You are on the way to an important meeting stuck in traffic a mile long. You spill your coffee on your favorite shirt and your mother-in-law calls to say she really can spend the winter with you…but is it okay if she brings a friend?
When you finally got home that day how would you react? Would you meditate for a hour to calm down? Have a hot cup of tea and listen to classical music? Or would you grab three of those wonderful gooey cinnamon rolls and wolf one after another, then follow with a bag of chips to offset the sweet?
If you do the latter do you then believe “this is the worst day! I’m such a pig. I’m sure to get diabetes. I have no self-control!”?
If you eat in response to stress you are not alone.
Many people turn to food in order to feel better when emotions are high. Obviously, this creates problems:
First, it sabotages your weight loss efforts and causes you to gain weight.
Second, eating doesn’t really reduce your stress.
Third, it actually makes you feel worse as you beat yourself up believing you are a pig. This negative attitude can cause you to decide you’ve blown your efforts at healthy eating and think there’s no use even trying.
The good news is even though you’ve been on this roller coaster for a long time, you CAN change it.
Think about how you talk to yourself. Do you treat yourself like you’d treat a friend? Would you call a friend disparaging names when he or she is upset? No one is motivated or improves when they are beat down. Pay close attention to your words. Don’t label yourself a “stress eater” as though it is a fact etched in stone.
Your thoughts are not facts. If you think you are a pig, that does not mean you are a pig. When you are upset and think negatively try to step back and be objective. You may be burdened by old beliefs or faulty thinking. You are not a pig!
If you have started a healthy eating plan, you know you often eat the right size portions and pass on sweets. Your episode with the chips and cinnamon rolls is just a bump in the road. Look at all the progress you made before you hit the pothole and get back on the road. Reframing your thought objectively will give you hope and help you move forward rather than spiral downward.
Managing binge eating is like falling while learning to ride a bicycle. You may fall down a lot at first, but you eventually you improve until it becomes second nature. So it is with healthy eating.
If you do succumb to a stress eating binge, don’t fall into the trap of “well, I messed up today, I’ll just start over next week.” You are not on a diet! If you have a binge, go back to your healthy eating plan immediately! Let your very next meal be a normal one at a normal time. If temptation grabs you and you falter the next day, get up on that bicycle and ride right away.
Eventually, as long as you stay positive and listen to your body, those breaks will occur further and further apart.
Before you know it you’re eating a balanced healthy diet (including reasonable portions of dessert) and on to better health and happiness.
To effectively manage stress it’s ideal to get plenty of sleep, exercise, good food along with down time on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that is generally an aspiration for most of us. Fortunately, there are several strategies for handling eating in response to stress.
When you get that urge to binge, try reducing your portions by having them portioned out ahead of time. Instead of sitting in front of the television with a pint of ice cream, portion it out in a small dish or choose a 100 calorie bar (check out the mint-flavored Eskimo minis).
Better yet, instead of stress eating, try one or more of these distractions or soothing activities to calm your nerves and relax:
- Deep breathing,
- Walking, swimming, or biking (you can complete the metaphor),
- Write in a journal,
- Listen to or learn to play music,
- Do something with your hands–color, knit, do puzzles,
- Talk to a friend (in a location other than the kitchen or a restaurant),
- Yoga or meditate (several programs are free on the internet),
- Unplug from your electronics (read a book…on paper!),
- Laugh–watch something funny.
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