Stress Eating

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Jubee13
Jubee13 Posts: 132 Member
in Motivation and Support
So, last spring, I once again lost the same 15 pounds I seem to gain and lose, gain and lose. Over the past few months, I’ve gained back most of that 15 pounds. This is all simply due to stress eating. My job the past two years has become extremely stressful, and since I am due to retire in five years, I’m not able to begin a new career, or retire early with losing a massive amount of income. Binge eating really does relieve my stress in that moment. I haven’t found any other way to relieve my stress the way eating sweets and “junk food” does. However, I hate the long term effects (weight gain). I feel so much better when I’m taking care of myself and eating well, I don’t know why this is such a huge struggle to overcome. If anyone has any wise words of advice, or can share what has worked for you, I’d greatly appreciate it. I’ve come to the point where I’m weary of this whole gain/lose thing. TIA

Replies

  • Illusions20
    Illusions20 Posts: 16 Member
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    I don't know if this will help but I'm finding that hanging out in or near the kitchen will lead to me eating. Getting far away from the kitchen helped with staying on track
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I can SO empathize. Stress/ emotional eater . . Have lost and gained the same 30 lbs more times than I want to count . . . Am about 3 to 4 years away from retirement but there's a reasonable chance the job won't last that long. . . .

    I've been swimming a lot (with COVID ymca rules), logging religiously and self-talking a lot "whatever you need right now isn't in the fridge because you've already had xxxx calories today". I'm also big on very low calorie - high volume foods like cabbage and tomato soup and mega-veg salads so I can "volume eat" and feel full without the guilt.

    Hang in there!!!
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    I've been able to reduce stress at work by aiming at the stress itself rather than just trying to cope. In other words, I worked on reacting better to stressful situations. This was very effective for me because work in general was stressful for me. I needed professional therapy to do this, and it did take a while, but I suppose if you have five years, it would be worth working on.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    I wish there was more sound advice .. in books...or from the experts.. on how not to overeat during hard/stressful times. How many of us gained during the COVID lockdown.. especially at the initial stages. Then there is life's stresses.. kids.. sick family members.. losing people we love. All these instances leads most of us to regain.

    Maybe realizing it is happening will help us not do It again? I also think the interruption in routine and access to healthy foods makes the problem worse. Example.. a family member or partner is in the hospital.. you can't meal prep during a time like that!
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    elisa123gal wrote: »
    I wish there was more sound advice .. in books...or from the experts.. on how not to overeat during hard/stressful times. How many of us gained during the COVID lockdown.. especially at the initial stages. Then there is life's stresses.. kids.. sick family members.. losing people we love. All these instances leads most of us to regain.

    Maybe realizing it is happening will help us not do It again? I also think the interruption in routine and access to healthy foods makes the problem worse. Example.. a family member or partner is in the hospital.. you can't meal prep during a time like that!

    I remember making one comment during a therapy session, that by losing the weight, if I get hit with an extremely stressful situation, that I will only regain and not gain more. Kind of a weird way to look at it but it made me feel better. This was on top of finding other coping mechanisms, of course, but sometimes it's not enough when food has been the go-to for 90% of my life.
  • SwtHedgehog
    SwtHedgehog Posts: 174 Member
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    I still stress eat, but not nearly as much, minus December (too many stressors just added up to be too much). One thing that I found to help was daily yoga. Sarah Beth Yoga and Yoga with Adrian are good YouTube videos. I do it first thing in the morning. I found that even just 10-15 minutes a day not only helped me destress, it helped me become more aware of what was going on with me, even well after the sessions. Plus, if helps having that little extra workout.

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