Stress eating

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conwaylaura4
conwaylaura4 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a tendency to stress eat and eat out of boredom. It's messing me up with my calorie limit so does anyone go through the same issue and have a recommendation on how to stop it?

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  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    All the time. Only thing I found was to change your routine. I tend to want to eat out of habit while watching TV. If I play a board game with my wife instead then I am not as focused on eating.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    You just have to stop it. Plan your meals and don't eat unless it's a meal or something you really want. Relax and exercise to reduce stress and boredom.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,123 Member
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    Things that work for me
    • Chewing gum
    • Drinking tea, diet pop, or eating sugar-free Jello (especially when I am waiting for my brain to stop sending those "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FROM A LOW BLOOD SUGAR IF YOU DO NOT EAT THE ENTIRE KITCHEN!!!" messages between when I treat a low and when the low actually comes back up)
    • Keeping my hands busy. I have recently taken up finger knitting, though coloring and playing useless computer games also work
    • Keeping food as far away as possible. Out of sight, out of mind
    • Painting my nails. I don't want to ruin my manicure by eating something while the polish is still drying
    • Brushing my teeth -everything tastes disgusting to me after I brush
    • Going for a walk, especially if I am bored.
  • conwaylaura4
    conwaylaura4 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you!!!
  • domgibson88
    domgibson88 Posts: 78 Member
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    I have a desk job and it's really boring so I chew on sunflower seeds..they are better than nuts cause it takes work and time to get the seeds out..and an ounce can last me all morning which is 100 calories.. Plus keeps me from being hangry.. It's really helped me cause I would be so hungry at break and down a cream cheese bagel within seconds and the empty carbs would make me starving at lunch just 2 hours later.
  • Somze
    Somze Posts: 33 Member
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    Any good books anyone can recommend on the subject? I binge eat sometimes and can't quite figure out what triggers me psychologically. My father was once a binging alcoholic, before he quit, so binge behavior runs in the family. I don't think simple tricks, like keeping the food away, would help me. Once I start binging, I feel like it's a matter of life and death and I have to keep eating. I want to know the real psychological reason behind it but don't want to see anyone for it. Any recommendations for useful books are welcome.
  • jayjay_90
    jayjay_90 Posts: 83 Member
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    Somze wrote: »
    Any good books anyone can recommend on the subject? I binge eat sometimes and can't quite figure out what triggers me psychologically. My father was once a binging alcoholic, before he quit, so binge behavior runs in the family. I don't think simple tricks, like keeping the food away, would help me. Once I start binging, I feel like it's a matter of life and death and I have to keep eating. I want to know the real psychological reason behind it but don't want to see anyone for it. Any recommendations for useful books are welcome.

    Breaking Free of Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth is a good one to check out. She has a whole bunch actually that are helpful IMO
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Pre-logging generally helps for me. I anticipate that I'm going to want to snack. I figure out what I can have that won't send me over calories. Low-cal options include: Cherry tomatoes, popcorn, some of the 'pop chip' snack foods, fruit... sometimes I'll slice up a veggie dog and dip it in mustard. And if it fits? I can sometimes have some M&Ms or jelly beans, too. But the healthier options help me feel fuller. And I put the snack into the tracker before I eat it. If it's during the day and I know what I want to eat for supper, I'll usually log supper at that point too, so I know how many calories I have to work with. (I'm on 1470 right now. I usually use about 1100 on meals and spread out the remaining 370 on snacks. Exercise calories get spread around a little more. You need to figure out what works for you.)

    Mostly, I think you could say I take great pains to show myself that I'm not going off my calories, because if I start thinking that I blew the day... then I really blow the day. Being able to say to myself, "Hey. There's 370 calories to fool around with. You want to use 85 calories on 2 cups of Skinny Pop popcorn? That's very doable," helps me relax and stay on track. And lets me still have something by my computer to nibble on*.

    *I want to point out that I measure out a portion in a bowl. I don't keep sticking my hand in the bag.

  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
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    The boredom eating is my big problem - desk job. Very strong minty gum helps a lot because most foods don't taste good after that.

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