Stress eating... Tips? Thoughts? Anyone relate?

hartmamp
hartmamp Posts: 80 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I was in a very minor car accident on my way home from work last night, no one hurt, just some minor damage, but of course an unpleasant situation, especially as it was my fault. When I got home last night, all I wanted was food. I tried to take a relaxing bath, read a little to take my mind off, etc. but in the end, I sat with a box of Teddy Grahams and crunched until I was stuffed.

This is just so sad to me that this is what "comforted" me. How did I learn this behavior?

I'm doing my best to see today as a fresh start, but I haven't spoken to the insurance company yet and all of that just stresses me out, and I don't want to give in to any unnecessary temptation.

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I think we learn that at a young age..funerals...food, sick special food, sad food...

    I have retrained my brain and I no longer associate food with stress......I go for a walk or workout not only am I getting exercise, I am alone and can decompress listening to music etc.

  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Don't be so hard on yourself. It was scary. You needed comfort. Today is a new day.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Food is your coping mechanism. Try not to beat yourself up about it.

    You can form new coping habits through retraining your brain. For me, it starts with recognizing that I'm feeling a feeling (in this case stress). Then working on doing something besides eating in response to that feeling.

    Here's some alternative things you can do to cope. You might need to experiment to find what works for you personally. (The only caution is you can become mindlessly habitual with any of these, so make sure you pick an alternative your not likely to damage your lifestyle with.)

    Hug someone you love
    Pet a furry mammal
    Exercise/yoga
    Make tea (my favorite thing to do to replace the urge to binge mindlessly. It's still something in the kitchen, I don't have to change clothes, I can do it alone, it doesn't cost much, it's unlikely any loved one will ever accuse me of putting tea before their needs)
    Journaling
    Deep breathing/meditation
    Calling a friend
    Listen to specific music
  • SweetPeasMom55
    SweetPeasMom55 Posts: 3,514 Member
    OMG my whole family is stress eaters. My sister and I are under right now extreme amounts of stress. She has reverted back to the eating will fill the void. I have swapped it out for walking but I walk a lot when things are bad. I'm sure I would have eaten everything in the house instead I just walked til I was exhausted then It was take a long soak and hit the hay. You're not alone it's just trying to reprogram yourself to do something else. You'll be ok! :)
  • ZeXea
    ZeXea Posts: 168 Member
    Thank heavens for this thread. I am the same with stress or emotional Eating. I know the feeling entirely, but I'm happy to see helpful advice here. As all things are, changing this shall too be a process :)
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
    I definitely turn to food (or wine) when I'm stressed, although less than I used to. What I do is try and remember that feeling stuffed and uncomfortable almost always makes me more upset. I either go work out or for a walk or vent to a friend or my husband.
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,213 Member
    WBB55 wrote: »
    Food is your coping mechanism. Try not to beat yourself up about it.

    You can form new coping habits through retraining your brain. For me, it starts with recognizing that I'm feeling a feeling (in this case stress). Then working on doing something besides eating in response to that feeling.

    Here's some alternative things you can do to cope. You might need to experiment to find what works for you personally. (The only caution is you can become mindlessly habitual with any of these, so make sure you pick an alternative your not likely to damage your lifestyle with.)

    Hug someone you love
    Pet a furry mammal
    Exercise/yoga
    Make tea (my favorite thing to do to replace the urge to binge mindlessly. It's still something in the kitchen, I don't have to change clothes, I can do it alone, it doesn't cost much, it's unlikely any loved one will ever accuse me of putting tea before their needs)
    Journaling
    Deep breathing/meditation
    Calling a friend
    Listen to specific music

    +100000000
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    I should have gone on in my post to say eventually if you do the same thing over and over in response to stress, you will begin to experience less stress. Eventually you will find yourself making tea, look down at your cup and think to yourself "I don't remember wanting tea..." And in that moment you will realize you didn't want tea, you were presented with a stressor, and instead of feeling stressed when that potential stressor occurred, you made tea instead, essentially cutting the stress out before you actually felt it. And then you will blissfully sip your tea and think to yourself "this is way better than being stressed out about that thing."
  • hartmamp
    hartmamp Posts: 80 Member
    I really appreciate all the responses. Sometimes it's just nice to hear you aren't alone. And I will definitely take some of the advice and put it to the test.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I'm so sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you are okay now.

    Please don't beat yourself up about turning to food. Food, whilst certainly being vital for fuel, sometimes simply IS a comfort - regardless of what people may think. Sometimes when I come home from a bad day at work, I WANT to eat some chocolate and I don't WANT to go for a run. And that's totally okay. You're human. You haven't fallen off the wagon and you haven't failed. Tomorrow is a new day. Sending you happy thoughts.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    I was the biggest stress eater in the world!! Now in times of stress I exercise, and it helps immensely.
    When I would get stressed or upset in the past, my first instinct was to eat (with the mindset of "I've had a bad day, I deserve something yummy to eat") to comfort myself, and I had been that way for most of my life. When I decided to change my life and get my health back, I started forcing myself to exercise instead. It was NOT easy, especially at first, but as I kept doing it, I realized that it really did help my stress, whereas eating just made me feel better temporarily, then worse afterwards. It took time, but now I'm at a point where when I'm stressed, I actually WANT to exercise...I never would have believed that possible in the past.
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