Why It Is So Hard to Stop Stress Eating

You have tried so many times before to stop stress eating. You may have joined diet programs and groups that promised this was the time; this was the time you would stop turning to food every time you felt anxious. Maybe these programs seemed to work in the short term, only for you to turn back to food for temporary relief or pleasure at the first sign of anxiety.

There is a reason why stopping stress-eating behavior is difficult, and it is the same as with any bad habit that has brought us pleasure, even temporarily – it has less to do with the foods you are eating and more to do with the thought-emotion-behavior cycle.

Thoughts and emotions drive behavior

Our thoughts rule our lives. We have thousands of thoughts in a day. These thoughts can change our emotions and drive our behaviors. For example, if you are a stay-at-home mother with children, you may have thoughts about how hard things are for you and how no one understands what a stay-at-home mother does.

You become sad and angry. When your husband comes home, you feel resentful. When the kids finally go to bed, you head into the pantry to eat the cookies you have stashed away to make yourself feel better.

Although these thoughts and feelings may seem overblown, how often have we experienced similar struggles? How often have we allowed ourselves to feed those emotions? The brain is a remarkable organ. It wants to keep you from pain, even if that means allowing you to indulge in a behavior that is not necessarily good for you but will give you temporary pleasure. This is why it is so hard to stop stress eating behavior.

We have wired our brains to continue the behavior triggered by our thoughts and emotions. We have to rewire and carve new neural pathways in the brain by breaking the habit and compulsion to eat when stressed and replacing these behaviors with good habits.

Tips to Stop Stress Eating

The urge to eat during and after a stressful situation will not go away overnight. You must practice reframing your thoughts, feeling other emotions, and changing your behavior. The best way to change your behavior is to have a plan in place, a strategy to distract your mind from the impulse to eat.

You will want the new activity to be pleasurable so that you look forward to it, and it lowers your stress levels and anxiety. The following is a list of activities people enjoy when they are struggling with the compulsion to stress eat.

Take a brisk walk

Walking is one of the best ways to de-stress and fight stress eating. When you walk briskly, your heart pumps necessary oxygen to your brain and every cell in your body. The brain rewards this behavior with a flood of serotonin and other “feel-good” hormones. You feel happier, less anxious, and less hungry. Walking is also beneficial for clearer thinking and problem-solving.

Try to start your day with a brisk 15-minute walk. Go longer if you can. Some people enjoy a leisurely stroll after dinner to aid in digestion and rack up those recommended 7,000-10,000 steps per day, but a brisk walk will have lasting effects that include lowering your blood pressure and improving your quality of sleep a few hours later.

Exercise at impulse times

It is not always practical during a busy workday, but if you can exercise during a stressful moment or when you feel the impulse to eat, the craving will pass. Exercising increases your energy and helps to balance the ghrelin and leptin levels in the body, the hormones responsible for hunger and fullness sensations.

Gain clearance from your doctor before starting a new fitness regimen. Aim for the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly, which equates to 30-minute workouts five days a week. If you are able, increase that time to 300 minutes weekly. You will feel a difference mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Talk to a friend

Most urges to eat while stressed pass in about 10-15 minutes, sometimes up to one hour. You can distract yourself by calling or meeting a friend for coffee. Confiding in someone close allows you to voice your thoughts and emotions, getting them out into the open. Your friend may offer insights and advice you never thought of. Sharing our troubles with a good friend lightens the load.

Try reconnecting with old friends or asking a neighbor over. If you tend to eat in front of the computer, you may want to avoid video calls or chat rooms until you can manage your stress eating.

Use your hands

Engage in activities that require your hands to distract yourself from eating. Some people enjoy learning to crochet or knit because it keeps both of their hands busy. Reading a book or device can also keep you from eating, as you do not want to get food on the pages or on the screen. Choose activities that require both hands if possible.

Learning to play an instrument, garden, or fish can make it impossible to eat, and all three are great for lowering anxiety.

Take up a new hobby

Lower your stress levels and distract yourself by taking up a new hobby. Is there a challenging activity you have wanted to try? Try learning a new language, carpentry, painting, or pickleball. Choose fun activities. You may want to choose hobbies that you can share with others, such as a book club, tennis club, or a sip and paint event.

Write a short list of hobbies and what you need to start, then ask a friend to join you.

Practice self care

Often, we place our self-care and health on the back burner when life seems too chaotic. But we cannot pour from an empty cup. We need to nurture our emotional and mental well-being to feel whole and manage anxiety. Do not limit your self-care to a manicure or pedicure. Choose activities that bring you joy. Maybe that is 30 minutes of listening to an audiobook or soaking in the tub. Perhaps self-care to you means going out to fish for an hour one morning a week.

List self-care activities that bring you joy and schedule them on your calendar. Treat these “appointments” as you would a doctor’s appointment. They are that important.

Serve in your local church or community

It is easy to become anxious when we focus on problems. We look inward for a solution and end up stress eating the rest of the evening. Instead of looking inward when stressed, try focusing on other people and the community’s needs. Focus on what God can do through you to serve others.

Volunteer at your local church or in your community. Ask people or look online for volunteer opportunities. Pray that God will show you where you can serve Him to make a difference to others.

List other activities and hobbies you can try the next time you feel your emotions overriding your sense of hunger. Try writing a commitment. For example, “The next time I feel stressed and want to eat, I will identify my thoughts and emotions and then take a brisk walk for fifteen minutes either around the block or streaming a walking video in my living room.” Customize your strategy plan and carry it with you on a note card or as a note on your phone.

Counseling Can Help

You can learn various psychological techniques to curtail stress eating. Methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy have effectively changed the thought-emotion-behavior cycle that drives stress eating. Contact our office today to schedule an assessment session with a counselor. It may only take a few sessions and learning a new psychological method for you to take control of your eating patterns.