Stress is a very common occurrence in today’s fast-paced society and unfortunately, it brings a lot of negative things with itself. People are living and dealing with chronic stress daily. Problems with; work, school, failed relationships, death of loved ones, financial problems, these are some of the most common problems that bring stress to people’s lives, and it is up to us to find the best possible way to deal with stress and not let it overwhelm us.
Emotional eating and drinking are some of the most common consequences of stress, and, to suppress negative emotions, we tend to eat more often. Most of the food choices that we make while we feel low and emotional are not very good and healthy, and that, unfortunately, leads to excessive weight gain.
Use the ideas in this article to help you cope with your emotional eating and drinking problem. But first, you need to ask yourself what makes you eat the way you eat? What emotions do you want to suppress? What causes your stress? Be honest with yourself, go to the root of your problems, that is the only way you can truly overcome emotional eating.
1. Eat whole foods
When we are under stress, we tend to go for a so-called ” short-termed reward”, and eat foods like sweets and chocolates, something that will give us a sense of relief and help us forget about our problem. Whole foods are something that will help you when it comes to stress eating, changing your diet is one of the most important things that you can do to help yourself with overeating and something that will help you in a long run. It is very important for you to know and understand what are you eating, and what the food that you eat does to your body. Instead of going for a food that is rich in carbohydrates and quick sugar fixes, you should go for real whole unprocessed foods in your diet.
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Olive oil
- Organic free-range or grass-fed animal products
- Salmon
- Whole grains
2. Be mindful
Practicing meditation daily can be one of your best friends when it comes to battling stress. Mindful eating means that you are fully aware of what you are eating, the more mindful you are the better decisions you will make. This will allow you to instead of just grabbing random food (which is most often some junk food) to take a step back and ask yourself do you really want to eat that or you are just looking for some quick fix? Also, you will be more aware of the consequences that this food will bring. Eat slowly and enjoy your food.
3. Know your “trigger foods”
What is you “trigger food”? Take a piece of paper and write it down. What food you can not resist? One little soda can begin that downward spiral to overeating, so stay away from foods that will make you eat more.
- Sugar sweetened drinks
- Sweets
- Bread
- Refined carbs
Eating this will just make you crave more and eat more. Stay away from this food as much as you can.
4. Keep a journal
Often we use food to block our emotions and feelings. Recent studies have shown that journaling is a very powerful tool that will help you on your weight loss journey. This is a great way, to be honest with yourself and to keep yourself on track. You to be honest with yourself on this journey, write everything down, every bad feeling, every bad emotion, every negative thought. No one will see this except yourself, so be as open as you possibly can.
Write your feelings down instead of eating them.
5. Exercise
When we exercise, our body produces endorphins, which is a chemical in our brain that will help us get better sleep and which will help us to deal with stress more efficiently. You don’t need to exercise 5 times per week or lift heavy to lose weight and feel more relaxed, a moderate workout will do the job for you. Even a simple 15 minutes walk can do wonders for you. Go for a walk in nature, or simply go to the nearby park.
6. Sleep well
How many hours do you sleep? If your answer is 7 to 9 hours of sleep, then you are doing an amazing job. Lack of sleep can have the opposite effect on your weight loss journey, so be careful, don’t ruin all that effort you put in by having the right nutrition with lack of sleep. A healthy life requires a healthy amount of sleep.
7. Get support
Life is not easy, and for most of us, life is not always fair. It is hard, sometimes, we grew up believing in fairytales and how everything will work out when the “time is right”, but that is just not how the real world we live in works like. It is okay not to be okay. If you can not deal with emotional eating by yourself, consider talking to a therapist. There is nothing wrong with seeking professional help, Profesional therapist will help you get down to the root of your problems and find out what is the real reason behind your stress eating.
