY going to crunch my next carrot or apple "all angry like". I lol'd. Love it! :D
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 683 Member
    I think I may join the angry crunchers too
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    I remind myself that stress eating isn't going to make the original problem go away and that the stress eating itself would only create an additional problem and even more stress. It's sort of the same thing that gets me up early in the morning to exercise: I can be unhappy for the few minutes it takes to get up and get going or I can kick myself the entire day for not having done so. It's a pretty easy choice for me.
  • janatarnhem
    janatarnhem Posts: 669 Member
    I think I may join the angry crunchers too

    Me too!
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
    The biggest thing I have learned over the last 2 years is that getting my eating under control was going to be critical to my success. I used to have cravings and binge and then undereat to compensate. That did not work. It's a vicious cycle.

    I knew I could clean house and never have any I loved on hand - but who are we kidding - we're adults with the ability to get food whenever we want it.

    I recommend that you start trying to delay the urge to eat something when you have these feelings. Maybe you only make it 2 minutes. Next time, maybe you'll make it 3. Then tighten up on your portion control during meals. Work diligently to stay within a healthy calorie deficit. TEACH yourself to make good choices. Retrain your brain to understand why you do what you do.

    Learning moderation is a skill. Once you master this skill, you will find that you feel stronger about your ability to control your cravings and bingeing. In the long run, it's what is going to keep you healthy.
  • Padzster
    Padzster Posts: 75 Member
    Exercise stops me getting stressed. If I do get stressed then exercise reduces it.
    Alternatively, cleaning, tidying, organising, getting stuff off my to-do list.
    NEVER food!
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I am a stress eater also, read a good book lately that I got at the library, Geneen ROth has a wrote a lot of good books on this subject. I think being aware is the most important and saying ok I am stressed I do not need to eat right now or like others have said grab some strawberries or something like that. I have had to do some confrontation here lately and that is hard but necessary. Knowing we can get thru some painful life situations without food feels good. I guess I am like an alcoholic.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    This may sound silly, but being on MFP and knowing that I am accountable for every calorie is what helps me the most.
    Also, just being more cognizant of my tendency to stress eat is a big help.

    My example. This morning at work it has been incredibly slow after a very busy week, and I am bored. I got a message that my beloved dog, who went to live with my ex following our divorce, passed away yesterday and that made me incredibly sad. It's Friday and I'm eager to begin a fun weekend with my husband. Pending work projects are in limbo until my boss returns on Monday and there's nothing I can really do.

    Anyway...it's about 1 hr til lunch break and I am feeling snacky. I recognize that I'm a bit stressed/bored and if I wasn't "accountable" on MFP I would be likely to scarf down the rest of the mini Larabars in my desk (cherry pie flavor!) along with some peanut butter tucked away in the kitchen, and maybe even a can of regular Coca-Cola. But because I know the impact of those unnecessary calories, I'll wait it out until lunch and enjoy a healthy bowl of soup and maybe some fruit. Then in the afternoon if I'm still wanting a Larabar I will have *ONE* with my 3 pm cup of hot tea.
  • HeatherScent37
    HeatherScent37 Posts: 25 Member
    You know what? I don't.

    Sometimes, I just need a day for me. Not all the time. Not even once a week. But when things get nuts, I make the conscious decision to not fret about my calorie count that day, rather than just saying "F--k it!" and giving up control completely.

    If you get a flat tire, you don't get out of the car and slash the other three tires. You fix the flat and carry on.

    Now, if it was EVERY DAY that I felt like that, I'd probably look into other options, like therapy or counselling. I've done that in the past for my anxiety and it helped a lot.
  • 0919christina
    0919christina Posts: 2 Member
    I have the same problem with stress eating, too, and I have found it really helpful to have alternatives on hand, both at home and at work. If I have a fruit, nut, vegetable, etc. available, I'm less likely to head to the canteen to get a snack or to grab a cookie at home. Dehydrated fruit snacks and fruit chips are also great alternatives.

    I also get up and take a quick walk, or walk up a few flights of stairs. If you are able to do this at your job, it is a much better alternative to eating.

    Another thing I try to do is not completely deprive myself of my favorite foods. I love chocolate, so I get the snack size bars or chocolate chips. I'm an emotional eater, so I really have to be careful when I'm upset. Sometimes I get out of the house or hide from the kids and husband in the bedroom to read or call a friend. If it's late at night, sometimes it's best to just go to bed, which in my house requires me to go upstairs and away from the kitchen.
  • GFreg
    GFreg Posts: 404
    I like to eat crunchy foods that are low cal, like baby carrots or an apple or pickles. You can crunch them all angry like, which is fun. I also eat chewing gum like a maniac when I'm driving. I can go through an entire pack during one commute. And lastly, if I feel the urge to binge I try to allow myself the behaviour but with low cal foods like strawberries. It's not the greatest but it can help in a pinch...

    Good luck!

    TOTALLY going to crunch my next carrot or apple "all angry like". I lol'd. Love it! :D

    I just did this as I was reading and it was very satisfying. I wasn't even angry. I recommend it!
  • runningforicecream
    runningforicecream Posts: 89
    The biggest thing I have learned over the last 2 years is that getting my eating under control was going to be critical to my success. I used to have cravings and binge and then undereat to compensate. That did not work. It's a vicious cycle.

    I knew I could clean house and never have any I loved on hand - but who are we kidding - we're adults with the ability to get food whenever we want it.

    I recommend that you start trying to delay the urge to eat something when you have these feelings. Maybe you only make it 2 minutes. Next time, maybe you'll make it 3. Then tighten up on your portion control during meals. Work diligently to stay within a healthy calorie deficit. TEACH yourself to make good choices. Retrain your brain to understand why you do what you do.

    Learning moderation is a skill. Once you master this skill, you will find that you feel stronger about your ability to control your cravings and bingeing. In the long run, it's what is going to keep you healthy.

    This.

    And I workout. Just a walk or a 'real' workout. Anything. I find that I tend to binge on the days when I don't workout. Not sure why.

    And also, going on 'challenges'. Like, for example, I binge on cashews when I am stress and the likes. So recently, I challenge myself to 30 days without them. This is still a new idea for me, though. Not sure how it will pan out yet. But so far so good.
  • angf0679
    angf0679 Posts: 1,120 Member
    I've been stress eating this week as well. (Though I've also been bad and not recording all of it.) I work at a small law firm and we went from 3 property closings to 5 property closings today on Tuesday in the space of less then an hour. I've been working 10 hour days to get ready for them and have spent 3/4 of my day today just writing cheques and getting money going here there and everywhere today. (Not done yet. 2 more closings to finalize yet)

    At home I am working on a scrap book my church's 35 anniversary celebration this Sunday. I was asked 2 weeks ago. I have about 300 pictures to do up. (I've got about 200 left to do before Sunday morning.)

    I've had no time to workout. I haven't been careful of what I eat. I've been averaging 4 hours of sleep a night. (Instead of 6 or 7). I'm afraid to step on the scales this week as the couples weeks before that weren't good weeks as I was feeling under the weather and had no energy to workout.

    Stress eating will stop as of today, simply because I ate all the candy in my place and there is only healthy food left!! (I won't get into the cake I will get this weekend at the church anniversary celebration followed by my birthday celebration - both the same day)
  • pattyebricker
    pattyebricker Posts: 149 Member
    "Losing weight is tough.
    Maintaining weight is tough.
    Being overweight is tough.
    Choose your tough."
    From ikudnbe at MFP
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Exercise, water, and friends!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    How do you guys cope with stress at work and how do you stop yourself from stress eating? Any tips or tricks to get me through?

    You need to find other means of stress management. Meditation, yoga, exercise, aromatherapy, tai-chi, primal scream, deep breathing, a new hobby, a feel good movie or book, join a support group, talk to family or friends, whatever works for you.

    But, also, it's important to recognize those things that are beyond your control. You can't fix the world and you shouldn't try.

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