5 Ways to Deal with Stress Eating in Healthy and Productive Ways

5 Ways to Deal with Stress Eating in Healthy and Productive Ways

Prevent self-sabotage by following our easy tips.

Are you the type of person that eats when feeling emotional? When something stresses you out, you reach for the nearest consumable item and binge on it? If you have issues with stress eating, it’s time to learn how to do things differently, so you don’t compromise your health when your feelings are out-of-control.

What to Do When You’re Feeling Stressed and Want to Eat

For most people, food is readily available everywhere they go. When an uncomfortable feeling arises, people hit the vending machine, convenience store, or fast food restaurant for relief. This is a type of addictive behavior, but unlike controlled substances, many people don’t see food in this way.

If you happen to be one of those people who turns to food when you are feeling bad, it’s time to change things today. The sooner you take responsibility for this habit, the better you’ll feel overall. You no longer will be making the mistake of eating things that contribute to weight gain and overall bad health.

Here are five ways to deal with stress eating in a healthy and productive way:

  1. Learn what triggers your stress. You need to get to the root cause of your stress eating. What feelings are you experiencing during this time?
  2. Acknowledge that feelings are fleeting. Given enough time, they’ll pass quickly.
  3. Find a positive distraction to focus your energy. Write down a list of things you can do instead of eating when you’re feeling stressed.
  4. Set a timer for ten minutes. Make a promise that you won’t eat during this time to reflect on your feelings and make rational decisions.
  5. Allow yourself to eat a small portion of what you’re craving. If you still can’t get over feeling that you need to eat, consume a tiny amount of the food you had in mind, but first, drink plenty of water because it fills you up fast.

For many people, food signifies comfort. If you find that you eat more when you feel stressed, you’re not alone. Learning how to respond differently to challenging situations helps you avoid going into a food coma and sabotaging the progress you’ve made to become healthier. When you learn what triggers a reaction from you internally, you’re able to control what you do externally.

Rather than reach for the closest edible thing to you, you opt to go for a long walk or play a game of catch in the backyard with your dog so you can clear your head. You may call your closest friend to discuss the details of your situation, or go for a drive, or take your kids to the park.  All these things will help you step away from the food you were wanting to indulge in and allow yourself to think more clearly.

Give Your Body and Brain a Break

You are supposed to enjoy food. Depriving yourself of the things your body craves isn’t the solution. Replacing stress eating with healthier habits is a better option.  Keeping healthier snack options on hand is also a good option. Proteinwise offers many high protein and low-carb options to choose from so if you choose to indulge, you are doing so in a healthier way.