Stress Eating? 3 Steps to Stop the Cycle

If I had to take a guess, I'd say it's about 80% of the people I coach and consult with?struggle with some kind of “emotional” or “stress” eating.

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It’s understandable. That cupcake, cookie or pizza can feel like a reward for making it through another stressful day or a reward for doing some extra tasks.?Or, when your feeling down or bored, the dopamine response can offer you brief boost.??

But you already know these tasty treats don't actually fix the issue or make the stress go bye-bye. Most of the time, emotional eating leads to feelings of guilt and self-defeat, which only perpetuates the cycle.

What can you do if you're struggling with stress or emotional eating?

Here are 3 of the strategies I use in my coaching programs to break to cycle:

No....I'm not going to tell you to empty out your cabinets and eat only broccoli, seeds and tofu.?Going to extremes never works in the long run.

And, being perfect isn't required.

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Here are the 3 steps:

1. Become aware of triggers your overeating

2. Have a few tools to use when you feel the triggers?

3. Remind yourself that your behavior around food doesn’t mean you're weak or lack willpower... nor does it?define you as a person

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Using these strategies can help you get back on track when you feel out of control.

Step #1: Identify the trigger that makes you want to overeat

Ask a neuroscientist if they believe in free will.?You'll be surprised at how many of them say we don't have much.?Most of our thoughts, actions and emotions run on autopilot.?When we're triggered, our response is usually something we're not even conscious about doing.?

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Stress eating is usually triggered by people, things they say to you, certain sights, smells and emotions.

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A conversation with an in-law or co-worker can make you dive into a sleeve of Oreos.

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So pay attention to what caused the urge to overeat.

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Then give yourself permission to eat the thing you tell yourself you "shouldn't" eat.

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Remove the stigma and the power of the food can start to subside.?Maybe now you'll stop at 2 or 3 instead of eating the entire bag or box.

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It's likely there are multiple things that trigger you.?Write down what lead to your overeating and how you felt before and after.?Once you have awareness, you can start to fix the problem.

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Step #2:?Make a list of NFRs

I have all clients make a list of "non-food rewards."??

When did food become the only thing in life that gave us pleasure??Oh wait, was it the global pandemic???

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There used to be other things in life we enjoyed and felt like a treat.?Start compiling your list of calming or rewarding things you can do instead of eat.

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Maybe it's luxuriating in a bubble bath, getting?a mani pedi (it's hard to eat while your nails are wet), browsing travel sites to plan your next vacation, shopping on Amazon (again, hard to eat while clicking and tapping), doing a guided mediation, taking a walk in the neighborhood park or just getting outside for fresh air, a sweat sesh like a sauna bath...ok, TBH these are mine.?But you get the picture.?And be creative.?Keep the list handy where you will see it often.

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When you feel triggered and catch yourself slinking to the cupboards for cookies, refer to your list instead.?I promise, the calming effect of the items on your list will short circuit the stress response and put you back in the drivers seat.

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Step #3:?Give yourself some grace & compassion

Feeling bad about not following your routine or feeling shame about over eating only makes you more stressed out and perpetuates this whole cycle.

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If you're feeling like you messed up, ask yourself, "what did I do right"?Surely you didn't make 100% poor decisions all day long.?Our negativity biases are very strong.?That means, the couple of things we did wrong stand out way more than the numerous things we did right.?Negative self-talk much?

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Every session I do with my clients starts off with listing their wins before they start asking me questions and telling me about what they messed up.

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You'll be surprised at how this simple practice puts you in a better frame of mind and helps turn down the volume on the things that went awry.

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Then give yourself some compassion, the way you would to a friend who's beating themselves up for doing something they felt was wrong.

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If your bestie was saying,?"I'm such a loser, I have no self-control and ate an entire pizza."

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What would you say to them???Probably not,?"yeah, how can I be friends with a loser like you?"?You'd probably say something like,?"you're not a loser, you just ate too much.?Let's think about strategies to avoid doing this in the future.... don't dwell on the past."?

(Now refer to steps 1 and 2).

• Note:?giving yourself grace doesn't mean giving yourself a free pass not to try harder next time.

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Food is a part of life.?It should be enjoyable and make us feel good.?But it doesn't need to be our only source of joy and happiness.??

These are just a few of the strategies I use with clients to break the cycle of stress eating.

If you're struggling to overcome emotional or stress eating, or you are simply confused about how to eat to get to your goals, reply to this email or click the link below to book a strategy session.?

If working together makes sense, we can discuss which of my programs will work best for you.