Are you a stress eater?

bekinator

for me it's discipline, and stress makes me not care because i'm so worried about other things. i find general comfort in food & eat more if i like it... truth be told, i love food... to me it's like liking booze and drinking more when you're digging the buzz. probably that means my day-to-day stress tends to be subdued and comes out in my grabbing onto "highs" like a great meal, or booze. then in severe stress i feel like my tummy is a huge knot & don't want to put anything in it. but as a generally laid-back person, this doesn't happen very often... or often enough, i should say.

what i'm trying to do is change my mentality, to say "no" when i really want more, and to start taking refuge in a slightly sore body after a great workout, instead of a slightly stuffed belly after a great meal. hopefully the practice will become subconscious one day and i'll learn where to really channel my mind's stress to my body's benefit.

misticache

Definitely. When things are really bad I turn to food for comfort. It's the only thing I feel like I can control. Which is really warped when you think about it because if I could control it I wouldn't be eating it. I need help

anj911

when i'm stressed i tend to eat more

when i'm REALLY stressed i stop eating completely.

not good either way....

YUP!!!

Me too!

Jackie9950

I am an everything eater. I eat when I am stressed, I eat when I am bored, I eat when I am mad, I eat when I am depressed. Eating (binging) causes most of the above emotions so it's a horrible cycle. Lately, I have lost motivation, so I have been stuck at the same weight for almost a month! I am thinking....lobotomy???? :frown:

wowens1

I recognize my 'stress' eating as an eating disorder. I look forward to the food putting me in a happy place. Kids in bed and a movie and great empty calorie filled food. My mind goes where I don't have to think about things and my body is being pleased with great tastes and a full belly. Even too full. I over eat til I am miserable and I wake up swollen full of the sodium in my tissues yet I still do this time and time again. I fought looking for a 'drug' to help with this for 5 years and finally I relented. I turned to Phentermine at a weight loss clinic. I expected harsher side affects. After the first week of my body getting used to it I no longer have trouble sleeping. It actually puts me in that happy place so I don't turn to food anymore. It allows me to both think rationally about what I eat and listen to my body on how much I need to eat. During this time I take days off from it. The hunger comes but I can still think rationally about food. The drawback is that there is a tolerance build up where it doesn't last as long as it did before. I am hoping though, that I have learned during the time it did do the job and I can forever keep a step back from relying on food for pleasure.

dlwyatt82

Definitely. When things are really bad I turn to food for comfort. It's the only thing I feel like I can control. Which is really warped when you think about it because if I could control it I wouldn't be eating it. I need help

I hear ya. And part of you is craving that "stuffed belly" feeling, while you still feel like dirt for doing it (even as you're eating).

I've been doing well since January (when I joined MFP and started this most recent weight loss push), and hopefully I can keep those habits behind me from now on. I've still had a bad day here and there, but much smaller in scale. I've been on a meal plan that involves eating smaller meals and snacks 6-8 times per day, and one thing I've noticed is that my stomach seems to have shrunk after a couple months of that. Even on my weekly "cheat day" or on the occasions that I've screwed up, I feel full so much faster than I used to. I physically can't stuff as much food in there anymore. My wife and I like to go to an Indian buffet near our home, and I'm stuffed after one plate these days (where I used to put away 2-3 easily).

BreatheSelina_

I stress eat... badly.

Neliel

I'm a stress eater. Hardcore style. I wish I could truly control it. But when i'm that stressed I just stop caring

jen88ve

I can't eat when I'm stressed, makes me sick to my stomach. But when I'm bored, that's a whole different story!!! haha

creech6317

Not so much a stress eater, more of a boredom eater. Even if I'm not hungry I will just start munching away when I'm bored. It is my biggest problem with losing the weight I want. I can have been doing great all day and in the evenings I get bored and ruin all the good work I have done for the day.
At least I have gotten rid of all of the junk food in my house and I don't feel as bad when I am munching on an apple instead of cookies or something like that.

imoquenn

Yeah, emotional eater here. It's often an avoidance tactic - if I don't want to do something, I'll go eat instead, and it helps me procrastinate for at least a little while. And it's a comfort thing, too. XP

Doresoontobehealthy

I am such an emotional eater. I let myself get in these frenzies and I don't stop eating until I'm sick. Then I end up just feeling disgusted with myself.

sjschewlakow

I am more of a boredom eater. So I have now commenced to keeping myself busy. Hiking, reorganizing the apt., sewing, and cleaning some more..... It helps a lot