Stress Eating

Well it definitely sounds like your enduring quite a bit- and stress eating is so common for many of us MFPer's- myself included.

Stress eating, I believe, is a coping mechanism that we've adopted to help us get through extreme stress. And just like any coping mechanism, we can transition away from it and choose something healthy.

Try to think about your body as the most valuable thing you own right now and you need to take really good care of it. In times of stress, your body needs extra help in dealing with the emotions. Eating as healthy as possible is priority number one. Second, up your exercise if you can or take some time for yoga and meditation. Stress is like steam that needs to be released. Giving it an outlet will allow you to not pick food to quiet it down. Third, you must get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. If you're a busy mom this might be a tall order but make it a high priority to get as much sleep as you can.

To help yourself stay on track, make sure you don't have any of your go -to snack foods in the house that you generally reach for during stress eating. If it's cookies or chips, get them out of the house. Instead replacement these snacks with healthy alternatives.

I'm a full time single mom and I can tell you that I still struggle sometimes with the stress-induced eating. I've found yoga and meditation very helpful. I've also seen a therapist once a month to sort through some of these stressful issues. Based on what you're going through, don't be afraid to reach out for help in that direction. If you're bottling things up and not talking about your feelings about your job and your family member dying, you definitely need to talk to someone- a really great friend or great therapist.


I hope you start to feel better and can find some comfort at this time.