Stress eating is a sometimes unconscious response to an event or situation that is causing a degree of angst. Regardless of the level of stress being experienced, the reaction is the same. One of the worst things about stress eating is that you are often oblivious to what you are doing. Admit it you were the one who ate that whole bag of chips and the block of chocolate, no one else, just you. Question is, did you even notice what you were doing, and at any point did you feel full or that your appetite had been satisfied? If you are being honest with yourself, the answer is probably no.
So how do you know if you are stress eating and what can you do to stop it? Here are four common triggers for stress eating and what you can do to stop combat them.
1 Deadline Looming
There is a task, work project or study assignment that you have to complete with the deadline approaching at lightening speed. In situations like this, food can become a way of procrastinating, giving us an excuse to stop working temporarily and walk away. Now if you have been working for hours on end, then without a doubt your mind may need a nutritional snack for energy, however unconsciously walking to the fridge every twenty minutes and snacking, or even just opening the door and staring at the contents until you realise there is nothing in there that you really want to eat, is a stress response.
Hack
Set a timer to go off at the designated snack time and under no circumstances eat or even window eat (stare at the contents of your fridge) before this time. Decide in advance what the snack will be and stick with your decision. Get up and stretch or have a bathroom break at least once an hour to break up the task without piling on the calories.
2 Too Tired to Think
When you are tired you have less energy. In a 2012 Mayo Clinic study carried out by Andrew Calvin, it was found that people ate more if they got less than two thirds of their normal sleep time. Sleep is crucial for us all, and reducing it to below normal levels on a regular basis should be avoided. Decision making can be impaired when you are tired and lead to poor food choices making it another form of stress eating. Even though it may look like an easy way to create more time in the day, cutting out valuable sleep time may ultimately mean it takes you longer to carry out daily responsibilities.
Hack
Aim for at least 7 hours sleep each night, with 8 being ideal. If you have to reduce your sleep time, avoid doing it on consecutive nights to allow your body to recover.
3 Overwhelm Eating
Is your to do list a mile long and your priorities totally out of control? If you don’t even know where to start, chances are you are feeling overwhelmed. This is a common experience in the hectic lifestyles so many of us lead today, however food is not the solution for this problem. If you find yourself mindlessly snacking as you really feel out of control you are experiencing stress eating. Chronic stress and overwhelm can lead to elevated levels of cortisol being released in your body which have also been identified as factors in weight gain. If overwhelm has become a normal part of your day and causing you to respond with stress eating, then it is time to take an honest look at your life and see where you can regain some control.
Hack
Walk away from the situation if possible and give yourself the space to clear your mind. Make time for mindfulness or meditation daily, even 5 minutes can have a huge impact on your mindset. If organisation is not your strong point, look at using an app like Todoist which can help you schedule your time and allow you to stay focused on what is most important. If it is people that are causing you the most stress, try and find ways to minimize the time you are spending with those who lead to this reaction in you.
4 Emotional Eating
Are you eating to try and stop or avoid feeling a particular emotion? This form of stress eating can become a habitual response any time the bad feeling arises. Is a big bowl of ice cream or some chocolate your number one go to when you feel sad, angry or lonely? What are you actually hoping that this form of stress eating will achieve. The pleasure you feel immediately afterwards is the sugar high not a shift to happiness, plus then you have the added negativity of being down on yourself for eating so much sugar.
Hack
Get up and move! Changing your physiology can instantly change the way you are feeling. Try clapping, or pumping your fists in the air for at least 60 seconds, jump around and dance like no one is watching. It is hard to stay feeling down after creating such a big shift in yourself. To keep feeling good, make sure you get up and do something else, don’t just go back to moping around and getting lost in your head again.
Unless we are talking about genuine hunger, food is unable to solve your problems. Stress eating if anything is likely to lead you to feeling even more unhappy and overwhelmed. Avoiding stress altogether is clearly not realistic, however if a particular form of stress keeps showing up in your life it is a good signal that you need to make some changes. While short term responses like stress eating may not result in obvious physical problems, continued exposure to high levels of stress can lead to many serious health complaints.
