How to Stop Stress Eating: Tips and Tools for Success

how to stop stress eating

Did you know that 8 in 10 Americans feel the burden of stress? Out of all the people stressed out in this country, 30 percent of them feel constantly stressed about money.

With such a large portion of the population under the pressure of stress, we have to wonder how everyone copes with it.

Unfortunately, some people turn to food in times of stress. If this is you, and you want to learn how to stop stress eating, this article is for you.

We’ll share with you how to identify your triggers and tips to stop them.

Identify Your Emotional Triggers

Although stress is the number one trigger or emotional eating, there are other factors that can cause people to eat in times of distress.

If you want to control the way you eat in a stressful situation, the best thing you can do is identify what triggers you to eat.

Research shows stress elevates the cortisol hormone. This hormone is known for increasing appetite and elevates motivation levels, which in a way motivate you to eat.

The elevated cortisol levels tend to make us crave food that is high in sugar and also high in fat.

Learning what stressful situations increase your cortisol levels is key for coping with stress eating.

Stress Can Take Many Forms

How many times have you heard the term “eating your feelings?” Most of us take comfort in eating when going through a stressful time.

Unlucky for us, stress can take many forms. We get stressed due to a high-pressure job, family problems, studying for a big test, relationship problems, and many others.

Humans turn to food as a coping mechanism for stress, so it’s important to identify what type of stress triggers our overeating.

The most common type of stress is acute. This type of stress will trigger your body’s fight or flight response.

Most people experience acute stress after a fight with a family member, car accident, or a mistake at work.

Episodic acute stress tends to follow those who worry a lot. Episodic stress is brought by the same types of situations as acute stress but it tends to affect more those who are pessimistic or negative.

Chronic stress affects those who have problems that last longer than just a temporary episode. Examples of chronic stress include poverty, an unhappy relationship, dysfunctional family, or a stressful job.

Once you pinpoint which type of stress you suffer from, it will be a step towards stopping emotional eating.

Boredom Eating

Although it’s most common for people who are stressed to overeat, boredom can also be a type of emotional eating.

When we’re bored, we feel like we have nothing better to do than have a snack. Therefore, it will make you go search through your kitchen cabinets to find something to snack on.

Eating out of Habit

Sometimes humans eat out of habit rather than out of hunger. How many times have you gone out to get drinks with friends and you end up ordering food because everyone else did?

Other times, people might eat when they come home or when they go visit their parents simply because it’s a habit they developed over the years.

Tips to Control Your Eating

Stress eating is a tough habit to break but if you follow some simple tips, you can begin to see results. Once you accept stress overeating is a concern of yours, everything will be a lot easier.

Plan Ahead of Time

If you already know you will have a tough week at work due to a big project, you can better prepare. Make sure you go into the situation fully aware of what is going to happen.

Give yourself a chance to prepare healthy meals that you can take with you to work.

If the stress eating triggers happen at random times, you can prepare by cleaning out your fridge and pantry and getting rid of all temptation.

Eat Only When You’re Hungry

When you stress eat, have you paid attention if you’re actually hungry?

Most emotional eaters don’t wait until they’re hungry to eat, which only makes them eat again during regular meals.

Make it a habit to only eat when you’re hungry and only feed your body real and nourishing food, instead of empty calories.

Perform Activities that Give You Pleasure

If stress eating gives you pleasure, then you must try other activities that give you pleasure as well.

Do you enjoy taking a bubble bath? How about going window shopping with your friends?

Take on activities that bring you pleasure the same way eating does such as getting your nails done or a blowout.

Focus on what makes you feel good that doesn’t involve food.

Learn to Snack in a Healthy Way

Are snacks your kryptonite when you’re stressed? Then you can think of ways to become a mindful snacker.

Make a list of the snacks you turn to when you’re stressed. If these involve high-calorie foods, it’s time to rethink the way you snack.

Switch the bag of gummy bears for a bag of homemade trail mix. Or pack with you fresh fruit or vegetables and a low-fat dip.

Don’t Punish Yourself for Setbacks

Setbacks are bound to happen, so you must not punish yourself if you have one. You must remember to reset and start fresh the next day.

Learn from the setback instead of punishing yourself for it.

Fatigue is Not Your Friend

If you’re tired, you’ll be more likely to overeat. You might feel like you’re too tired to cook a healthy meal and decide to eat fast food instead.

To avoid this, focus on always trying to get enough sleep each night.

Accept Your Feelings

It’s not a bad thing to accept you have feelings and sometimes you don’t know how to deal with them.

Take on a Hobby or Physical Activity

If you stay active, you’ll be less likely to stress eat. Try taking a yoga or boxing class to blow off some steam.

How to Stop Stress Eating: The Bottom Line

Now that you know the best tips for how to stop stress eating, it’ time you apply them in your everyday life.

At African Mango Supreme, we want you to achieve a well rounded healthy lifestyle. If you want to learn how to stay active to become your best self, check out our fitness section for more tips.