Americans are prone to stress eating, maybe because of our stay busy mentality.
I’ve been under a lot of stress (out of my control) for months, and my body is proof that I’m stress-eating. I did some research and came away disappointed. Honestly, the things that I usually recommend for someone under stress aren’t working.
Meditation, deep breathing, exercise.
You’re still going to want a candy bar when you’re done, or at least I am.
The most significant time for stress eating happens in late afternoon: the time between getting home from work and just after dinner. I’d be willing to bet that some of it happens at work around 3:00 pm. Those are my target times also, even though I’m not working.
The best cure for this is to eliminate the stress, but that’s not always possible.
I find that journaling helps somewhat because I can get it all out of my head for a while.
I think that’s the best thing we can do — find ways to distract ourselves with something other than food. I’m taking a few classes to keep me busy and finding ways to relax in the evening. Now that the weather is nicer, I can be outside more, which helps.
Another thing to try is to change your thoughts around the stressor.
If you can’t change it, how can you find a way to live with it?
I know that’s not easy, but much of life isn’t. Accept it for what it is and do the best you can. We can try.
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