Eating while you’re stressed can do more harm than good. Instead of turning to chips, candy or pizza to beat your stress, anger or boredom, seek out healthy alternatives like meditation and exercise. | Photos.com
Stress and unhealthy eating sometimes go hand-in-hand. When we feel depressed, stressed, sad, bored, angry or downright emotional, we seek comfort in food — and let’s face it, fruits and veggies are not on the menu.
When there’s a big test in the morning, we get cheese pizza delivered the night before to save time. After a sad breakup, some delve into the sweet stash hidden in that cozy spot under the bed. Early risers may try the pick-me-up approach by downing fizzy drinks the morning after a long night of studying or work. These happy unhealthy habits are the perfect way to send your diet packing and on a one-way trip back to weight-gainville.
Don’t eat your feelings out. It’s time to stop taking your stress out on your potato chips and ice-cream and try some healthy alternatives for when you’re feeling blue or hungry.
Are you a zero or a ten?
Sometimes we tell ourselves that we are hungry without actually being hungry. I stumbled across an article online, written by college nutritionist Melanie Jatsek, which as based on the book “The Rules of ‘Normal Eating’” by Karen R. Koening. It was a food consumption guide for emotional eaters, and it had a very interesting tidbit in it asking the reader to rate the level of hunger they are feeling based on a zero to ten scale; zero being the lowest, “empty” and ten being the highest, “full.” For those who feel like their hunger is lower than a five, that means you’re still full and should wait until it reaches a level ten before eating again.
During stressful times, we tend to eat even when our level of hunger is at a ten. Jatsek mentions that one must be able to identify when you’re eating in response to true hunger (a grumbling stomach) or “head hunger” (emotional eating). When you eat during emotional hunger, it can lead to weight gain in the future, especially if the habit continues over a long period of time.
What’s eating away at you?
If you notice you are eating continuously when your hunger is above a level five, based on Jatsek’s emotional eating scale, you need to figure out why you’re doing it then try to change this habit before it becomes problematic. Eating just because can lead to a binge eating disorder, where you not only overeat, but you eat large amounts of food at once. Oprah Winfrey a while back announced that she was a binge eater at one point, and it helped contribute to her weight gain.
Try this for a change
Ask yourself why you are stressed, angry, sad, bored, etc; then, ask yourself how you can tackle these emotions without taking it out on food.
If you are eating out of anger, for example, try to pinpoint what triggered your anger and go exercise. I haven’t tried it yet, but I have been told that hitting a punching bag is a really good way to flush out frustrations.
If you’re eating because you are bored, try making yourself busy by walking around campus or going to the park (Hermann Park is a really nice area) and distancing yourself from restaurants and your cabinet full of sweet treats.
If you know you are going to be bogged down for the night with a lot of work, prepare for the occasion ahead of time and fix some cucumber sandwiches or a chicken salad to feed your hunger, instead of relying on the pizza man to drive your dinner to you.
If you just broke up with your significant other and are in an emotional frenzy, try going out with friends or going out by yourself and meeting someone else. This way you can pass the time with healthy conversation and, who knows, you may get yourself someone new.
Either way, it’s important to remember that there are other methods for coping with stress.
Relying on food to solve your problems is not going to be of any use to you and your issues. Take some time out to really meditate and work out your problems next time before reaching for that box of cupcakes.
