How to stop stress eating
Know your common triggers, and be able to identify them before they happen. Forcing yourself to sit with the feeling will make it pass faster.
Recognize what food cravings are and what is a hunger signal. Hunger signals are usually more “naggy”, but cravings will often come as “sneaks”. Pay attention to the difference between the two sensations.
Track your calories separately so that you can see how much of them are coming from treats vs food; this might also help reduce cravings in general by making you conscious of what they’re doing – there’s no going back if you log it!
One way that may help break the cycle is to exercise more or stop physical inactivity.
Another option is to avoid calorie-dense foods, especially within sight and reach. Some people eat when they are hungry; others eat because food appears in front of them. If you’re not hungry, then pass on the food and leave it where it belongs–in the fridge or pantry.
Set a timer for 30 minutes; something will probably happen in that period to distract you from focusing on your thoughts and feelings, which causes stress eating.
Can’t I just stop stress eating?
Yes, you can. It is not easy to quit emotional eating, but it’s very achievable, and we will show you how in this article.
If stress is making you eat a lot, try to handle it in other ways like exercise. This will help train your body (and mind) to turn to healthy habits instead. Also, make sure you focus on eating healthy, don’t do cheat days since one wrong choice can lead to other issues like lack of motivation.
Avoiding trigger foods also helps, and keeping yourself away from them in the first place will be helpful too.
How can I stop stress eating?
We have gathered ten tips for you that will help you overcome stress eating and break the habit:
- Exercise – Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good. It’s also a great way to release stress and reduce the effects of stress, especially if you’re feeling out of control. Make physical changes: go for a walk after every meal, take up yoga or Pilates, join Crossfit—anything that gets you moving and out of the house.
Sprinting as a replacement for running can help burn the same number of calories while relieving stress at the same time. Yoga is excellent during or after work can be a great option too – even if it takes place in the office itself. Rigorous exercise also leads to deep breaths that can be very helpful in reducing stress levels.
- Meditate – Meditation helps calm the mind and find your center. When you are centered and relaxed, it is much easier to think logically about the areas of your life that may be triggering your stress eating.
- Drink Green Tea – Drinking green tea can help reduce cortisol in the body, responsible for feelings of stress and anxiety. Green tea also causes thermogenesis (heat production), which helps burn calories and fat.
- Stop Overeating at Night – When you overeat at night, it can keep you up, and it also is more challenging to burn off because of slower metabolism.
- Eat Protein – Eating protein helps regulate blood sugar levels, which can help you avoid sugar cravings, especially late at night. Also, eating protein-rich foods such as eggs or Greek yoghurt with some berries for breakfast will make you feel full due to the protein. Avoid junk food.
- Eliminate as Many Negative Emotions as You Can. When you are feeling stressed or anxious about something, try to address the problem, or if it can’t be helped, then eliminate that negative emotion as much as possible by other means such as positive self-talk.
- Eat Mindfully – Try to eat mindfully and slowly, reminding yourself that food is just fuel for the body. When you eat, just sit down at the table with your food in front of you and enjoy it. Chew it slowly and savor each bite. Mindful eating helps to reduce overeating. Use your non-dominant hand when eating so you can’t shove entire fistfuls of food into your mouth.
- Start a New Hobby or Project – Starting a new project or hobby will help the time pass while distracting you from stress eating.
- Black and White Thinking – Make a list of the people or things causing you stress. Then write in one column all the things about them that cause you to stress, and next to it, write down all the good things about them in another column. If there is nothing on your “stress” list, then cross out this section entirely. This will help you see that though the stressor may be causing you problems, you can find good in it as well.
- Make a Gratitude List – Every night before bed, make a list of everything you are grateful for, big or small. It can include your family, friends, job and just little things like having clean water to drink. This will help you focus on the positive things in your life instead of all going wrong.
Focus on improving emotional eating in other ways, like having a gratitude practice or journaling about what triggers specific food cravings.
Other practical solutions are outlined below.
- Create a list of your favorite food choices and food preference that are healthy or have lower calories, so you’re less likely to give up on eating healthier entirely.
- Make a separate list of foods that you crave (salty, sweet, etc.) but are unhealthy, i.e., junk food. Keep this list in your wallet or purse so that when you feel the urge to eat something not so good for you, you can see it and maybe get distracted with another task before giving in to temptation.
- Talk to your doctor if you know medication side effects have been causing the problem or are making it worse; they may be able to prescribe other drugs or refer you to a therapist who specializes in this type of support.
- Focusing on eating a healthy breakfast instead of skipping breakfast and fixing yourself something heavy for lunch or dinner. Snacking on vegetables will be much more helpful than the convenience food you usually reach out to. If you usually snack between meals, try replacing those snacks with high protein and low sugar
Following these tips and sleeping well will help you manage stress, but they can also work together to control other issues such as anxiety, depression and other effects of stress.
There are many more natural remedies and ways to manage and control your stress, and you must experiment with a variety of them to find out what works best for you.
