Confidently Stop Stress Eating

by | Mar 15, 2019 | Journal | 18,796 comments

#stopstresseating

Hey you gorgeous curvy women! 

Are you ready to confidently stop stress eating?  Today’s blog article will offer you tips and motivation on how to stop stress eating, so you can experience weight loss, and live the healthy life free of diet struggles, food battles and feelings of hopelessness.  The time to confidently stop stress eating and develop a positive healthy mindset around your emotions and food is here.

If you are:

    • stressed out and anxious
    • being controlled by stress eating
    • struggling to not binge at the end of a long day
    • need a plan not centered on exercise and deprivation
    • tired of dieting without success
    • want to figure out what is stopping you and holding you back from having a body you feel confident about
    • searching for ways to keep your emotions from ruining your waist line

Then these tips and ideas are for you! I’m here to help you confidently stop stress eating for good!

I get it!  You finally arrive home after a rough day.  You’re so tired you can barely drag the cork screw out of the drawer to open the bottle. 

When you left work, you were beyond irritated at a passive aggressive email sent by someone that doesn’t pull their weight at work.  Now you are home and ready to unwind, but the house is messy, and the kids need you to be their chef, chaffier, tutor and playmate, on top of the commitment you made to help with the women’s group at church.   You have a full time home life after your day job.  All  you want to do is plop in front of the TV – Bliss out with wine and salty popcorn to let your stress fade away.  But it there isn’t time.

More often than not by the end of the night you do just that.  Veg out with a little stress eating to help you settle from a long day.  The problem comes when you still feel stressed and worn-out after the binge.

You snack and then eat a full meal, then snack again. Never once feeling satisfied with the food. Your little mini binge has happened all as a result of being tired and stressed out.  Now to top it off you have guilt over the food fest you just indulged in. 

Tomorrow will be different.  Except, it isn’t.  The stress is still there and the stress eating comes regardless if you like it or not. 

I can relate.  Oh, boy can I!  I have spent a good 20 years living that way. Sometime in college the stress eating for me got kick started, and as I transferred to being a career woman, it progressed in to my after work binge/ stress eating. 

Let’s talk about why we stress eat and some solutions to really deal with it.  

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Why We Stress Eat

  

1. Seeking Balance

Life is so often two extremes.  Bliss and Tension, Sweet and Salty, Good and Bad, Hot and Cold….the list can go on. 

Consider the activities of running errands, partying, staying up late, overworking, busy stressful days, or extreme workouts, they can be contractive or tension filled activities on the body. 

So, what does the body do when you begin experiencing a lot of tension filled activities.  It will start to seek balance.  But, how does it get that balance.  It will seek the opposite,  Pleasure. Bliss.

That’s why after a long stressful day or a week of burning the candle at both ends, you find yourself turning to wine, chocolate, bread, or pasta and having a little stress/ binge fest.  Things that will bring the body pleasure. 

We all know that sugar, alcohol, refined carbs etc. will bring you a short high. It makes your feel good for a brief time because of the effect on your blood sugar.  But to compensate for the increased blood sugar level, our body releases insulin to bring the high back into balance. 

The problem is that the body usually will over produce the insulin and then we have a low.  

So we start of low with stresses effect on the body,  next we get a high from our sugar and carb laden stress eating binge, then go back to a low from the insulin the body produces to bring the body back into balance.   It’s a rollercoaster ride for your body. 

How can you have optimal health when you are always on this type of rollercoaster with your body? Can you see now that  this kind of stress eating is  just your body seeking balance?

So the question to ask yourself in times of strong cravings is, “What is your body begging for:  a break, sleep, a peaceful walk, a hot bath, a good book?”  This can be key when you’re searching for ways to stop cravings.  

2. Pleasure

Let’s get real. It can feel good to stress eat.  When we have a crap day or even a good day that leaves us overwhelmed and burning the candle at both ends, food can give us the feel good chemicals to relax the body. 

The problem is when the body releases chemicals from our binge it most often causes blood sugar levels to shoot up. 

That’s a great feeling for the moment, but quickly it changes.   Then we get the low which leaves us feeling worse off than we were before we ate.

When the body starts feel this low again, what does it do?  Yep…. Seek more food to bring us back to a bliss state (higher blood sugar levels).

It is an endless cycle.  That’s why we have to get off this stress eating rollercoaster.

3. Avoidance

Let’s be honest!  We all do it.  Sometimes it is just easier to reach for cookies, wine, and a box of cheese crackers than it is to deal with the emotional and stressful problems of life. 

So how can we move past that?  What if cravings were a message from your body to help you step into the best version of yourself? 

What if the cravings you get right before you choose to stress eat is your body trying to get you to reduce your stress.  What if you could reduce the stress without food?   What could that mean for you?

Find Real Solutions

So what can you do about it? 

Let me give you some real solutions.  The kind if you take time to do them can really mean you won’t suffer from stress eating any more. 

Yes, strategies like reducing sugar, drinking water, exercising work, but these strategies don’t deal with why you are stressed to begin with.  They don’t deal with why the stress is effecting you so much. 

Physical Hunger Vs. Emotional Hunger

First, you need to know the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger.

The best way I have found to distinguish emotional hunger/stress eating from true, physical hunger.

Emotional stress eating usually comes on suddenly. You start feeling stressed or tense, and wham! You’re craving nachos.

On the other hand, physical hunger tends to come on gradually. You’re starting to feel hungry but you can wait to eat, which gives you some time to choose wisely and satisfy that hunger with something that’s good for you.

Stress eating might lift your mood momentarily – then, just as quickly, shame and guilt move in.

On the other hand, when you finish a meal that’s satisfied your physical hunger, you don’t usually feel guilty afterwards for having eaten.

Second, Pinpoint Your Triggers

I always help my clients pinpoint their triggers for stress or binge eating.  This can be a huge step in stopping the pattern.  If you know you get stressed when you see a certain person and often end up stress eating before or after the encounter, then you can plan a head a different way to deal with the stress. 

Deal with Your Emotions

It may not be fun, but if you really want to stop stress eating, you have to deal with the emotions that cause it.  I like to do this with journaling or Emotional Brain Training. 

The way EBT  works is that you do a check in,

(I did it before every meal, now, you may start with that and then just check in once a day.)

Simply put, I go through these series of questions.  It only takes a minute or two,

Right now, what is my stress level?

  • Am I feeling great
  • am I feeling good
  • am I a little stressed
  • am I definitely stressed
  • and am I stressed out

When I determine that I a stressed out, then complete these following statements:

  • I feel angry that…
  • I feel sad that…
  • I feel afraid that…
  • I feel guilty…
  • I feel grateful…
  • I feel happy…
  • I feel secure…
  • I feel proud…

Congratulations! You’ve completed an EBT check in, feel a surge of joy!.

If your life is insanely stressful, this is going to be extremely useful.   I love how the questions move your from the negative feelings to positive feelings.

Build a New Routine:

Try other stress relieving ideas.  It is time to see what you like and what works for you.  For me taking 10 -20 minutes to listen to music, rock on the porch swing, or even just visit with a friend on the phone can help me decompress my stress so I don’t turn to food. 

What ideas come to mind that might help you?

Here are a few of my favorite activities to use to unwind instead of food:

  • Practice relaxing yoga asanas
  • listen to relaxing music
  • meditate
  • spend a few minutes being mindfult
  • take a walk
  • connect with nature
  • spend time with a pet
  • take a hot/ cold shower or bath
  • take a swim
  • get a massage
  • take deep breaths
  • journal your worries
  • dance
  • sing
  • play a game with your family or a friend
  • listen to a podcast
  • do something creative life paint or write
  • read
  • sit on a swing
  • spend time alone
  • day dream/ visualize
  • pray
  • hug or cuddle
  • use essential oils
  • clear out some clutter
  • stretch
  • watch a fire flame (camp fire, fire place, candles)
  • laugh

It's Your Time!!!

It’s your time my friend, It’s time to be bold and take control back on your life and your health. Embrace these tips today to help yourself confidently stop stress eating. 

Share this blog post with your friends and family. Let’s help other women break from from that tired overwhelmed feeling, so they can start confidently looking in the mirror and loving the woman smiling back.  

Need more?  Get this FREE 10 page guide to help you discover “How to Lose Weight When Nothing Else is Working”.

Angela Naumann 

The Curvy Woman’s Health Coach

About Me

Hi!!   I am Angela Naumann, the Curvy Woman’s Health Coach.   I have lived my life as a plus size woman, and I understand the journey and struggles that comes from yo-yo dieting and binge eating.  I know how it feels to have jeans that won’t button, and shirts that gape at the belly.  I know the internal battle that comes with feeling confident in yourself when you feel out of control with your body.  I have felt that way for 20 years of my life.

But I found plus size weight loss is possible for me.  I knew I longed for a few key things in my life.  I wanted to not constantly think about food.  I wanted to look in the mirror and feel confident, sexy and love the vision smiling back.

Meet Me

What people are saying….

“I’m nearing the end of my 12 week program, and although I was hesitant to open up and dig deep, I’m glad I did this! Angela has helped me peel back the layers to discover what’s been holding me back in progressing in my health journey. My mindset has done a complete 180! I don’t let food control my life, and it no longer hinders other areas outside of my health. I feel confident in making healthy choices, and that hasn’t always been the case. I’m beyond thankful for Angela and the encouragement she has given me. Putting all of her practices in place have truly helped me transform my health, and I’m thrilled for a healthier and happier me!”

Kelsey

Entrepreneur and Mom

“I was hesitant to start “another program” for fear of yet another failure.  I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Angela was able to help me change that mindset. It means so much to have someone like her by my side because she can actually relate to so many of my struggles. Her passion for helping others was immediately evident and put me at ease speaking openly. She helped me to dig deep and get to the root of so many struggles, some I wasn’t even aware of. I especially liked that she tailored our sessions to my personal needs and goals.  I’ve learned so much about myself in the last 12 weeks that will serve me greatly for years to come. Thanks to Angela I no longer feel powerless.”

Cydney

Working mom of 3

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