Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just my personal strategy re: Stress Eating (and I am currently going through some massive stress)
1. Before I let myself eat or drink when stressed I have an exercise I do first. I started small, with 10 squats/pushups/situps/jumping jacks, etc. Now that I am in better shape, sometimes I will make myself do 100 jumping jacks before I let myself touch the fridge (also great for getting warm in winter LOL)
2. Many times I am actually thirsty when my body thinks I am hungry. So I drink a non-caloric beverage first before eating, either a whole glass of water, unsweetened tea (iced or hot), or a cup of coffee (no sweetener).
3. If weather permits, sometimes all I need is a "change of venue." Getting outdoors for even 5 minutes helps break that stress eating cycle.
4. I have my "before and after" picture blown up and taped to the side of the fridge (it is someplace on the exercise and fitness thread on CityData). I did not work for a solid year for me to blow it eating garbage under stress.
5. Meditate/pray/do yoga/focused relaxation instead of eating.
6. If I do give in and eat, it must be veggies.
7. While eating the veggies, all I do is eat them. I focus on what I am doing, i.e., no eating in front of the TV, no eating standing up, etc.
When I want something to snack but know I shouldn't, I like sunflower seeds. You really have to work to crack and toss the seeds and you end up with a low calorie intake. Just keeping my mouth busy is satisfying enough to let the craving pass.
Any advice on how to stop stress eating? Wire jaw shut? Guard dog at fridge? Electrify cupboard?
1- If your' gonna stress eat, try to sometimes eat healthier stuff. Sometimes something nice and crunchy helps. Carrots and celery, for example, or a couple handfuls of nuts (not the whole jar). It might not be as yummy as chocolate cake, but the crunch helps get out some frustration.
2- Replace the eating with moving. Instead of going through a bag of chip ahoy's go for a walk instead.
3- When you absolutely must indulge, go buy a single serving of something.
Be busy and active & stay on a strict food list/diet that you can live with. It's all about planning and deciding what you are going to eat. Only you can decide what to eat and how much. If you can't control how much you eat, you might try a structured eating plan like Weight Watchers or the Zone. If you have emotional problems which affect your eating patterns, you may consider a short course of anti depressants or something like Bach flower essences to help reorganize your emotional world: Original Bach Flower Remedies® - www.BachFlower.com
Food is the only thing that cures my stress. I've been doing a great job watching my calories, making healthy food choices, and drinking water. I always work out and am very active. But I am also very stressed. Sitting here typing this I am so stressed out. I can't sleep and can't turn off my brain. I KNOW through experience if I go get a bag of chips and mow down on them I will immediately stop feeling stressed and will be able to sleep all night. Nothing cures it like chips. I've tried every other piece of advice ever offered- it does nothing to help this feeling of stress. Nothing can shut my brain up except those chips. Even alcohol is not as effective as eating potato chips when it comes to chilling out my mind so I can RELAX.
People say cravings go away but this just keeps building every night. I'm going on three weeks and every night the stress gets a little worse. I cannot relax enough to unwind. I've tried getting into a new tv show, talking to friends, surfing the internet, yada yada yada. Crunching on carrots just reminds me how much I want some chips. Lays sour cream and onion chips to be exact. I've tried just having a hand full of chips but that didn't do the trick for long, maybe 10 minutes of relief.
This sucks. I don't want to eat chips. I just want to be able to relax, take a breath, not feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack.
Thank you for reading. I just wanted to try to get it out in hopes that it would be cathartic.
I've heard good things about cold therapy helping with sleep problems. Put an icepack (or icepacks) on your upper back for 30 minutes before going to bed. You could also try this method:
Reduce the stress - even if you don't overeat due to stress. Being stressed is probably more unhealthy than being fat.
Best post by FAR of the entire thread.
Artisan4, you need to figure out some way to eliminate the stress that is causing you to overeat If you are unable to do that, you need to figure out some other form of coping mechanism to deal with it instead of stuffing you face. Everyone in the world has something that stresses them, its how the deal with that determines how much it negatively affects their health.
Some advice:
1. Do yoga and/or tai chi.
2. Find a hobby. Something that you can do anytime in any weather.
3. Only have healthy foods in your house. No chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.
4. Go see a therapist if things are THAT bad for you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(also great for getting warm in winter LOL)
