How to Manage Stress Eating

Almost every mum suffer stress or emotional eating at one particular point in life. It is a time when you eat now and then to soothe and calm yourself. At times, it might be in small ways like buying an ice cream cone as to pick-you-up after a busy and stressful day at home or work.

Small doses of stress eating are not dangerous, although such behavior can easily build-up to a habit that can, in turn, lead to weight gain. This form of eating is more dangerous, more so when it becomes the key method of soothing and calming yourself. The following tips will help you manage and stop stress eating by rewiring your brain to identify some non-eating behaviors as comforting:

Being Aware

In most cases, stress eating is unconscious. It happens below your awareness. Keep a journal of your eating habits before you jump into changing the behavior. You can write down when and where you stress-eat. It can be late at night, in the office, or while alone. Each and every time you feel the urge to eat, or you eat, ask yourself whether you are hungry (you can rate your physical hunger at such a time on a scale of 1 – 10).

Replacing

This far, you have an understanding when you stress-eat and where you stress-eat. The next step is to replace stress eating with a healthy habit that will calm and comfort you during an instance of stress. You should consider writing down a list of all the non-calorie related, healthy activities that offers you with quick pick-me-up on a busy/tough day. The following are some examples:
– Sipping black tea, which is recommended since it helps in dropping our cortisol levels – a stress hormone related to cravings.
– Try taking breathing exercises when you feel the urge for stress eating. You should consider slowing down your breath to soothe your mind and body while breathing in and out rhythmically for like 1 minute.
Practicing

There are plenty of ways to calm yourself and find comfort after a stressful day apart from eating. They include meditation techniques, exercises, and taking water instead of food. Try these techniques when you get the urge for food and find out what works best for you. With proper practice, you can end emotional eating in a very short time duration.

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