Are you an emotional eater? If so, you may eat whenever you are anxious, upset, nervous, or depressed. Although emotional eaters can still put it away when they're happy, delighted, non-anxious, and non-depressed (and yes, during those rare times when they're actually hungry), most emotional eaters eat when they feel they need to feed their stress.
 | When you feed your stress, a destructive cycle begins. You feel stressed, so your food choices are not always the best. For some reason of cruel fate, foods that tend to make you feel good are usually the foods that are not so good for your body. Chocolate, ice cream, pizza, cake, donuts, and cookies may make you feel terrific — but, unfortunately, only for about 17 seconds. Then, of course, your stress returns (plus a ton of guilt) and you feel the need for another bout of eating. The cycle then repeats itself. |
The first step in breaking the cycle is becoming aware of exactly when you are distressed and identifying your feelings. When you feel the urge to open the refrigerator door, you need to realize that you are experiencing some form of discomfort. It could be hunger; but more likely, it is stress.
The following are some tips that you can use to improve your relationship with food when you're stressed:
Distract yourself
One of the better things you can do is involve yourself in some activity you enjoy that will take your mind off eating. Do something. Anything. Some eating substitutes that will keep you away from the kitchen include the following:
- Get out of the house. Often, simply changing your environment can rid you of the old eating cues. Go for a walk. Do an errand. Visit a friend.
- Get some exercise. Hit the stationary bike or treadmill, or simply do some floor exercises like sit-ups or even just stretching.
- Read a good book or watch an interesting television program.
 | - Cook something. This may seem like asking for trouble, but often the process of cooking can serve as a substitute for your eating. A hint: Don't make cookies or cakes. Try something like a soup or a casserole, something that is filling, takes time to cook and prepare, and is not immediately ready to eat.
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Substitute relaxation for food
Whenever you are about to open the refrigerator to calm your frayed nerves, consider substituting a relaxation break. Simple deep breathing, some rapid relaxation techniques, or relaxation imagery can induce a feeling of emotional calm that can reduce your desire to eat. That's all you may need to ease you past a difficult moment.
Work with a stress-cue
| Sometimes a little reminding goes a long way. Create a stress-eating reminder that you could put on your fridge or on the cabinet where you keep delicious snacks — something as straightforward as a "Are you really hungry?" message or as innocuous as a simple little colored circle of paper. Only you know what it represents and why it's there. |
Eat your breakfast
Again, your mother was right! Research shows that eating a nutritious (low-fat, high-carbohydrate) breakfast makes you more alert, more focused, and in a much better mood than if you have a high-fat, high-carbohydrate breakfast; have a moderate-fat, moderate-carbohydrate breakfast; or have no breakfast at all.
Skipping breakfast can lower your body's ability to cope with the stress that lies in wait for you later in the day. Starting the day on the right nutritional foot is important. When you wake up in the morning, as many as 11 or 12 hours have passed since you last ate. You need to refuel.
And don't forget lunch
Lunchtime tends to be one of the busier times of your day. With a lot to do, eating lunch may be low on your list of priorities; but don't skip lunch. Your body functions best when it gets fed regularly. Missing lunch can leave you feeling tense and edgy.
When you do have lunch, don't overdo it. A big lunch can leave you lethargic and dreaming of a mid-afternoon siesta, a practice frowned upon by many businesses.
Eat like a cow
Eating a big meal can result in your feeling lethargic soon after eating. To digest that heavy meal, your body needs a greater supply of blood. This blood has to come from other places in your body like your brain, depriving it of some of the oxygen it needs to keep you alert. The solution? Graze like a cow.
| Spread out your eating fairly evenly throughout the day. Avoid those huge meals that load you down with calories and leave you feeling ready for a nap. Instead, consider smaller, lighter meals at your regular mealtime. Supplement them with healthy snacks. Have a mid-morning snack, and then a light lunch, another snack later in the afternoon (a piece of fruit is good), and a moderate dinner. A snack later in the evening should avert any hunger pangs. |
Drink like a camel
Most people do not get enough liquids into their bodies during the course of the day. The notion of drinking the recommended eight glasses of water, for most of us, is a joke. If you're like most people, you usually wait until you're thirsty before heading for the kitchen. Unfortunately, by then it's a little late. Your body needs the liquid before you feel that thirst. Coffee and tea can act as diuretics and therefore should not be considered as part of your "daily 8s."
Load up earlier in the day
 | For most people, the simplest way to lose weight is to eat more in the first half of the day than they do in the last half. Then they have time to burn off many of those earlier calories. Recall that old bit of nutritional wisdom, "Eat like a king in the morning, a prince at noon, and a pauper at night." |
Simply supplement
If you think that you may not be getting enough of your needed vitamins and/or minerals, consider taking a daily multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. If your daily diet gives you all the nutritional good stuff you need, this may not be necessary. However, you may be one of the many whose diet is not nutritionally praiseworthy and could benefit from some supplemental help.
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