While we’re all somewhat familiar with the nagging voice of guilt in our heads that accompanies an excessive or indulgent meal, it’s another thing entirely to HEED that voice and stop while our body is at a comfortably satiated level.
Stress-eating can be defined in other words as ‘emotional eating,’ or eating to compensate for, or as an alternative to, dealing with emotions.
27% of adults admit turning to food to deal with stress, while 34% of these admit it to be a habit.
Why Do We Do It?
While it’s easy to blame external factors, like the food itself, the party who provided it, the place in which it was consumed etc, the real underlying issue with stress-eating lies in lack of awareness of our bodies, emotions, and our ability to deal with them.
The majority of the time, stress-eating is done at times when the body does not need food, as the messages between mind and body get confused, and ‘hunger’ is not the main thing waiting to be satisfied.
When we are in a time of stress, cortisol is released at higher than usual levels, which increases appetite and causes those encompassed in their stressful episode to block out any other emotions, and sometimes logical thought.
Cue an episode of ‘stress-eating’!
The longer the stressful period continues, the more emotional-eating a person will do. This inevitably leads to weight gain, further hormone imbalances, and an increased risk of more serious diseases down the line such as diabetes and cardiovascular problems.
I know, it’s not the most comfortable experience to look your discomfort head on, but it’s the only way to make progress against the damaging habits of stress-eating truly. Even just taking the time to be honest with yourself and write down when you feel overwhelmed by thoughts of over-eating, or when you automatically turn to food for comfort can be a great way to begin.
Once you’ve identified the root causes, you can set to work in minimising the risks that they will happen to you again. For instance, if you know you eat when you’re lonely, plan to call a friend or write in your journal instead. The more frequently you divert your energy to these alternative outlets for your energy and thoughts, the easier it will become to ignore cravings to over-indulge.
It can also help to always carry food with you so that you never feel deprived. Emotional eating can be your body’s reaction to feeling deprived in either a physical or mental form, so create new ways to nourish yourself. Stock your fridge with delicious, healthy foods, pack your calendar with exciting things to do, and be disciplined about setting aside time for yourself to relax.
Recent studies have shown that an overwhelming amount of our positive hormones and enzymes are secreted in the gut, and this means that ensuring digestion is at is optimum level should be a priority for those seeking to balance out hormonal and emotional functioning.
For stress-eaters, this could be an interesting place to start considering their bad habits. The emotions causing the stress-eating might initiate with complex hormonal imbalances, and so regulating digestion should become a priority to lower the chances and severity of these imbalances, slowly returning a certain amount of control to them in regards to their emotional eating habits.
I regularly help clients build strategies to break free from stress eating, to book a free consultation go to sarahstannard.com