Turning to food for stress relief....

brandyk2011

Hi there.

I am a newbie, working on my last 40 lbs to drop. It just seems that everytime I think I am back on track, I fall off again due to stress. I tend to turn to food when I am stressed and I try and try to break the never ending habit and I just can't seem too. Just when I think I have it beat, something happens and here comes the stress and food is what I turn to to help, for some reason.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

LoganScottsMom

ditto.

mes1921

Honestly? Working out is the best stress reliever I can find. Normally it's a Zumba class or some kind of group fitness, but any way that you're getting endorphines is going to make you feel better and bring the stress down. I do sometime still turn to food, but have found that my stress disappears and I feel so much better if I get some exercise instead!

ilookthetype

Run instead of eating. GTFO of your house, walk, bike, let the dog out without a leash and catch it, chase squirrels, whatever, get out of the house.

Espressocycle

I guess you could start smoking.
Wait, don't do that.

KualaTGirl

I am a stress eater too. The best advice I can really give is just replace the junk food in your house with healthier options. Another thing is find a new stress reliever. A lot of people I know use exercise as a stress reliever and I never knew how they could do that until I started walking and realized a walk around the block, getting some fresh air really helped clear my mind. I hope you find what works for you.

bcattoes

Honestly? Working out is the best stress reliever I can find. Normally it's a Zumba class or some kind of group fitness, but any way that you're getting endorphines is going to make you feel better and bring the stress down. I do sometime still turn to food, but have found that my stress disappears and I feel so much better if I get some exercise instead!

Yes, I agree with this wholeheartedly. Tell yourself that you can have whatever comfort food you want to releive stress but only if you earn it through exercise. Chances are after the exercise you won't need the food anymore because exercise is a great releiver of stress. And if you do still give in at least you've earned someor all of the calories.

Qarol

Run instead of eating. GTFO of your house, walk, bike, let the dog out without a leash and catch it, chase squirrels, whatever, get out of the house.

All of this...and if that still doesn't help, you could try talking to a therapist.

vim_n_vigor

You need to deal with the issues in your life that disrupt it. If it is small stressful situations that cause your bingeing, than you need better stress management techniques. If you have a lot of big things causing issues for you, then you need to find ways to resolve them and get the time out you need. Either way, to be successful, you need more than change of diet and exercise.

ilookthetype

Run instead of eating. GTFO of your house, walk, bike, let the dog out without a leash and catch it, chase squirrels, whatever, get out of the house.

All of this...and if that still doesn't help, you could try talking to a therapist.

Yeah, therapy is good, too.

brandyk2011

Thank you all for the advice. I appreciate it. I am back on track today so "fingers crossed" I can, no I WILL stay on track this time.

rosebarnalice

Crazy little hypnotherapy training exercise trick but it works for me sometimes:

put your hands palms up in front of you, then IN sequence,
* touch your index fingers with your thumbs and say to yourself or out loud: "DO (as in "do--a deer, a female deer")
* then touch your middle fingers with your thumbs and say to yourself or out loud: "MI (an in "mi--a name I call myself")
* then touch your ring fingers with your thumbs and say to yourself or out loud: "SO (as in "so-a needle pulling thread")
* then touch your pinkie fingers with your thumbs and say "DO" again (as in "Do-that will bring us back to do")

Then reverse it-- touch pinkies (again), then middles, rings, indexes)

If you do it 10 times fairly fast (touching fingers while you're repeating your little mantra thusly:-
do mi so do, do so mi do;
do mi so do, do so mi do;
do mi so do, do so mi do;
do mi so do, do so mi do;
do mi so do, do so mi do;
do mi so do, do so mi do

By the time you finish, you will have distracted yourself long enough to think sanely (you know, I really don't need that [piece of pie, bag of chips, leftover casserole. . .whatever] OR, you will feel so foolish from sitting in the parking lot of the Wendy's touching your fingers and repeating do mi so do do so mi do over and over, that you won't be able to bring yourself to go through the drive-thru!

brandyk2011

Thank you so much. I will have to try that.