Bellevue Christian Counseling Logo

  • ServicesRead about the expertise available
    • Individual ServicesAddress your personal concerns confidentially
      • ADHD
      • Abandonment Issues and Neglect
      • Aging and Geriatric Issues
      • Anger Management
      • Anxiety
      • Autism Spectrum Disorder
      • Bipolar Disorder
      • Chemical Dependency
      • Counseling for Children
      • Counseling for Teens
      • Codependency
      • Depression
      • Eating Disorders
      • EMDR
      • Grief and loss Counseling
      • Individual Counseling
      • Infidelity and Affairs
      • Lifespan Integration Therapy
      • Men’s Issues
      • OCD
      • Personal Development
      • Psychological Testing
      • PTSD
      • Relationship Issues
      • Sex And Porn Addiction
      • Sexual Abuse
      • Spiritual Development
      • Trauma
      • Weight Loss
      • Women’s Issues
    • Christian Couples CounselingWork through challenges together
      • Couples Counseling
      • Premarital Counseling
      • Marriage Counseling
    • Family CounselingEstablish the peaceful home you desire
      • Christian Counseling for Children
        and Teens
      • Family Counseling
    • Group CounselingBenefit from the support of others
      • Men’s Sexual Addiction Recovery
        Group
      • All Counseling Groups
    • Online Counseling
    • Anxiety
    • Depression
    • Marriage Counseling
    • Sex And Porn Addiction
  • LocationsChoose from our variety of office locations
    • Bellevue Office FrontBellevue
    • Bothell Office Front EntranceBothell
    • Edmonds Christian CounselingEdmonds
    • Everett Office Front EntranceEverett
    • Federal Way Office FrontFederal Way
    • Hansville
    • Kent 2Kent
    • Kirkland Christian CounselingKirkland
    • LaceyLacey
    • Mill Creek Office Waiting RoomMill Creek
    • Monroe
    • Oak Harbor Office OutsideOak Harbor
    • Poulsbo
    • Puyallup Christian CounselingPuyallup
    • Redmond OfficeRedmond
    • Seattle Downtown OfficeSeattle Downtown
    • Seattle Greenlake 2Seattle Greenlake
    • Silverdale Office FrontSilverdale
    • Tacoma Office FrontTacoma
    • Spokane ValleySpokane Valley
    • Vancouver
    •  1Online Counseling
  • CounselorsFind the best counselor for your needs
  • CareersBecome an affiliated Christian counselor
  • (425) 939-6856Please give us a call, we are here to help
header-image

8 Ways to Combat Stress Eating

Bellevue Christian Counseling
https://bellevuechristiancounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/8-ways-to-combat-stress-eating-3-scaled.jpg 1707 2560
https://bellevuechristiancounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/bellevue.jpg
https://bellevuechristiancounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cropped-cropped-seattle-logo.png
330 112th Ave NE, Suite 302
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
United States
330 112th Ave NE, Suite 302
BELLEVUE, WA 98004
United States
Photo of Madison Fergerstrom

Madison Fergerstrom

Aug
2021
02

8 Ways to Combat Stress Eating

Madison Fergerstrom

Eating DisordersIndividual Counseling

When life gets busy or difficult, and your stress levels are on the rise, is your first reaction to head to the fridge? If this is the case, you’re not alone. The American Psychological Association reports that 27% of adults say they eat to manage stress, and 34% of those who report overeating or eating unhealthy foods because of stress say that this is a habit.

With most adults in the United States being overweight or obese, increasing their risk for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease (Journal of American Medical Association, 307(5)) it is likely that an even greater percentage of the population falls into the category of stress eaters, whether they have recognized this habit or not. And given the serious health consequences, not to mention the emotional and spiritual ones, it is a topic worth paying attention to.

8 Ways to Combat Stress Eating

If you are struggling to put a stop to stress eating, here are eight ways to start transforming your attitude and lifestyle:

Like us if you are enjoying this content.

1. Understand your stress eating

Maybe you’ve always thought that having chocolate after a difficult day was par for the course, and a good way to cheer you up. Certainly, God created food for our enjoyment, and the tantalizing taste of a favorite treat on our tastebuds is something given for our delight.

8 Ways to Combat Stress EatingIf you’re concerned about stress eating, however, the line has likely been crossed and food is being used to fill an emotional hole that it isn’t intended to. Perhaps it has become a habit to stay up late at night working and raid the snack cupboard, or to indulge in unhealthy food when you’re feeling tired and wrung out.

You may have reached a point where you have considerable weight gain, and the “benefits” of emotional eating (stress relief) have diminished, and instead, you feel mastered by the habit.

2. Understand why it needs to stop

The idea of “mastery” is exactly why stress eating needs to stop. In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul tells the Corinthians, ““I have the right to do anything,” you say – but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything” – but I will not be mastered by anything.”

8 Ways to Combat Stress Eating 1In the same way, as Christians, we are free to eat anything we like – if we want to eat five hamburgers in a row, we can. Certainly, we can see that it would not be advisable or beneficial for our health, but we are free in Christ and under no law to behave in a certain way. This same freedom, however, enables us up to act in a way that brings glory to God.

We are free to display the fruits of the spirit, which include self-control, and should not be enslaved to using food in an addictive way to soothe our stress. We need to recognize that at the heart of stress eating is idolatry – we are bowing down to a very insufficient idol that can offer us what appears as relief, but then very soon berates us our choice and leaves us feeling guilty and hopeless – such is the nature of being enslaved.

3. Pray for God’s help

When we are honest about the serious spiritual battle that is at play with our stress eating, we realize that it is not something that can be easily overcome. Any habit is difficult to break, but when we are relying on it to give us something that only God can bring, we need to pray for a heart change – a change that will allow us to confess for our idolatry and move forward towards victory.

He tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 that when we bring our requests to Him in thanksgiving, He will give us peace and we do not need to be anxious. So many people are trapped in the cycle of emotional eating, but as Christians, we have the power to change and to ask God for the strength to transform how we essentially deal with our stress.

4. Be aware of what you eat and when

8 Ways to Combat Stress Eating 2Track your stress eating habits so that you are aware of what temptations you are most often succumbing to and when. Perhaps as a busy mom, you try to re-energize and recalibrate during your baby’s nap time, by hunting in the pantry for something yummy.

When we are tired and cortisol (stress hormone) levels are high, our bodies tend to crave sugary, starch-heavy goods, which just spike our blood sugar levels and leave us feeling more depleted after a short-lived high. Write down your danger times so that you’ll know when you need to be on high alert.

5. Make your action plan

Once you’ve committed to transformation and are prayerfully resolved to make it happen, you need to decide on a plan that will help you to practically change your stress eating habit. There are endless healthy eating plans available, with the pendulum having swung away from fad diets that don’t work in the long-term, towards sensible guidelines which target a comprehensive approach and nutritional choices.

If you are not already eating in an ordered way (for example, three meals a day with a few snacks in between) then your stress eating may also be in part from hunger. Making small tweaks can make a substantial difference towards reducing emotional eating.

Printing out verses and putting them on the fridge and in visible places is also an effective way to remind yourself to stop and take check of what you’re about to do; too often our eating becomes mindless, and we are not even aware of what we are putting in our mouths.

6. Shift the focus

Auto Draft 27Worship issues cannot be eliminated, but rather, our worship needs to be re-directed. Take the opportunity to grow closer to God, as you move away from stress eating towards the One who is our true “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Write a prayer journal so you can see the changes that are happening, both on your waistline and, most importantly, in your heart.

On a practical level, shift the focus away from indulging in food to eliminate stress, towards healthier pursuits – spend some time gardening, do a yoga class, read a few pages from a book. Work out which activities you find restorative and fit them into your schedule. God has made us physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual beings and so our habits need to be worked on from every aspect of our being.

7. Push through the pain barrier

“The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8b) and would like nothing better than to destroy one’s efforts to overcome stress eating. This may sound overdramatic, but anyone caught in the battle of trying to beat what is essentially a food addiction can attest to the hopelessness and discouragement that can follow a failure.

Knowing that it’s going to be tough, especially at the beginning, can help us to stand firm and push through, submitting our eating habits to God, resisting the devil, and seeing him flee (James 4:7).

8. Enjoy the fruits of self-control

There is nothing sweeter than gaining victory over an area of our lives in which we previously were out of control. Knowing that God is at work and cares so intimately about us, and our issues with stress eating, whether they be big or small, is immensely comforting and can only give rise to praise.

Successfully combating stress eating begins in the mind. We need to get to the point where we are convicted that our response to life’s troubles is sinful, insofar as we are turning away from God and towards food for comfort.

Only then can we start to make small steps towards change, knowing that it will be a long journey with many setbacks along the way. In the end, however, we will be able to look back with gratitude at how far we’ve come, and with even greater praise in our hearts for God’s redeeming work over this aspect of our lives.

Photos:
“Food Board”, Courtesy of Brooke Lark, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; “Burger”, Courtesy of Robin Stickel, Pexels.com, CC0 License; “Fruit Donuts”, Courtesy of Brooke Lark, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; “Fruit Basket”, Courtesy of Rebecca, Unsplash.com, CC0 License

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this article are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please contact one of our counselors for further information.

  • Share on Facebook
  • Tweet it
  • ↑ Back to top
Photo of Madison Fergerstrom
Schedule with Madison
  • Appointment Info

  • Your Info

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Madison Fergerstrom

Licensed Mental Health Counselor
(425) 939-6856 madisonf@bellevuechristiancounseling.com

My greatest passion is to assist clients in the counseling process. I will help you strengthen your sense of self and develop better coping mechanisms for life’s challenges. As your Christian therapist, I will help you implement positive changes in your life that will promote lasting healing and growth in the Lord. You will be encouraged to identify emotions, challenge unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior, and explore new opportunities to grow and move forward. I have personally experienced the transformative nature of God’s power to deliver my clients from their pain and suffering and I know He can do the same for you! Read more articles by Madison »

Other articles that might interest you...

spacer
Bellevue Christian Counseling

Why Children’s Counseling?

As you decorate a child’s room with art at their eye level, age appropriate toys, and child sized furniture, so...

continue reading »
Bellevue Christian Counseling 2
Photo of Erik Mildes

Erik Mildes

Adolescent Counseling

The culture that today’s adolescents are growing up in is vastly different than the culture their parents grew up in....

continue reading »
3 Surprising Benefits of Couples Counseling
Bellevue Christian Counseling

3 Surprising Benefits of Couples ...

Many are the motivations for seeking counseling, but for a couple seeking counseling this usually means that they have tried...

continue reading »

About Madison

Photo of Madison Fergerstrom

Madison Fergerstrom, MA, LMHC

Licensed Mental Health Counselor

My greatest passion is to assist clients in the counseling process. I will help you strengthen your sense of self and develop better coping mechanisms for life’s challenges. As your Christian therapist, I will help you implement positive changes in your life that will promote lasting healing and growth in the Lord. You will be encouraged to identify emotions, challenge unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior, and explore new opportunities to grow and move forward. I have personally experienced the transformative nature of God’s power to deliver my clients from their pain and suffering and I know He can do the same for you! View Madison's Profile

Recent articles by Madison

  • May 5 · 11 Tips for Helping Your Teen Navigate Dating Relationships
  • Feb 20 · 3 Myths About the Grieving Process
  • Nov 30 · Dangerous Ground: The Pitfalls of Social Media and Body Image
See all articles by Madison »

Related Services

  • Eating Disorders
  • Individual Counseling

Madison's Office Locations

  • Photo of the Kent office

    Kent

    Washington

    General Office Number

    (253) 656-5454
    24909 104th Avenue Southeast, suite 101 Kent, WA 98030

    View Office Details
  • Photo of the Online (WA only) office

    Online (WA only)

    General Office Number

    (206) 388-3929
    ,  

    View Office Details
Bellevue Christian Counseling Logo
Bellevue Christian Counseling
Professional help with faith-based values
We are an association of professional, independently licensed Christian counselors experienced in helping people of all ages find healing for a wide variety of issues.
© 2025 Bellevue Christian Counseling. All rights reserved.
330 112th Ave NE,, Bellevue, WA 98004. Tel (425) 939-6856.
Facebook Twitter Online Counseling About Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Feel free to contact us!
We are open for business. In person and online counseling are available now.