Stress eating & the last couple of kilos.

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I'm after practical & helpful suggestions on ways to detour on the stress eating when times are testing?
I'm almost at goal weight, the stress eating isn't helping reach my goals.
I have a busy lifestyle & can't just drop everything to take a stroll in the park to clear my head (work & kids=busy!)
Any positive helpful tips would be appreciated :)

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    I'm always a ball of stress and I find when night time comes so does my tendency to reach for snacks if I'm stressed. I drink a ton of water (prior to popping any food) also make sure you save some calories for night. Popcorn is a great filler for this (more bang for the buck).
  • DeterminedBex
    DeterminedBex Posts: 97 Member
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    Argh yes, good ol popcorn! Low cals too.
  • yogacat13
    yogacat13 Posts: 124 Member
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    The best way to avoid stress eating is to reduce stress levels. I did a stress inventory (you can find them on the web easily), and realised that while there were a couple of big things causing me stress, there were also a bunch of small things adding up to make the overall stress level too much. I couldn't do much about the big items, so I addressed a couple of small things. The most effective one for me was simply going to bed half an hour earlier. Doing short meditation (ten minutes or so) a couple of times a day really helped too.
  • Sukebind15
    Sukebind15 Posts: 6 Member
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    It's a nightmare, isn't it? The advice about water and popcorn sounds good. Also I go for a hot drink as it takes a little longer to prepare and then longer to drink and so is more if a diversion/gives me something specific to do. Also, I would say to decide what you are going to eat as a stress-snack, allow yourself that and then try to move on. Logging religiously helps because if I don't it's really easy to keep going after 'just one'. If you are having a bad day or feel tired then I think you achieve more in the long run by letting yourself have something you enjoy than by making yourself more miserable by denying it. That is when I end up eating rubbish. So maybe have a healthy snack bar you actually enjoy, or a little piece of chocolate (obviously dark is best but in real crisis I need Cadbury!) Or some dried fruit and nuts. Also, scheduling the snack into your day can give you something to look forward to, like, just finish this job, then I will eat my snack. Good luck!
  • DeterminedBex
    DeterminedBex Posts: 97 Member
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    Thanks ladies, all good suggestions.