Stress Eating

February 23, 2006

Stress Eating

by Victoria

Why is it that whenever you are overcome with incredible stress, you want to reach for something to shove into your mouth?

Before I addressed my hormonal problems, I did deal with

some anxious eating. When I felt anxious, I wanted to

chomp on food to cope with the anxious feelings. Since I

have treated my hormonal problems, I no longer deal with

the anxiety, but times of stress can still bring on the

urge to munch/cope.

Of course the best time to eat is only when you are

hungry, but none of us are perfect. There are times when

we will eat when we are feeling the stresses in life.

So what are we left with here? There is no way to avoid stress, so are we doomed by the power of stress on our eating habits? Is it possible to make some healthful changes even though you may be eating for reasons other than hunger?

A lot of times when I'm stressed, I feel like eating

something crunchy. The first thing that comes to mind is chips! But a healthy alternative is raw veggies. Carrots or celery can satisfy the need for crunching as well or better than chips, and actually provide nutritional value. A few properly prepared nuts can also do the trick if craving something crunchy and you will certainly be providing your body with more nutrients when choosing something other than chips as a snack.

It helps if you plan ahead. Make sure you will have some crunchy veggies within reach when the crunch attack sets in. Keep the veggies in your drawer at work. If you're going to be running errands in your car for a couple of hours, make sure you take some healthy snacks. If you have a healthy snack within reach, you will be less likely to buy junk food from the nearest vending machine or drive-thru window.

Reach for those live foods and don't talk yourself out of

it. You are alive and you need to eat live foods to keep

you healthy.

Different types of stress can cause you to crave

different kinds of foods. Talk to yourself and find out

what emotions you are dealing with and notice which type

of foods each emotion cause you to crave.

Once you can recognize that the stress is causing you to

crave the food, and not hunger, you may be able to avoid

eating as a stress reaction. Or, at least, you may be

able to find a healthy food to satisfy the craving.

Maybe you are a little depressed and are craving

something warm and creamy? Make some soup (blenders will

make the texture of any soup creamy without adding cream)

or other food that is warm and smooth on the palette.

Oatmeal will also work well to give you the smooth, warm

and creamy food you desire.

I have discovered that if I choose to be overwhelmed with stress, reaching for sugary sweets is just like reaching for a drink or other drugs. People reach for the carbs to get a sugar high and escape that emotion for the moment. This never works (as we all know) because after you have started to come down from the initial rush, you are left feeling a little sick and sometimes depressed and guilty.

I know how hard living well is in our world. I am going through the same challenges you are and battle all of this daily. I have the kids that I homeschool, the full time business, all the healthy meals to prepare, etc., etc. We are all in the same boat.

Living Well is not a test to see how powerful you can

become over junk. It is just a choice to eat foods that

will nourish your body, feed your cells and help the body

rid itself of toxins. The more often you eat foods that

do this, the healthier you will be.

Yes, you may choose to eat when stressed out. If you do,

work on eating something that will give the body what it

needs to handle all that stress.

Better yet, find healthy alternatives to food for coping

with the challenges of life.

“If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride, because it shows you trust in your own powers. Never bother about other people's opinions. Be humble and you will never be disturbed. Remember St. Aloysius, who said he would continue to play billiards even if he knew he was going to die. Do you play well? Sleep well? Eat well? These are duties. Nothing is small for God.”

~ Mother Theresa20th century humanitarian

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