I need to manage my stress eating.

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aeshippers
aeshippers Posts: 416 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi all
This is the first time I've created a discussion but I really need to do something about my stress eating. I reached the top end of my goal weight range at the end of June but July is a very stressful month at work and I am already up 1.2kg (almost 3lb) even though I've only had one big blowout.
I really don't want to undo all my hard work so my plan for this thread is to be more accountable about when I'm stress eating and hopefully reduce it by doing this.
It would be good if there are other emotional eaters out there who would like to join me.
My plan is to post when I feel the need to stress eat, wait 10 minutes and if I still want to eat I can. I will also create a new meal in my diary to keep a tally of how many calories I'm consuming through stress eating and will make my diary public for anyone who may be interested. I will do this for the rest of July, starting tomorrow, and see how it goes.
Sorry this is such a long post.

Replies

  • JJS1979
    JJS1979 Posts: 177 Member
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    I think this is a great idea. I believe we all are stress/emotional eaters on some level so I think many people can relate. The one thing that I have stopped doing (which was very difficult to do) was feel guilty if I ended up cracking and eating emotionally. Ordinarily I would be so depressed and upset at myself for destroying my diet and it would just lead to more bad eating.

    Once I learned that these episodes will happen and that when they do I can simply just move on and go back to my normal eating habits, I was able to cope with them much better. Unless they are happening very frequently, eating something that is high in calories for a meal or for even an entire day, will NOT undo everything you have done. The only thing that will undo it is if you let that one lapse control the rest of your week, month, year. If you put it behind you and go back to doing what you did to get in shape, that one lapse will not matter at all.

    I think noting when you are eating emotionally and why could be very helpful in figuring out what might be a trigger for these episodes. I wish you the best of luck and keep us posted!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,107 Member
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    You might find this group helpfulhttp://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1012-emotional-eating
  • Judy2CA
    Judy2CA Posts: 34 Member
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    I can be an emotional eater but I also eat in the evening - out of boredom I think. I remember being upset with my husband and then getting into the bag of potato chips. That was the first time I remember eating solely due to emotions. That is really a good idea to wait 10 minutes before you eat. I'm trying not to eat in the evening. When I feel like rummaging around in the kitchen my goal is to try and wait it out. I've set the kitchen timer or done some small chore in the house to get my mind off food. If I just wait 10 minutes it really helps.
  • CoueCoue
    CoueCoue Posts: 69 Member
    edited July 2017
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    @aeshippers great idea to create a new "meal" to record "unnecessary" eating triggered by certain emotions. Never thought of that way of using the functionality before. If you record it, you recognise it and can eventually, tackle it.

    Good luck with your journey.
  • aeshippers
    aeshippers Posts: 416 Member
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    @tinkerbellang83 - thanks for the pointer to the group, I have joined

    It's 8:30 am on my first day of attempting to tackle this and I'm currently feeling really positive, long ay that feeling last.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Here's what's helping me so far. I eat out of stress, boredom, and emotions and these reasons sometimes merge...
    • I'm exercising more. I'm a freelancer working from home with (sadly) little work right now, which mean that I actually do have time to exercise 2-3 hours/day. I don't mean it's all strenuous. A two-hour walk with music at roughly 3.0 mph. Or 60 minutes on a fitness glider. Just under an hour of strength training with dumbbells and bodyweight exercises three times a week. About 5 minutes of warmup and 8 minutes of cool-down stretches. Some days, I do 50-minute weights-and-cardio interval workout in place of the walk/glider, when I'm just not in the mood for the former. Thing is, the exercise helps me get a grip on my stress. My moods have improved. And if I'm exercising, I'm doing stuff, so I'm not bored.
    • I've gotten rid of high-calorie snacks. Of course portion size matters, but I find that 110 calories worth of dry cereal or 2 cups of Skinny Pop popcorn satisfies my nibbling much better than jelly beans or potato chips would. I think it's that, while the cereal and popcorn taste good, I can stop after a portion. With chips and candy, that's not always true.
    • Before I eat the snack, I measure. I pre-log. And I take my dish with me. I don't take the rest of the package into the other room with me. And if I want more? Usually, the 'must log, must measure first' rule gives me a last-minute check. If I have this, will I still have enough calories for supper? Do I need to change what I was planning to eat? How badly do I want this? And if I really want it, fine. But it's no longer mindless eating.

    It's going well so far. To be fair, I'm not currently under any major stress. Hopefully, should that change, I'll have the habits in place to manage things.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I think most people here eat out of boredom or stress. If we only ate when we were hungry, until we were satisfied, there wouldn't be much need for this ap. As I get older I see fewer and fewer of my friends managing to keep their weight in check (I'm 62).

    So, it's an ongoing challenge to create healthy habits and to handle the slip ups that will occur, successfully. I'd suggest you hang out on the maintenance boards as you're at that point and there is much wisdom and experience over there.
  • ansmit4642014
    ansmit4642014 Posts: 67 Member
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    I am a stress eater. Going to the gym and meal prepping has been helping me. Also I pretty much gave up tv so that I couldn't eat and sit in front of the tv.
  • EmPhil95
    EmPhil95 Posts: 21 Member
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    One thing I've found works (most of the time) for me is to make a cup of tea instead. It gives you something to do with your hands and can satisfy cravings with just a tsp of honey or some milk.
  • aeshippers
    aeshippers Posts: 416 Member
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    Thanks for all the tips everyone, have been trying number of them and have been relatively successful until the last week, there are some new ideas to try too though.
    I am pleased to report that so far today has been much better and I only have another 30 minutes or so to get through at work (need to finish something before I leave).
  • aeshippers
    aeshippers Posts: 416 Member
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    Stress eating was kicking in about an hour ago. I told myself I could have a miso soup once I had finished my water. Finished my water and the craving had passed YAY!!
  • sunsetluvv
    sunsetluvv Posts: 5 Member
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    I've gained like 15 -20 lbs from stress eating

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